The Lesson of Black Walnuts

The black walnut tree is one of the loveliest hardwoods of our part of the world. Tall, majestic, their leaves a lush emerald green, they are true landmarks. And for the craftsman, nothing compares to the richly coloured, finely grained, pleasant-smelling wood.

As you might guess, the black walnut tree produces black walnuts, with meat sweeter than that of the store-bought walnut, but protected in shells that require a hammer to break.

If you have walnut trees, you also have squirrels. Red squirrels, black squirrels, grey squirrels, hordes of them. They eat a lot of walnuts, but they bury a lot more, and then they forget where they buried most. So, soon enough you have many more walnut trees. Beautiful, stately walnut trees. And more squirrels.

But it’s not all perfect in walnut world, at least not for some of the trees’ neighbours. Walnut trees, you see, produce a chemical, called juglone, in their roots, leaves, and shells. This chemical is a potent poison for many species of other trees and plants (https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/tree-plant-care/plant-care-resources/black-walnut-toxicity/#overview) . Gardeners, for example, know that you never even try to plant a garden within fifteen or twenty metres of a walnut tree. And if juglone poisoning doesn’t wreck your gardens, the squirrels will.

Life’s a bit like that, isn’t it? There are lots of good things, but not necessarily all together, and not necessarily in large quantities. Just as knowing where to plant walnut trees on your acreage (or not at all) is critical to a healthy ecosystem, so too is the understanding to allow the right amount of good things into our lives, in the right places, and at the right time. It’s equally important to know when to exclude certain things which may be intrinsically good, just not good for us right now.

It’s also important to bear in mind that along with walnut trees come squirrels. So too, in life, if we introduce certain people, activities, or situations, those things may come with a whole bunch of baggage, all as a package deal. You need to think about the squirrels before you plant the trees.

I may, for instance, want to join a particular law firm because of their very attractive compensation arrangement. But I also know that many of their lawyers have a reputation for aggressive sharp practice and a cynical view toward clients. I also know that the firm is renowned as a hard-drinking boys’ club where assistants are hired as much for their looks as for their skills.

So when sizing up choices of that sort, my question for myself is, do I want everything which comes with that particular walnut tree?

And there you have it in a nutshell.