If you’re somewhere with a lot trees, you sometimes need to be careful where you park your car. You might think that the only danger a tree could pose to your car would be a falling branch, but that it usually only happens during a storm. I was doing a brake job at a friend’s apartment, and had set the car up on jack stands under a tree, because it was out of the way of the other cars parked there, and found out it wasn’t a safe spot.

It was a windy day, and I quickly found out why nobody parked on that side, especially at that time of year. Every gust of wind would bring a shower of walnuts. My table full of tools and parts took a few hits, and a brand new brake rotor I’d set out got a nice rotting walnut hit. While they grow with a soft outer covering, the walnut inside is still very hard, making it basically a small rock falling thirty feet. I’d heard a few hit the car, but then one landed a lucky hit on the windshield. Fortunately the windshield was already cracked, so it already was in need of replacement, but this added a lot more damage. Always be careful what kind of tree you park under.

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-Dan