Chestnut Season

The chestnuts are falling—autumn is on its way.

Here, the old cemetery is a great place to collect them. We went there yesterday, and I stocked up. 



This year, I’m going to paint them. Pretty in white with a pattern for me and my fall decorations with pumpkins and acorns. 





And then I tried something colorful, as a craft idea for my grandson




Do you collect chestnuts every year, too?

What do you make with them? What do your fall decorations with chestnuts look like? 

I won’t be able to collect any this year, Petra. The two big trees (where I usually collect so many) are already completely bare. Yesterday I spotted just two chestnuts, and a squirrel was already busy with them.

Have they all fallen yet? It really varies across Germany. Near us, there’s a tree where they’re still falling very sparsely, but at the cemetery—as I said—they’re falling faster than I can pick them up.

The hazelnuts on the street have been falling for a long time now, too. And there are more of them this year than I’ve ever seen. I wonder if it’ll be a long, cold winter when the harvest is so bountiful? 

I haven’t even looked yet—fall always comes so suddenly. :-)
But painting them is a great idea—it looks fantastic!

I’m also a chestnut lover and often can’t just leave them lying there. They shine so beautifully and have such great colors. Add a few colorful fall leaves or dried seed heads, and you’ve got a fall decoration ready.

I also think the idea of painting them is great. It doesn’t always have to be stones. But personally, I like them best in their natural state.

Today we’re visiting the grandkids, and of course we’ll go outside—maybe we’ll find a chestnut tree and can collect a few fruits right away. As it happens, the right markers for painting them are actually being given as a birthday gift today. That would be perfect. So thank you very much for the suggestion, dear Petra.

Best, Ina

Ina, have fun with your grandson today. The weather is still wonderful, after all, so a walk to collect chestnuts is sure to be a lot of fun.

Did you know that you can also wash with chestnuts?

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I tried it once many years ago, and it worked pretty well. But it was more work than just a quick trip to the supermarket. 

What is wachen?

Sorry, that was supposed to say washing. 

Doing laundry in the washing machine. 

Dear Petra, we didn’t collect chestnuts yesterday. But we did paint stones. Everyone had a lot of fun with that—both the kids and the adults. I gave my 5-year-old grandson a pack of 72 great acrylic markers as a gift. You can use them to paint on stones, glass, wood, porcelain, leather, and paper. The 72 markers include various shades of gold, metallic tones, neon colors, and glitter colors. And they have a fine tip for detailed painting. They even work on black surfaces. As you can tell, I’m also thrilled with my gift. Because of these markers, he’s forgotten all about his Lego toys for a while.

Warm regards, Ina