Thanks to a blog I follow—New Hampshire Garden Solutions—I learned that this is probably a mast year for acorns. This is from a recent post: “There must be many millions of acorns falling this year; I would guess enough to call it a mast year. In a mast year the trees grow a bumper crop and produce much more fruit than in a non-mast year.”
The things I learn from reading blogs! I knew that some years there were a lot of acorns. Other years, not so much. But I didn’t know there was a name for a season that produced a bumper crop of acorns. But now I do. Many thanks, New Hampshire Garden Solutions.
As I have written previously, we live in the woods, and there are several oak trees near one end of our house. This fall there has been a steady rain of acorns, and when the acorns hit the roof, it sounds as though we are being pelted with little rocks. Sometimes the rain is steady enough that I worry I will be knocked senseless when I am near the oak trees. So far, so good. I’ve escaped concussion and have come inside with nary a bump.
Joking aside, I have come to regard the acorns as little wonders.
Beautiful as well as useful, they produce the majestic oak, thus providing a much-needed lesson about how mighty things can grow from a small seed. The acorns feed a variety of creatures who live in the woods around our house—chipmunks, squirrels, deer, and turkeys, to name a few. From the National Wildlife Federation Blog, I discovered that “more than 100 U.S. vertebrate species eat acorns. In autumn and winter, the acorn is the cheeseburger of the forest ecosystem—fairly easy to find and nicely packaged. They are one of the most valuable food resources available for wildlife.”
No wonder the oaks produce an abundance of acorns whenever they have a chance. If some acorns are to survive to grow into a tree, there must be many.
Therefore, as we head into the season of Thanksgiving, I give thanks to the oaks that provide shade, absorb carbon, and feed assorted denizens of the forest. Oaks are a vital part of Maine’s ecosystem, and how poor we would be without them. Long may oaks—and acorns—flourish.
Notes From the Hinterland 
Amen! We’ve got a rain of them this year, too. Now, those little piny looking plants in your acorn picture…Are they some sort of sedum? I sure hope Eliza is reading your blog and answers!
Not sure! Some kind of moss? Growing in our front yard. Eliza?
I see two types– Common Haircap (like mini-pines) and Common Fern moss.
Thanks! On my way to google them.
Thanks, Eliza!
My pleasure!
Long may they flourish indeed Laurie, they’re such wonderful, giving trees and a real treasure to have close by 🙂💖 xxx
They sure are!
It is such a year here, too.Beautifully composed photograph
Thanks, Derrick!
Oh dear. My dogs munched loads of acorns last year and then I read they can be toxic to dogs so I have to really keep an eye on them on our walks. Mind you, my dogs will eat anything and they have so far survived to tell the tale – or, at least, for me to tell it.
Maybe acorns are like chocolate, some dogs can eat them, and others can’t.
I wonder if that terms applies to other nut trees. We have four pecan trees (plus a few that hang over into our yard), and our first year here (2017) we had a great crop; last year not a single pecan. It’s looking like a good year again, so I guess it must take a whole lot of energy to produce a pecan crop and they take a break sometimes.
According to Wikipedia, the term refers to any number of nut trees, not just oaks.
Now I haven’t noticed an excess of acorns yet and we have a number of oak trees. Yet I live only a hundred miles or so from Derrick! We are often late!
Hurray for oak trees and their acorns.
Yes!
I was outside yesterday deadheading and digging up a couple of Hosta which happened to be right under two oaks. I had those little things pinging all around me. Good think I had a hat on. 🙂
Good thing is right! Talk about being in the line of fire.
Yes, definitely a mast year. I walked upslope through the woods to my neighbor’s this morning and I felt like I was walking on marbles! Kind of scary on a slope, esp. when coming back down. 😉
Also of note is that an oak supports over 350 Invertebrate species, which of course, in turn feed a multitude of birds and mammals. Planting natives is a good thing to do!
Wowsah! Glad you didn’t fall. Thanks for the info about invertebrate species. All so important for the life of any area.
I didn’t know that about acorns… but yet again show how interconnected our world is and how much we need to look after trees and plants. 🌞😀
Yes, yes! That little nut certainly supports a lot of life.
Wonderful autumn post, Laurie! Acorns are falling fast here, too and as I drive along the lanes they land on my car roof with a crack!
I love the colourful photo!
Thanks, Clare! I think acorns are so lovely.
They are!
A really interesting post. There was a mast year here which has resulted in…large rats…not nearly so nice as acorns!!
Goodness! A problem for cities, I think. Believe it or not, where I live in the country, rats aren’t really a problem.
We have a big oak right outside our back door and I haven’t noticed lots of acorns yet–I need to go out and have a good look! I like your photo a lot . . .
Thanks, Kerry. Might not be a mast year in your area.
Our oak tree has sooooooo many acorns this year, never seen as much as this year.
A mast year for you, too.
😀
I believe it was last year, or the year before, that we had a mast year — and some nice, fat deer to go along with it. I used to spend a good bit of time out in the Texas hill country, in a cabin with a tin roof. It was, as they say, a memorable experience when the acorns began to fall.
I bet! Rat-a-tat-tat.
And Douglas Tallamy says oaks are some of the best trees for supporting the insects that feed birds.
Another plus!
I echo Eliza on the treacherous footing of mast years. Our gorgeous old oak is on a hillside slope and in heavy acorn years, it’s like walking on an incline of ball bearings.
Phew! Be careful.
Wonderful photo and now I’m always going to look at an acorn and think my backyard visitors may be enjoying a “cheeseburger” today!🙂 Wonderful post and the acorns have been falling steadily around here.🙂
Right? Wonderful description.