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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| The Mysterious Case of the Missing Acorns |
| 2008-12-01 |
| "Once I started paying attention, I couldn't find any acorns anywhere. Not from white oaks, red oaks or black oaks, and this was supposed to be their big year," said Greg Zell, a naturalist at Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington. "We're talking zero. Not a single acorn. It's really bizarre." Zell began to do some research. He found Internet discussion groups, including one on Topix called "No acorns this year," reporting the same thing from as far away as the Midwest up through New England and Nova Scotia. "We live in Glenwood Landing, N.Y., and don't have any acorns this year. Really weird," wrote one. "None in Kansas either! Curiouser and curiouser." |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #24 Mom, the believers don't figure sunspots into their models. The skeptics suggest this chain: fewer sunspots and decreased solar flux go hand in hand. Decreased solar flux means fewer cosmic rays are deflected by the magnetosphere. More cosmic rays entering the atmosphere leads to increased cloud formation on water droplets nucleated by the cosmic rays. Increased cloud formation increases the earth's albedo, resulting in more reflection of solar energy and an overall cooling effect. Follow Watts Up With That for further info. Currently, there are no sunspots, and the cycle is six to twelve months late. |
| Posted by: KBK 2008-12-01 22:35 |
| #23 Is every year a weird weather year? Last year we had a snap frost on Sept 8, way too early; and we exceeded the previous year's entire snowfall by the end of December. This year we had no sunspots in August, which led to cool nights and precious few tomatoes here in Wisconsin. We also had the rain that killed Lake Delton and the Kickapoo River Valley. One good thing about the rain; the water fed the tree roots well into November, which gave us one of the most beautiful autumns we've had in years. Question: how does the sunspot cycle fit into the Global Warming religion? |
| Posted by: mom 2008-12-01 22:04 |
| #22 But oaks are actually pollinated by wind, like grasses. Bee populations have no effect on their ability to pollinate. You are quite right, mojo dear. Thank you for the correction. My apologies to all for giving bad information. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-12-01 21:51 |
| #21 Squirrels in my yard (along with rabbits) are extremely fat after eating every pear on the pear tree, every grape on the vines, every mulberry on the mulberry trees, all the black walnuts, many of the maple helicopters, lots of rose hips and the little berries on the burning bushes and gawd knows what else. I know hawks have been eying them. But, I am hoping for a silver coyote or maybe a mangy fox to clean up some cold winter night..... whooo.... |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-12-01 21:18 |
| #20 WE'RE ALL DOOMED! DOOMED!!! Or not ... |
| Posted by: DMFD 2008-12-01 19:54 |
| #19 Good bit about the mason bees (out west there are alkali bees), TW. But oaks are actually pollinated by wind, like grasses. Bee populations have no effect on their ability to pollinate. FYI. |
| Posted by: no mo uro 2008-12-01 18:26 |
| #18 Is there any connection with missing honey bees not being able to pollinate trees? Probably not, Grolush Darling of the Hatfields3195. While the domesticated European honeybee colonies are carried to various fruit orchards and such, whose owners are willing to pay for the service provided by professional bee keepers, unfarmed trees in North America are generally pollinated by native bee species. The native species are solitary or semi-solitary, and have been untouched by the various pests that periodically decimate the domesticated honey bees. Google "Orchard Mason Bee" for more information. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-12-01 14:42 |
| #17 It's been a very dry year here and I have loads of acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, and chestnuts. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2008-12-01 14:31 |
| #16 If oaks take a year off in ten, and it's weather related, then one could expect 10% of the country to have a dearth of acorns at a given moment. Add the Internet, shake, and there you are. |
| Posted by: KBK 2008-12-01 13:22 |
| #15 "Of course you forget, Peter. I was present at an undersea, unexplained mass |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2008-12-01 13:01 |
| #14 Big mobs of oak trees in our part of the Bronx (Riverdale) and not a single acorn have I seen. I will go down and check Riverdale Park this afternoon it's an old oak forest, and have a look. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2008-12-01 12:59 |
| #13 Is there any connection with missing honey bees not being able to pollinate trees? |
| Posted by: Grolush Darling of the Hatfields3195 2008-12-01 12:23 |
| #12 Squirels nice and fat here in soutwest kansas. |
| Posted by: bman 2008-12-01 12:22 |
| #11 I am smack dab IN "New England", which was mentioned in the article as being part of the "No Acorns" Squirrel Death Zone. We had plenty of acorns this year. And, this year has been extremely wet, so if the theory in the article had any merit, it would certainly have applied to my area. |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2008-12-01 11:59 |
| #10 We have White Oak Acorns here in Alabama, good sized ones oo, a little bit shorter than my finger to the second knuckle. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-12-01 11:45 |
| #9 I can't believe the article didn't at least try to tie it to |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-12-01 11:33 |
| #8 OMG!!! Not the dreaded "mass squirrel migration!" I'm sure sure this is The first IN gazillions of years and it's all caused by you dreaded SUV land rapers!! What about the CHILDREN!! AAUUGGGHHHH!!!!! Oh, wait, the meds just kicked in. What were you saying? |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2008-12-01 11:15 |
| #7 We can still blame Chimpy McHitler for this, right? |
| Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2008-12-01 08:38 |
| #6 There's a ton of them in my neighborhood in North San Antonio - in fact, more than I have ever noticed in previous years. There were so many from one tree, fallen into the street and mooshed by passing traffic that the house-holder was scooping up the debris with a large shovel. |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2008-12-01 08:27 |
| #5 mass squirrel migration sighting: see Washington DC mid-late January |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-12-01 06:56 |
| #4 I asked my brother (a trained botanist) about this and he says oaks are notorious for taking a year or two off over the course of things. In fact, very few tree fruit/nut crops are bulletproof reliable from one year to the next. Records from the 1600's and 1700's mention mass squirrel migrations when one area's mast crop failed. This is nothing new. |
| Posted by: no mo uro 2008-12-01 04:20 |
| #3 Plenty here in Tennessee. There are years when there are just a few. |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2008-12-01 04:09 |
| #2 scads of them here in California |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2008-12-01 02:53 |
| #1 They're all in Minnesota posing as absentee ballots for Al Franken... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2008-12-01 01:02 |