JamieDonaldson
..over the years that walnut trees are among the first to draw sap in the spring. Here in central KY we have hardly had winter, less than 2" total snowfall, and temps running well above average, so I believe this is triggering an early sap flood. During spring storms, walnuts seem to act like lightning rods on the golf course, suffering by far the highest percentages of lightning strikes. I have suspected that the moisture acts as a lightning rod, because other nearby trees are still in sap down winter mode and escape the strikes. This would be a good subject for a grad student study!