We got strong winds today, followed by considerable rain. The combination strewed branches and tree trunks rather liberally. I was walking through the dim woods just at the tail of dusk and became aware of a much higher than usual level of noise - cracks and pops, irregular and diffuse in space. I decided that it was neither turkeys nor deer, and discarded the idea of a group of miniature monkeys. After some minutes of standing stock still, I came to the conclusion that it was the red oaks shedding their biennial load of acorns.
