Black walnuts are one of the last trees to leaf out, thus one of the first to lose them in the fall. We have a big one in our front yard and got scads of nuts last year. My hubby spent a lot of time cracking them and picking them out during his TV time. They are good in cookies, candy, desserts, etc. We love them. My favorite is hickory and this is the year for a big crop of them. Most of these trees are every-other-year producers of a big crop, with a smaller crop the other year.