There are Buckeye and then there are Buckeyes

We have 2 Buckeye trees in Rockwood. They are so full of buckeyes that 2 limbs broke off one of the trees. Last year when we bought the place one limb was broke out of the front Buckeye tree, we didn't realise until this year, when it happened again that it is the weight of the Buckeyes that was breaking the limbs. If I had been meaning to photograph the tree I would have taken a better photo (hopefully), but I was actually taking a photograph of something else and then decided to crop it and use it here. I just realised I have these next 2 photos in the wrong order. Oh, well. This one is the empty buckeye hull, after I have snatched the buckeyes. Which you have to be real careful, the hull can be worse than a cactus when you get close to those pricklies.
The next one is a hull with the buckeyes still there. Most have 2 or 3 buckeyes, so the first one I found that had 4 I acted like I had found the four leaf clover. I kept them separated from all the others.
And I have lots of 'others'. I have a dish full. You have to get to them before the little black worms find them. The hulls have to just be turning. There are lots more on the 2 trees, but now the worms have found them, so I am not sure I will get anymore good ones this year.

After finding the 4 in one, then I found the real prize. The hull with only one buckeye. Notice it is round. Look back up at the hull with 3 in it. Notice one side is flat. So I was really excited with the single buckeye.

I had to go back and look for more.

I was able to find five. Had to flip them over for you to see the other side.

Then the beautiful Buckeye Butterfly, one of my favorites. I have another story to go with it. I took this photograph in the summer of 2007, I was in awe of this little butterfly. Look at those eyespots, with such detail. In September 2007 we went to the Grand Canyon, there was a lady there going on about the beauty of the canyon (and it IS GORGEOUS!), saying anybody that did not believe in God needed to visit the canyon. I told her all somebody had to do was look at the beautiful details God put on the Buckeye Butterfly to see there has to be a God. I just am not sure how the Buckeye Butterfly was ever referred to as the Common Buckeye. There is nothing common looking about it to me. He is beautiful!

I haven't been around my computer very much lately, except at work. I am going to Rockwood to be with Jimmy alot more, he is working 6 days , and 65 to 70 hours each week. My knitting is more mobile (with no internet access in Rockwood) and I am doing alot of knitting for the grandbabies. Not sure when I will get around to visiting, but I told one of my blogging buddies last year that I wanted to do a post on the buckeye tree and butterfly together. Sorry it took me a whole year.

Now just in case you want to know more about the Buckeye Tree I have included some information I found on the web.

The name Buckeye comes from the folklore of the Native Americans who noticed that the nut of the Buckeye tree resembles the eye of a buck deer, a buck eye. They also roasted, peeled and mashed the buckeye nut which they called Hetuck into a nutritional meal. The poisonous and bitter taste can be eliminated by heating and leaching. People wondering if they can eat buckeyes can but only after they have been heated and leached . Some believe that the buckeye relieves rheumatism pain. The symbol of General William Henry Harrison's presidential campaign was a string of buckeyes and a log cabin decorated with raccoon skins. His campaign song called Ohio the bonnie Buckeye state, as a result citizens in Ohio became know as "Buckeyes ." On October 2, 1953 the buckeye tree officially became the state tree.

The Buckeye tree is very adaptable to it's environment, thrives in conditions not suitable for other trees and is hard to kill once the buckeye tree is established.

Alot of people say buckeyes are lucky and keep one around the house, mostly in with their jewlery or carry one in their purse, or pocket. But they are not lucky if you try to eat one and not so lucky for cattle or some other animals if they try to eat one. Buckeyes are toxic , but not to squirrels, who eat them when other food is not available to them.

UPDATE: Please look at the comment from The Fishing Guy. He says it is possibly an American Chestnut tree instead. Here is the link he referred me to. I will try to get a photograph of the leaves this weekend while I am in Rockwood, so be watching and I will let you know which it is. And here is the link to the Buckeye tree, notice the buckeyes don't appear to be in a hull like the nut tree we have. Thank you The Fishing Guy for clearing this up for me.