I am reliably informed by my neighbour Bethany, that the years when nut trees produce a much larger crop of nuts than usual is called a mast year. This year is a mast year for walnuts.
Apparently it is part of a general reproduction strategy for trees. The pigs, squirrels and other animals that feed on the nuts establish a size of population that reliably consumes all or nearly all of the nuts available in any year. Then a mast year comes along and there are more nuts than can possibly be consumed, and those that remain therefore have a chance to germinate and make more trees;
Certainly, there are more nuts than I can sensibly gather, shell and eat.
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