From Serious Eats From the Washington Post: "'Once I started paying attention, I couldn't find any acorns anywhere. Not from white oaks, red oaks or black oaks, and this was supposed to be their big year,' said Greg Zell, a naturalist at Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington. 'We're talking zero. Not a single acorn. It's really bizarre.'"...
First it was the bees. Then, something strange is happening to acorns: this year, there are no acorns in "I’m used to seeing so many acorns around and out in the field, it’s something I just didn’t believe," he said. "But this is not just not a good year for oaks. It’s a zero year. There’s zero production. I’ve never seen anything like this before." The absence of acorns could have something to do with the weather, Simmons thought. But he hoped it wasn’t a climatic event. "Let’s hope it’s not something ghastly going on with the natural world." To...
SCIENCE BUZZ: The Oak trees around Maryland are producing literally no acorns this year, and the squirrels are going nuts looking for food. There are a few differing theories, but nobody really knows why. It's the mystery of the missing acorns! Contribute: Add an image, link, video or comment » The Best Links: Acorn Watchers Wonder What Happened to Crop The Case of the Missing Acorns No Acorns in DC This Year Where’d All The Acorns Go? First The Bats, Now Acorns?...
Please allow me to sing the praises of persimmons. Bright orange persimmons are about the last fruit to ripen in the fall. There are two main types of persimmons, and I have both in my yard: fuya and hachiya. Persimmons come from China originally but the common varieties that we find in California are from Japan. The fuya persimmon is round, more like an apple, while the hachiya is distinctively acorn-shaped. Fuya are ripe now, while the hachiya ripen later. Fuya The best thing about the fuya is that it can be sliced and eaten like an apple or not-quite-ripe...
Man, how many times have I seen a girl I was attracted to, mugged her, and entered into a suicide pact with her, only to have her re-steal what I rightfully stole and leave me to a violent demise, heartbroken and alone? Probably one hundred times. That's why this Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs trailer really speaks to me: I also just really love that acorn-loving fool and any over-sexualized CGI animal, so I'm sitting in a penthouse in Thrilled City right now....
From Serious Eats Photograph from Carol Mitchell on Flickr "The sky is falling!" That's what Chicken Little said and then panicked after an acorn dropped on his head. Even though he comes from a fable, it appears chickens might be terrified of things in the sky. In London, the Telegraph reported claims from a farmer that the presence of hot air balloons were causing her chickens to go into hysteria. But, in their attempt to hide, the birds bump into enough other frightened poultry, or walls, causing their unlaid eggs to explode inside their bodies, killing them. This bit of...
At last, someone interviews my doppelganger and pal, President-elect Hussein Panther Acorn Obama's Special Advisor on Terrorizing, Bill Ayers. (Like Joe Biden, he's allowed to talk to the media again!) Even better, the "someone" is head New Yorker honcho David Remnick. Nothing you wouldn't expect, but it's helpful to be reminded of the context of the Weather Underground and the nature of this thoughtful, socially committed man. But mostly the point of this post is to wonder if this is what I'm destined to look like when I'm old?...
