It's Been a Very Mast Year

All growing season, I've been dealing with a mystery creature (bird or mammal, I had no idea) which has been digging in my flower pots and hanging baskets.  It started in the spring, and I know that sometimes birds pester the hanging baskets.  I've had birds who tried to build nests in them.  Others will look for nesting material.  I can deal with the birds.

The damage stopped for a while, but started up again several weeks ago.  I tried everything I could think of.

Hard to see, but the damage is in that big dark area

One day, I caught the culprit in the act.  It was a squirrel, happily taking a dirt bath in a planter that used to have pansies in it until they were torn out.


Now, google "how to deal with squirrels".  I don't know how common squirrels are outside of North America, so I'll just explain they are rodents with beautiful, bushy tails and the cutest antics, until they start destroying your house or garden.  Here in the Binghamton area, they are grey and brown.  When I lived in Arkansas, I remember a lot of black squirrels.

Cute chipmunk - one of zillions at the Broome County Courthouse

We also have to deal with chipmunks, which are smaller, faster and perhaps cuter.  But they can be destructive, too.

This year, in upstate New York, there has been an overabundance of both squirrels and chipmunks.  The other day, my guest photographer told me why.  2015 was what scientists call a "mast year".  It was a year when, for reasons yet somewhat unknown, all the oak trees got together and decided to create tons and tons (and tons) of acorns.

Mast years occur between every two and every five years.  Lucky us.  Yes, oaks go through cycles with their acorns.  Some years there aren't too many.  Other years, walking in the woods is like walking on marbles.

Additionally, we had our super warm (for us) winter.  Between the mast year and the warm weather, the squirrel and chipmunk populations have exploded.  And I am ready to explode after seeing more of their damage yesterday.

Now, I have sad news for my readers in the Northeast United States.

2016 is another mast year. Yes, two in a row.  My guest photographer can testify to that. At her home in rural Broome County, acorns hit her metal roof all day long.  It sounds like an artillery attack.

It's hard to keep up.

If you are looking here for a solution to your squirrel or chipmunk problem, I'm sorry, but I don't have one.  I wish I did.

By the way, there is no connection between mast years and severity of the next winter. Mast year last year.  Warmest winter ever, as I recall.  So, who knows.  Maybe our unusually warm days this October will translate into....

nah.

Day 20 of the #Ultimate Blog Challenge.