Seasonal Color

John said I should take a picture of the brown leaves on the oak trees. I pointed out that they were hardly seasonal since they were fried in the fire and do not fall off like seasonal deciduous brown leaves.  They are permanent unless we have them removed. 

I settled instead for the acorns which are turning yellow.  I've never seen (or noticed) them turning this color but they are far, far more numerous and much bigger than we have ever seen them . They fall like little grenades and lurk on the patio like ball bearings under the foot of the unsuspecting. They're still quite soft when they fall and tend to squash rather than roll underfoot. I go out and collect them and put them in a cracked bowl that is half buried in the garden as an 'ornament'. 

There are two theories about why the acorns are so large and so plentiful this year. The Farmer's Almanac says that an extra large crop portends rain. The more likely theory is that it a last gasp effort to reproduce themselves before they die. 

I like the Farmer's Almanac theory. The charming ones in the picture haven't yet released from their caps, and the tree on which they are growing looks quite healthy compared to some of the others. 

Thanks to Ingeborg for hosting this, er, challenging challenge....