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By Lucy Notarantonio
Senior Reporter
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A man who spent the evening cleaning his driveway woke up to a completely different scene the next morning—and shared his frustration online. But not everyone agreed with his complaint.
The Reddit post, titled: "My neighbor has a black walnut tree. I cleaned up my yard and driveway last night. This was taken the next morning," was shared by user u/FlukeStarbucker1972 and has received more than 18,000 upvotes since it was posted on October 19.
The user continued: "This stupid tree goes to seed every other year and drops thousands of walnuts in my yard, my driveway, and on my roof. They are very loud when they land, and the walnut oil stains everything."
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The accompanying photo shows a driveway completely covered in fallen green walnut husks, which resemble small tennis balls scattered across the ground.
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Black walnut trees can grow impressively large, typically reaching 50 to 75 feet in height and width, and, in some cases, up to 150 feet tall. When they drop nuts, it can feel less like fall—and more like a full-scale bombardment.
While some users sympathized with the homeowner’s frustration over the endless cleanup, others saw the silver lining.
"Lucky you! Free walnuts!" one commenter wrote. Another added: "Those are very expensive in the store, free food!!"
The comments are not wrong. Walnut prices have climbed sharply over the past year, according to Farm Progress—jumping from under $0.50 per pound to around $1.20—$1.30 on the spot market. The surge is tied to a 30 percent drop in crop yields in both California and Chile after severe weather, following a record harvest the year before.
Another commenter posted: "That's totally nuts! I would collect them and eat 'em. or give it back to him."
Although messy, black walnuts are packed with health benefits. The superfood contains compounds that protect DNA by destroying oxidants, and eating a handful a day can help lower the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other conditions linked to obesity.
Research from University of Connecticut School of Medicine also suggests that daily walnut consumption can significantly reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Not everyone saw the tree as a problem. "Humans really need to learn how to live with nature again, instead of seeing nature as a nuisance," posted one commenter.
Another added: "There’s a good chance the tree was there before the previous owner even owned the property, and you can’t exactly expect a neighbor to spend thousands of dollars for a large tree removal, nor can you expect them to fix the problem on your property. For that reason, I’d stick with a solution that doesn’t antagonize the neighbor."
Newsweek reached out to u/FlukeStarbucker1972 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.
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