Florida Pine Cone Barometer~~
 

A former client who fished Lake Okeechobee always had a few pine cones on his boat. They open when its going to rain or bad weather and close tight when its nice dry weather...I checked it out today and heres the results~~~Eric

I have noticed that too with the cones that have fallen off my trees.

That open a closing action also seems to help them dig into the ground too.

The squirrels go crazy for the pine nuts! So do the Italians.....

How "fresh" do the pine cone need to be for this to work?
Marc

Marc the one pictured I picked up yesterday!! Grab a few, large is better! Any that are on the ground. When they are open the squirls feed on pine nuts! Good hunting!!

I had a small red squirrel eating them on the tree when they were still green.

I had a pile of cores on the ground.

The little critters are most active in the early morning when the cones are usually open!!

Eric,

We use them in several chestnut cakes, but they are essential in Genovese "pesto" that we use for pasta dishes.

here you are the recipe:

A bunch of fresh basil, leaves only properly washed and dried
3 cloves of garlic (preferably fresh not the Chinese one)
one small handful of raw pine nuts of "pinus pinaster"
about 3/4 cup of real Parmesan cheese freshly grated.
A few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Good lunch

Pesto Recipe
 

Chow, Debbie is all italian but has never made pesto. We will definitly use your recipe. The pesto in the store suggs. Fresh is the best and has many uses. Perfect with pasta!!

As an alternative, you can use a pine cone on a piece of string as a weather station:

Pine cone wet: Rain
Pine cone dry: No rain
Pine cone reflects: Sunny
Pine cone white on top: Snow
Pine cone invisible: Fog
Pine cone swinging: Windy
Pine cone jumping up and down: Earthquake
Pine cone gone: Tornado

:)

Awesome!!!