Acorns falling on your head?

[Boar]

Ws in my buds yard recently an his yard was full of acorns, bare feet woulnt work there, were emptied his lader an started to fill it up with acorns, (sorry HB, couldnt resist). But really. his yard was littered. First time I was glad to see acorn droping, buy hunting time they should almost gone hopefully, an bear on the pile. But on the other hand my one site has chocke cherries ripening, let the games begin! Anyone else see the acorns?

[reinhard1]

my driveway has been full of acorns as well. they have been poppin for awhile now. good luck.

[Wanderer]

Just started seeing them in my yard. Big and green right now but pretty soon they'll be all over the place again.

[JIvers]

White oak acorns, or red, black, scarlet, pin or burr oak acorns?

I ask because the much sweeter white oak acorns are very much the favorite of wildlife. Deer, turkey, and other critters will eat acorns from red/black/scarlet/ pin oaks and those from burr oaks, but white oak acorns are much preferred.

White oak acorns are smooth, narrow, and pointed, and often have a sprout coming out the tip when they fall.

Red oak acorns are usually larger than those of black, pin, and scarlet oak, but the acorns of all these very closely related species (they're often lumped together as "red oak") are more round than are white oak acorns.

Burr oak acorns are also roundish, but unlike red, scarlet, black and pin oak acorns those from burr oak have a fringe on their caps. This fringe makes them easy to tell them from the acorns of other oak species in Minnesota.

[Boar]

guesse im not sure but they pull bear of my bait wen they fall, so I dont think the species make to much difference for me. Post some pics cuse Id actually like to know wat kind is in my river botom

[JIvers]

Here are some white oak acorns--notice the narrow shape. These are sweeter, and the preferred type for wildlife to eat:

Below are red oak acorns--notice how much rounder they are than white oak acorns. Red, scarlet, and black oak acorns are the same shape as red oak acorns, but they tend to be smaller. Scarlet oak acorns often have thin reddish stripes on them.

The caps on both white oak acorns, and those of red, scarlet, black, and pin oaks, are smooth. The shape is the best way to tell the difference...besides checking the tree they came from, of course.

Below are burr oak acorns. They are round like red oak acorns, but have a sort of buckskin-looking fringe on the cap that sets burr oak acorns apart. As noted above, wildlife will eat all types of acorns, but they prefer white oak.

Odds are the acorns in your yard are burr oak, or red/scarlet/black/pin oak. White oak is better for wildlife, but they are more difficult to grow, as their seedlings require more direct sun than the other kinds of oak, and critters love to eat white oak acorns before they get a chance to grow.

[CANOPY SAM]

Oh MY! As I slowly scrolled down thru each post my eyes quickly widened halfway thru that first pic! Are those acorns?

I miss all the white oaks we had around Grand Rapids. Beautiful trees, and great for cutting and splitting for firewood when standing dead.

Thanks for posting the great pics! Good info to know.

[Boar]

Cool thanks for the lesson, now I know wats dropping in the woods. Great stuff

[Wanderer]

Yep, Burr Oaks in my yard. I crack one open every once in while and munch on it. They remind me of a filbert. My dog loves to graze on them; she'll pick one up with delicate nip to pop off the cap, give it one good crunch to split it open and drop the whole works on the ground so she can pick up the good stuff without the shell. She's very efficient.

I tried keeping her from doing it and tell her "No" but she loves em and has yet to have any problems resulting from her snacks. I figure just about every critter in the woods that can eat acorns does so really, it's pretty natural.

[HNTNBUX]

And the bears ate them up pretty good last year too. Don't let your dog eat them all.

[bigbucks]

I believe that burr oaks are actually in the white oak family aren't they? I was always told that pointed oak leaves are red oak family & rounded oak leaves are white oak family.

It looks like burr leaves are rounded.

[Wanderer]

I've heard red oak acorns are bitter but I haven't tried them. I haven't seen many white oak acorns and haven't tried them either but they get good reviews. I liked the pictorial that was posted. I think those images will stick with me longer than the leaf formations. I've heard what you're saying bigbucks about leaf shape but I have a hard time remembering it when I'm looking at the leaves.

I can smell oaks from time to time. Kind of peppery if you ask me. The other day I caught the smell of a grove on my way home from work with the windows rolled down. It hit me clear as day and reminded me how much more the deer are aware of where the food is than we are.

HNTNBUX, I have the leaf blower back up and running. If the crop is good I should be able to get more for you this year than last since I only gave you what I swept off the driveway before.

[Bear55]

Red oaks are bitter, I have tried them. Going to have to give the whites a taste.

[CANOPY SAM]

While driving from Northern Minnesota to Milwaukee, Wisconsin this week, I drove thru huge stretches of beautiful White Oak forest between Superior, WS, south to Eau Claire.

Giant, tall, slender trunked white oaks everywhere! And yes, you can smell them.

I absolutely love the smell of a fresh cut and split chunk of white or red oak. No other wood smells quite like it. White Oaks are wood burners dream come true.

[bigbucks]

Seems like most of the white oaks in my area are the really large diameter trees. They seem to live forever. We've got several huge ones that were huge 30-40 years ago. The red oaks don't seem to get as big on the average & seem to die more often.

I hear you on them being the wood burner's dream. I personally love the smell of freshly split ash. I have a lot of it as they keep dying.