The acorn shortage is real.

[The Backlash Cometh]

Scientists baffled by mysterious acorn shortage

(CNN) -- Up and down the East Coast, residents and naturalists alike have been scratching their heads this autumn over a simple question: Where are all the acorns?

Oak trees have shed their leaves, but the usual carpet of acorns is not crunching underfoot.

In far-flung pockets of northern Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and other states, scientists have found no acorns whatsoever.

"I can't think of any other year like this," said Alonso Abugattas, director of the Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington, Virginia.

Louise Garris, who lives in the Oakcrest neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, first noticed the mysterious phenomenon early this fall when doing yardwork beneath a canopy of large oak trees.

"I have lived in the area my entire life and have never not seen any acorns!" she said. Garris checked with some local plant nurseries and they confirmed her observation.

The mystery has found its way to the Internet, where a "No acorns this year" discussion on Topix.com yielded more than 180 comments from people reporting acorn disappearances as far away as Connecticut and North Carolina.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" posted a resident of Maplewood, New Jersey. "Now we are finding dead squirrels! SHOULD WE ALL BE CONCERNED?"

Not necessarily, naturalists say. Last year Garris reported a bumper crop of acorns, which scientists say may be one clue to this year's scarcity. Virginia extension agent Adam Downing said acorn production runs in cycles, so a lean year is normal after a year with a big crop.

"It fits with the physiology of seed reproduction. The trees are exhausted, energy wise, from last year," Downing said.

But even he is surprised at the complete absence of nuts in parts of Virginia.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/12/12/acorn.shortage/index.html

[MazeRat7]

1. Squirrel hordes ?

Peace,
MZr7

[Neshanic]

2. That's strange. An oak here is pushing out acorns like popcorn machine.

They are carpeting everything. Yes we have Oaks in the desert.

[GoesTo11]

3. They're hiding out after all the anti-Acorn talk during the campaign

[glowing]

4. No problems down this way.. A ton of acorns have littered the street from my neighbors tree.

The squirrels are having a field day... and my son is trying to catch them and compete with them.. He likes to pick them up, and plant them with his sponge bob gardening tools.

[Lars39]

5. Two summers ago in West TN there weren't any acorns in some places.

The state's in a drought. Older people could remember it happening only a time or two in their life.

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

6. When I was little there were so many in our yard I'd have to carry them off in tiny buckets.

As of late, I really haven't seen many at all.

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. I know it's seasonal.

There was one year when we leaved out in the west coast of Florida where day and night you would hear the nuts falling on the roof and rolling off.

[Phentex]

7. We shoveled them here! And there are plenty of fat squirrels...

We seem to be an every other year cycle of either brazillions of them or just millions of them. So thick you can fall and break your neck on the driveway if you aren't careful. The squirrels drive the dogs crazy!

[Robb]

8. "But even he is surprised at the complete absence of nuts in parts of Virginia."

...He's not looking hard enough. :D

Levity aside, I do wonder what's up.

[Vinca]

10. Our squirrels don't need acorns. They live like lottery winners

in the attic most of the time and eat dried corn intended for the pellet stove. Weird about the acorns though.

[geckosfeet]

11. I live in MA - a few acorns early but none since. No pine cones either.

Funny - I don't recall the yellow oak tree pollen being that bad this past spring. Wonder if there is a correlation.

But - they were prolific for the last few years. I am looking for rebound next year.

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. Sounds like you all are getting our weather from a few years back.

Everything was blanketed in yellow pollen.