Sneezy Season and we have Catkins

 

Our tree is either the one above or a Laurel Oak. there are 16 varieties of Florida Oak Trees, we have the leaves from 3 different types from our trees and the neighbors. if you zoom on the photo you can see the details, they are also in our house, they love to ride on shoes, feet and DOGS

photos I took of our driveway edges. they are also in all our grass; the ground is covered.

Every single catkin on the tree is now down on the ground. In research to find what they are called, I found things I never knew. I knew the fall in March, and we sneeze our heads off.

Oak catkins serve a crucial role in the reproductive cycle of oak trees. 

Reproduction: each strand is tiny male flowers while on the tree, when they off they are dead and full of pollen.  

Food Source: Oak catkins are an essential food source bees, butterflies, and birds. They also play a role in the production of honey and wax 4.

Acorn Development: The female flowers, which are tiny with fine filaments, catch the pollen. Once pollinated, they develop into acorns, which are the seeds of oak trees 1.

So, next time you see those oak catkins falling from the branches, remember their vital role in the oak tree’s life cycle!

They are made light weight and like tumble weeds roll into clusters and the wind blows them everywhere to spread all the yellow pollen that is on every surface as far as we can see. It is the job of each of our oak trees to feed our world. I never knew this.

NEVER rake and bag and send to the landfill. They are harmless, and much needed part of our eco system. Rake and use as mulch is the best thing to do or rake them in the grass and mulch them with lawn mower. WEAR a MASK. they can be placed in compost but that is the least good way to use them.

This LINK is a good article on them but there are so many things the info here is a mixture of reading a lot of pages.

Before they fall

After they fall, this is a male catkin that I found had fallen on one of our orange hisbicus.
Just for you Rosy and Sunny

Joining Rosy and Sunny for Nature Friday at The LLB Life

We are Tree Lovers

 

Photo from 2 weeks ago, our  the tree in the middle is ours,  the tree on the right is on the other side of the fence in neighbor's yard.

Friday AM we heard chain saws and much to our dismay there were tree monkeys in the tree taking it down.

Lunch time it was like this 

and when they were done like this.

they left and we thought the next day they would take the stump down.

Saturday at noon I heard Chain Saws again.

the large tree just over the peaked roof, with vines hanging down to it?

That is the neighbors front yard tree.

Tree monkey were sawing limbs like mad.

The trees were beautiful and healthy, and we could not think why they were taking them down.

We did a lot of mumbling and grumbling because we love trees, all trees and all the trees in our block were the reason we bought the house in 1989.

Suddenly a loud knock on the door and the neighbor was standing there. He said, they are in your tree taking off alll the limbs that are hanging over my yard, and they offered to trim your side for a really good price.

I stepped outside because i did not want Bob to know they were IN OUR 100-year-old oak tree with SAWS. I said to the neighbor, we love that tree and Florida law says you can cut limbs over your property legally but

when my husband finds out he will have a   s**t fit and you do not want to hear that. Yes I said that.

I said why are you taking down all your trees?

he said we don't want the limbs to fall on our fence. 

To me that is like saying, I think I will burn my house, so the hurricane can't blow it down.

I said, go ahead and do it but be prepared for a really unhappy and angry Bob.

He ran over under the tree and yelled up to the monkey with the saw and said STOP don't cut any more. 

Seet that part that that is over our roof at bottom left? it's gone.

the plan was to take half of the tree down.

leaving half a tree, OV VEY! 

The tree has been there longer than we have been alive, the two they took down were 

at least 50 years old.

The fence has been there, or one like it since 1989 and no limbs every fell on it.

Twice hurricane winds blew it flat, but no limbs fell.

It was a near miss.

We are tree lovers, our world needs trees, unless they are about to cause harm, rotted or dying

Trees help clean the air we breathe.

they filter the water we drink.

they provide habitats for wildlife, 

OUR OWLS live There. the barred owls, the screech owls, they sit in that tree and keep our 

yards clear of rodents. the squirrels we feed, and love live in that tree, 

Trees Absorb harmful carbons from the air.

did you know Aspirin is made from the bark of trees?

I took this for this post from our front porch. He was about to saw off that limb that goes off to the left and looks like it touches our house.

The tree is safe for now, we hope all the limbs they removed do not cause the tree to rot.

The tree is nowhere near his home.

last but no least, our power bill will skyrocket. The trees they removed shaded our roof, now the sun is blasting on us and our thermometer hanging on that end of our house said 100 degrees last night at 5 pm and the yard temp was 89 degrees. 

I close this tirade, rant, with we hate the view of that 10-foot-tall stump.