Jenny Lawton can’t keep up with the acorns dropping from her oak trees.
“Our house is surrounded by oak trees, and it’s literally raining acorns,” said Lawton. “As soon as we sweep them up, we are carpeted in a new batch.”
State scientists with the Connecticut Agricultural Experimental Station say it’s a bumper crop year for acorns. What that means is there are more acorns falling to the ground from red oak trees than the past year.
“Nearly 87% of all red oaks in the study were documented with acorns compared to a historical average of 57%,” according to Joseph P. Barsky, research technician/forester. and Dr. Scott C. Williams, chief scientist, both with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in a joint press release.
This is the case in Easton and over almost the entirety of Connecticut except for the northern corners of the state.
Scott Edwards, with Maple Tree Farm, said he grows conifers on the farm so there isn’t an acorn in site. He has no experience with acorns, but he said it was a great year for plants in general.
“So, I wouldn’t be surprised to see to see more acorns,” said Edwards.
It’s not the first time the state has seen a bumper crop of acorns. They fell in abundance from white oak trees in 2015, and in 2016 and 2019 from red oaks. They might be a nuisance but they are ecologically important and feed wildlife.
“A bumper crop can drive several ecological processes in our forests, such as the opportunity to help maintain and perpetuate declining oak populations while providing a nutritious food source to sustain wildlife populations throughout the winter months,” said Barsky.
Easton resident Jim Savage has been hit on the head with falling acorns. One day he heard a noise outside and thought it was a large branch coming off a tree. When he went outside, there was no branch, but a few days later he noticed an alarming number of acorns falling from the tree.
“A couple days later I was mowing the lawn, and I literally got hit on the head with one,” said Savage. “I stuck my hand up there, and I was fully expecting blood.”
So if you are going to go for a walk in the park, or a hike near your house, shield your head or make sure the trees you walk under are anything but red oak trees.
