The first European to observe the use of pecan nuts was Cabeza de Vaca during the early 16th century: “They grind up some little grains with them [the nuts], two months of the year, without eating anything else, and even this they do not have every year, because one year they bear, and the next they do not. They [the nuts] are the size of those of Galicia and the trees are very large and there is a great number of them.” (Krieger 2002:189-190). In his account, Cabeza de Vaca uses the Spanish word for walnut (nueces), but the pecan is by far the most abundant nut-bearing tree in the region and the Spanish did not have a word for pecan at that time.

I got this information from a site called Texas Beyond History, but I already knew about Cabeza de Vaca, aka Mr. Cowhead, and the Indians and Esteban the slave. Year before last in our American history studies we read Walk the World’s Rim by Betty Baker. In fact, I read this book aloud to my older set about ten years ago, and some of them still remember it. Good old Esteban. And Chacko.

The book mentions nuts as a part of the Indians’ diet, but the indication in this fictional account of the exploration of Texas by de Vaca and his companions is that the Indians in South Texas subsisted mostly on roots and lizards. Chacko, a fictional Indian boy and the main character in the story, goes to Mexico City with Cabeza de Vaca and is amazed at the abundance of food the Spaniards are able to grow and produce and cook and eat.

Chacko should have given them a pecan tree to sort of even things up a bit.

If you have anything to say about pecans or nutcrackers or the price of pecans in China or anything else pecan-related, post it on your blog and leave a link here. November is Pecan Month at Semicolon. And I’m planning to send a bag of shelled pecans to the one blogger, of those who have left a link, whose name I draw at the end of the month.

A former Texan is growing pecans in Provence.

I wish him luck. As a pecan afficionado, I think pecans should be grown and sold around the world. However, they won’t grow up North where it’s too cold. This Aggie (Texas A & M) webpage says pecan trees are freeze-susceptible. I think that means a hard freeze is likely to kill your pecan tree. Pecans grow well in Texas, but in West Texas where I grew up you have to water your pecan tree if you want it to produce much fruit. It doesn’t freeze much in West Texas, but it also doesn’t rain.

You have to plant your pecan trees way in advance. Pecans don’t mature to the point of producing a good crop until about twenty years after they’re planted. So you can’t plant a tree in January and expect to have pecan pie for Christmas.

Pecans are being grown in Australia, Brazil, Israel, Mexico, Peru. and South Africa. Mexico is the only country in that list that produces a significant amount of pecans for sale.

So, tell us. Can you buy pecans in November where you live? How much do they cost?

This industrial strength nutcracker is available from Amazon. The review at Amazon says that this one doesn’t work so well.

My high school US history teacher invented a pecan cracker. As I remember it was a block of wood with a metal plate and different sized indentations in the surface to hold different sizes of nuts. Then, you had a hammer-like instrument with which you hit the pecan. It was supposed to shatter the shell and leave the nut whole, but it didn’t work for me. I think I hit my finger with the hammer-thing. I can’t find a picture of Mr. Barth’s nutcracker anywhere on the internet, so I’m guessing it didn’t go over too well with the general pecan-shelling public.

About the time my history teacher was using class time to show us his invention, the newest thing in nutcrackers was the “inertia nutcracker.” You sort of shoot the nut in an enclosed area (very unsportsmanlike), and the shell explodes off leaving the nutmeat –in theory.

The last picture shows the kind of nutcracker we used when I was a kid —minus the red rubber grips. I didn’t like it very much either. A brick or a rock and the sidewalk were more convenient and just as effective.

Nowadays I shell my own pecans, but I buy them cracked. The pecan grower or wholesaler has this big machine into which they dump the pecans, and the machine cracks the shells. All I have to do at home is to pull the shell off and enjoy the fruit inside. I could label my pecans: No household nutcrackers were used in the preparation of these tasty pecan treats —only fingers. I use nutcrackers for decoration.

P.S. I like Tschaikovsky’s Nutcracker music, but it’s way overdone this time of year. And I think the story of the ballet is scary, nightmare-inducing.

For more Works-for-me Wednesday links, visit Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer. (I wonder if she’s ever found any pecans in her dryer? I certainly have in mine.)

Having in my life been bitten by the jaws of both victory and defeat, I must rush to add that success is to failure as butter pecan ice cream is to death.
Rupert Holmes, English composer, b. February 24, 1947

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Mine is plain old vanilla–with pecans and chocolate chips sprinkled on top.

What is your favorite brand of ice cream? Blue Bell Creameries will celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2007. Buttered Pecan and Pecan Pralines ‘n Cream flavors are sold year round. Caramel Turtle Fudge and Fudge Brownie Nut are available only at certain times of year. Right now, they’re also selling Mississippi Mud Cake and Southern Pecan Pie ice creams at my Kroger store. Eat your heart out, those of you who can’t get Blue Bell. (You can get four half-gallons of your favorite flavors shipped anywhere in the continental US via FedEx for only $89.00.)

I do like buttered pecan ice cream, and I plan to try the Mississippi Mud Cake flavor which happens to be Blue Bell’s November flavor of the month.

If you have anything to write concerning pecans —a story, a joke, a poem, a recipe, a memory, or a quotation— please post it on your blog and leave a link here at Semicolon. We’re celebrating November as the Month of the Pecan —because April just doesn’t make sense, and it’s too long to wait.

On the outskirts of town, there was a big old pecan tree by the cemetery fence. One evening two boys filled up a bucket with pecans and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts.
“One for you, and one for me. One for you, one for me,” said one boy.

Several were dropped and rolled down toward the fence.

Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate.

Sure enough, he heard, “One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me.”

He just knew what it was. “Oh my,” he shuddered, “It’s Satan and the Lord dividing the souls at the cemetery.”

He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along.

“Come here quick,” said the boy, “You won’t believe what I just heard. Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up souls.”

The man said. “Beat it, kid, can’t you see it’s hard for me to walk?”

When the boy insisted, the man hobbled to the cemetery. Standing by the fence they heard, “”One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me.

The old man whispered, “Boy, you, you’ve been tellin’ the truth! Let’s see the devil himself.”

Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of Satan.

At last they heard, “One for you, one for me. And one last one for you. That’s all. Now let’s go get those nuts by the fence, and we’ll be done.”

They say the old guy made it back to town 5 minutes before the boy.

I’m still calling for pecan-related posts from other bloggers because here at Semicolon where November is Pecan Month. Stay with me through the month and you’ll learn how to pronounce the name of this delicious nut, where it originated, which figures from history have been fans of the pecan, how nutritious the pecan is, and much, much more than you ever wanted or needed to know about the pecan. I’m imitating Melville who had a chapter each in his epic, Moby Dick, about the head of the whale, the tail of the whale, ambergris, the skeleton of the whale, blubber, the whale’s dimensions, the whale’s spout, various substances found inside the whale, eating whale meat, and the whiteness of the whale. That’s not to mention all the chapters concerning whaling and whale ships and weapons used to kill a whale and laws related to the capture of whales.

If I have chosen a smaller, more delectable subject in the pecan, I believe I have not chosen a creation of God less worthy of study. Pecans are certainly more accessible here in Texas than whales. And they taste better in pies. And after five hundred plus pages of whaling, I’m ready for something different. So, bring on the pecans.

Did you know that there’s singing group called Golden Smog? And furthermore one of their recorded hits(?) was called Pecan Pie? The lyrics start out thus:

as I walk along and stumble
trains rumble in my head
as I breeze along and grumble
think about you instead

and a piece of pecan pie
and you that’s all I want
just a piece of pecan pie
and all I want is you

sometimes I get so hungry
think about pie all day
just a little whipped cream
honey, I’m on my way

with a piece of pecan pie
and you that’s all I want
just a piece of pecan pie
and all I want is you

It gets worse. Or as my mama would say, “Same song, second verse. Could be better but it’s gonna be worse.” If you’re a Golden Smog fan, you have my condolences, er, apology.

So, I’ll end this poor excuse for a pecan post with a picture and a plea for more pecan-related links. If you have posted anything —a story, a joke, a recipe, a poem, a quotation, a picture, even bad song lyrics— leave a link in Mr. Linky. If you’re a pecan fan, visit some of the links to find kindred spirits and more pecan songs.