Favorite Fall Pastime

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Every year at about this time my thoughts invariably turn to the many things I so loved doing when I lived in Tennessee. One of my favorite activities was what we referred to as Hickory Nut Hunting. This was done by mostly all of the young people in my rural community. The trees would give up their gifts in abundance and we would gather them in whatever container we carried. Sometimes the husks were broken open almost completely, exposing the treasures within. There are many different varieties of hickory nuts and the most common in my area were the small ones. There were some much larger ones to be found if you knew just where to look although they were much more scarce. After removing the husks we would store ours in a cool place so that they could "season." We would usually gather about a bushel to last us for the winter. I spent many nights gathered around the fire with my aunt and uncle while he would crack them with the hammer and we then picked out the delicious fruit. Sometimes my aunt would take a bowlful into the kitchen and saute them in a little butter and lightly salt them. They were very tasty. Are hickory nuts common in the area where you live? Have you ever tasted them?