Image credit – Champaign County Forest Preserve District

Did you know that oak trees coordinate their acorn production years, to ebb and surge together? A surge year is called a mast year, and the scientific hypothesis for the coordination is overwhelming the demand for acorns by rabbits, squirrels, deer, etc, leaving more to sprout into the mighty oaks of the future.

But there are still differences. Acorns from the white oak group will start rooting yet this fall, risking the impending freezing weather to get started growing. While acorns from the red oak group will wait, their life cycle plays out on a different schedule, with rooting taking place in the spring.

Image credit – Three Rivers Park District – Natural Resources Management

Diversity is nature’s way of trying to get around the challenges of life. Just because your life (financial, personal, or work) may not play out the way you hoped it would, or the way you see others around you having their own lives play out, doesn’t mean you’re a broken acorn. Use what strategies fit your scenario.

Are you in a white oak mast season, growing for the future now? Are you in a red oak mast season, gearing up for sprouting next season? Or is it not a mast year for you at your current stage of life, and you need a reminder that some years we just do what we can?