It's that time of the year, the week or so when Alan walks the streets and around the local park looking for conkers. This year while I was driving us home from visiting Mum, he spied a LOT of very large Horse Chestnut trees on the main road not too far out of town, so he has enjoyed a few walks and conker gathering trips over the past week as they are currently at their peak of perfection.
We now have them on all our windowsills and in the doorways, we have taken some to Mum's empty bungalow and distributed them evenly there too. The rest, of which there are many, are double wrapped in bags in both our freezers.
WHY?
Yes, I hear you asking. Well, Alan's Mum Jessie always had conkers as spider deterrents on all her windowsills. She explained it all to me in great detail many years ago, when I plucked up the courage to ask about her unusual window decorations. I sort of scoffed a little ... in private, never upset your future Mum-in-Law ... until I tried it for myself in our large spider infested farmhouse, which was situated in the centre of acres of farmland.
It worked, the spiders were vastly diminished, so I have done it myself every year since. It keeps her memory alive in a very special way and seems to keep the spiders away too.
You can also use conkers to make an eco liquid washing detergent. Nancy Birtwistle has a very good recipe for this. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Bdnn2aAGu/
I've never tried this, maybe I should.
https://youtu.be/4GaGw73LijM?si=w7K-apGtmTOKkbXr
Of course you could also do the traditional British thing of actually having a game of Conkers. 😄
Sue xx
They are called buckeyes in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very strange name for them, I have never heard that one before now. But they do have an 'eye' type mark on them don't they.
Delete🕸Please tell the spiders🕷 round here! The conkers do not seem to deter them at all. 🕸🕷
ReplyDeleteI remember you mentioning conkers to deter spiders, and the big tree up at the school needs to be investigated to see if I can find some. Catriona
ReplyDeleteThere's a shortage of conker trees in the village - I need to look further afield
ReplyDeleteMy Gran always did the same and swore they worked but the spiders in East Sussex seem oblivious to them and we still get a lot of spider visitors despite the conkers. I love the look of conkers regardless, such a glorious colour. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteWe're getting lots of spiders in the house at the moment and I have to keep a clear plastic cup and a sheet of paper to hand to scoop them up. Maybe we need to try a bowl of conkers too. I've only ever tried dotting one or two on the window sill so maybe I need more! The creatures make me shiver.
ReplyDeleteAngie
I love the look and feel of conkers. I don't think children are encouraged to play conkers these days - Elf and Safety, you know!
ReplyDeleteTime to forage for the sweet chestnuts.
ReplyDeleteYou learn something new everyday- I’d never heard of this before. I’ve never seen any trees in Melbourne, maybe they’d grow somewhere cooler like Tasmania.
ReplyDeleteOur window sills currently have little collections of conkers in the corners - I'll try anything to keep the spider population down!
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
Just wondered do you need to have a certain amount of conkers or do they need to be in a bowl on the windowsill? It's just I've tried putting them loose in the corners of windowsills but it didn't work but I'm thinking I need to put quite a few instead or do they need to be grouped in a bowl etc. what do you find works best for you? Also why freeze them? Thank you
ReplyDeletePs inspired by your post we've been on a conker hunt today 😀
ReplyDelete