You Know It's Autumn When You Start Stepping on Acorns Everywhere

Although North San Luis Obispo County is best known for its wine grapes, the oak trees got here first. Now they are dropping acorns everywhere. The photo shows my neighbor's oak tree across the street in autumn.

A very long time ago,  that tree started like so many others - as an acorn that fell into the ground  and got

buried in dirt and watered by rain. After it sprouted and grew a few leaves it probably looked somewhat like this.

The trees grow very fast. It won't be long before this little tree is a foot or two off the ground. in a couple of years it might be over one's head. If they aren't growing where you want them, it's easy  to pull them   when   they are tiny, like the one in the photo or about three inches high. If they get much bigger they are harder to remove. If you wait too long, if they get too large, it might be against the law to remove them at all.

This is what the ground looks like under my neighbor's tree. The acorns and leaves fall fast at this time of year. Fortunately, my neighbor is very conscientious about removing the debris from his tree. It's easy to slip and fall on an acorn because it can roll.

Are there acorns on the ground where you  live? Have you seen any baby oaks where they don't belong?

Learn more about California oak trees.

 Oaks of California

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