It's an "if one more acorn falls out of a tree and hits me I'm going to cut them ALL down" year for me!!

LOL - they are ABUNDANT this year aren't they? And maybe a bit early - or is it me? I've had gazillions of acorns since mid-August!

Course my daughter (not quite 5 yrs yet) has made a routine out of collecting the acorns (hooray!) but then I found that she was uh....planting them too...in various places around the yard....(oops)

It seems like an off year for acorns in my little town in Maine. Much fewer than usual. I guess I know where they all went. : )

Not a single acorn here, as far as I could tell.
None, really.

I don't have any oaks. I think I read something interesting about acorn/squirrel abundance... it suggested that oaks produce acorns in cycles that seem to be for the purpose of reducing the squirrel populations. Like an evolutionary development to keep squirrels from eating all the future oak trees... it was very interesting! Hopefully someone knows more.

I couldn't resist this one, so I went a-googling for oak mast years. Sure enough, there's an article in Mother Earth News that says:

"SMART TREES

Scientists have barely begun to unravel the many ecological repercussions of the oak forest's wax-and-wane mast cycle. For that matter, they're not entirely sure why the nut crop varies as it does. Certainly weather and other environmental influences are a factorÂa drought can sap trees of reproductive energy; a late spring frost can kill flowers. But weather doesn't appear to be the main influence. Bumper-crop years aren't always especially weather-blessed. Poor mast years occur even when conditions are ideal for acorn growth.

Many scientists now believe the mast cycle is an evolutionary adaptation; that over the eons oaks and other nut-bearing trees have developed an on-and-off mast cycle to ensure their reproductive survival. The theory makes sense. If oaks produced a consistently healthy crop of acorns every year, populations of nutloving animals would rise to the point where all the acorns would be eaten no matter how numerous. None would remain to grow into mighty oaks.

The mast cycle solves the problem. During moderate to poor years, wildlife get by as best they can, seldom increasing and often decreasing in numbers. Then comes a good year, when the trees pour it on and produce far more nuts than the animals can consume, no matter how fast they reproduce. Nuts are left to germinate and renew the forest. Over the leaner years following, wildlife again dwindles to numbers too few to eat all of the next bumper crop. And so the cycle continues: The trees in effect keep nut predators at bay, like mother hens protecting their eggs."

Don't have many acorns here this year. Got a lot of squirrels, though.

Claire

Here is a link that might be useful: Oaks, Acorns and You

Interesting, Claire!

I remember about two or three years ago, you could barely walk in the yard for the acorns. It was like walking on a swath of marbles. I literally cautioned people who were comng to my house to take care, as well as walked a few people out to their cars to make sure they didn't slip!

This year doesn't seem quite up to that level, but there are a lot. I swear the squirrels are up there taking aim! I think I need a hard hat to work in the yard. Often they come down with such a hard, loud "THUNK!" that I cower in fear, lol!

:)
Dee

Interesting theory. Not sure if the science is there to back it up but worth investigating, I'm sure. Thanks for posting the link.