I saw acorns on the ground & driveway before the storm devastated my giant oaks. Of the five 150+ y/o trees, one lost 2/3 of it's largest branches which spells no acorns for at least the next several years. The other four lost fewer branches but they were also smaller branches that I would think were the ones to produce the most acorns. There weren't as many nuts on the lawn before the storm as I saw last year--I walked around the garden doing fall chores often enough to take notice.

Maybe this was an off year for them? Last year there were thousands of them everywhere. I know it crossed my mind before the storm there didn't seem to be as many as last year but once the sky cleared, there was too much work to do to give it much thought. Last year's 8 ft. of snow took a toll on the local wildlife. Looks like this year's late season storms are going to make it another lean winter for them.

See acorns? not really. Hear acorns? The little monsters wouldn't shut up. Years ago, they used to make a lot of noise hitting the grill that was under one of the big oaks. Then we moved the grill to the driveway so DH could grill after dark in the fall. This year, they were making an incredible racket hitting nothing but the deck. It was relatively early, mid-September or so that they were falling, but they were definitely falling.

Last year there was a bumper crop. This year only a few. I have a yard full of 60 foot oaks and haven't seen many acorns at all.

Steve

We have no oaks, but have white pine trees - at least 100 trees. And very few pine cones this year. 2 years ago we had so many pinecones - I literally could stand in one spot and fill my wheelbarrow with pine cones. At that time I remember reading an article that pine cone and acorn production was cyclical. Since there were so many acorns last year, that would mean there would be fewer this year.

No acorns! Great! Good autumn bike riding on the Minuteman Bike Path, without the usual crunch and veer. But what I have noticed is in great abundance, is (are) seed pods on trumpet vines, tiny fruits on ornamental pear trees, rose hips, holly berries. Crabapple. Baptisia bushes. Buddleia.

So if the squirrels aren't picky -- and they aren't, in my observations -- they have plenty of food. Just, the menu items have changed.

Carol

Yeah, you're right. I hadn't thought about it, but there are rather few acorns this year. Last year it was like walking on marbles in my yard. That also makes it really hard to rake leaves and shred them (the shredder doesn't really like the acorns). I just came in from a full day of shredding and just realized after reading this post that my raking was acorn-free.

Good for me, bad for all the poor critters this year.

Dee

Very few acorns here too, but, as Carol observed, there's an abundance of berries, fruits and seeds so the critters have other food available. And of course they have my feeders...

Claire

I was just reading the latest UMass Extension Landscape Message that Claire posts every month.

Central Region (Boylston) � General Conditions: Deer are active � rubbing & feeding. The sparse acorn crop promises to make for a hungry herd this winter. Deer ticks are very abundant.

Which tells me to expect lots of deer damage to the gardens this coming spring. Maybe I shouldn't have planted all those tulips!

Even more worrisome is the anticipated increase of Lymes disease in humans due to a dramatic drop in field mice populations.

Here is a link that might be useful: NY Times