Farm families in the Lake Orion of yesteryear would be working hard through the harvest right about now.
Things, we know, have changed.
But whereas most of us have found work beyond reaping the benefits from the plot of earth we call home, the Pescis are doing just that in their village neighborhood.
For the past two years the family has combed their yard and those of their neighbors to gather the black walnuts that fall from the trees this time of year, even though nuts of all varieties are available in sealed plastic bags at the nearest store,
‘What they do is just amazing,? said neighbor Bob Bennett.
Paul Pesci said he thinks the area around their home on Axford Road used to be a walnut farm, which would explain why there are so many trees. Every autumn, the backyards were chock-full of the baseball-sized husks where the walnuts reside.
Like leaves and downed branches, the walnuts became one more thing to clean up.
But what was once a nuisance soon became a lunchtime snack for the Pescis.
‘We used to buy a lot of nuts, but they got expensive,? Paul Pesci said.
So two years ago, the family started by collecting what had fallen in their own backyard, and soon moved on to their neighbors? yards. When they were finished, they had more than they bargained for.
‘We filled the back of our pick-up,? said Lori Pesci.
They began processing the walnuts in their home, and by now have it down pat.
According to Paul, the first thing you do is dehusk the walnut, a task comparable to digging inside a peach to remove the bit.
Once the walnut is extracted, it needs to be washed.
For this step, Paul hooked up a cement mixer in his backyard. He fills it with the nuts and a little bit of water and lets the ‘gunk? get sloshed off.
The process can get messy, he admits.
‘The unfortunate thing about walnuts is that they stain almost everything,? he said, holding up his hands. ‘I just cleaned them, but they looked worse than a mechanic.?
The walnuts need to dry for at least three days. One whole side of the Pesci garage is devoted to shelves lined with drying nuts.
The harvest is then stored in the basement with more than five other bags of walnuts. When the weekend comes, Paul, Lori and their children, Olivia, 17, Luke, 13, Julia, 11 and Levi, 3, get together to crack the nuts at a table set up in the garage for that specific purpose.
‘We’ve got the TV in the garage. We like to sit out and watch while cracking the nuts,? Paul said.