BEECHMAST

Beechmast - the nuts of the beech tree.  This year seems to be a good 'mast year' as there are nuts all over the floor beneath beech trees.  Crunching along the path under our two big beech trees, I realised that it was not just the prickly shells. 

There were loads of the three-sided nuts as well.  This should be good food for winter finches as well as those pesky squirrels.

Beeches and oaks attempt to flood the market with nuts and acorns every few years in a mast year, while only producing a few in the intervening years.  This way at least some of the seeds will survive to start new trees.