‘Mast Event’

Canon G7 X Mk II – 1/125, f/11, ISO 200, Eval Meter

I used an air blower and blew off our front porch two days ago. Fall officially starts on September 22, but Mother Nature wanted to get a head start. This is one of those years when we have a mass production of acorns.This is a normal phenomenon but it doesn’t happen every year thank God! I pulled this from Purdue University’s Forestry & Natural Resources Website:

Oaks and several other tree species occasionally produce enormous crops of seed. This is called “masting” or “mast events”. These events are periodic. In the case of many oak species, a large mast event may happen every two to five years, depending on the species of oak and several other factors. Why does this irregular seed production happen? These events may be tied to several aspects of the life of oaks.

First, the production of a huge volume of a large seed like an acorn requires a lot of resources from the tree. This level of production may not be possible for the tree every year. Trees allocate energy to several different functions, so committing large amounts of energy to one area could mean deficits in others. This may mean there are advantages for the tree to produce occasional, rather than annual, mastings.

Second, weather does not always cooperate to provide the conditions for a bumper acorn crop. Unfavorable weather during pollination and seed development periods can result in reduced production of acorns. Late spring freezes, extremely high temperatures, summer droughts and other weather stresses can reduce acorn pollination and production.

Third, predation by seed-eaters like squirrels, deer, turkey and even weevil larvae can greatly reduce the number of viable acorns. It may take a very large acorn crop to have many acorns escape from the numerous species that depend on acorns for food.

So there you have it. I guess we’ll just have to live with it until it ends; although I do feel like I need to wear a helmet when I go out. I used the little G7 X primarily because it is a great camera to use for shots that are very close to the ground.