The oak forests of eastern North America moved north after the last ice age in the beaks of blue jays.
When the last glaciers retreated about 10,000 years ago, the trees of eastern North America had to migrate north to recolonize the deglaciated land. Most tree seeds (maples, pines) are wind-dispersed and can travel widely.
Acorns are heavy. They fall straight down. By every reasonable model, oaks should have moved north at a rate of a few meters per year.
The fossil pollen record shows they moved closer to 350 meters per year. Faster than wind-dispersed species. Almost impossibly fast for a heavy-seeded tree.
The 1989 Johnson and Webb paper in the Journal of Biogeography identified the mechanism. Blue jays carry acorns much farther than squirrels, preferentially bury them in disturbed open ground at the right depth for germination, and forget enough of them to keep the species moving. A single 50-jay flock in Virginia was documented caching 133,000 acorns in one autumn.
The eastern oak forest, the largest deciduous forest ecosystem in North America, exists in its current form in part because of a bird most people consider a nuisance at the feeder.
DeSantis is set to sign a budget that will decrease spending the fourth year in a row while increasing teacher pay, infrastructure and the biggest environmental restoration in U.S. history in the Florida Everglades!
“Don’t tell me this can’t be done!”
DON'T YOU JUST LOVE WHEN A SITTING U.S. SENATOR FROM FLORIDA TRIES TO TRASH OUR FLORIDA...
HERE'S HIS GAME...
TRASH GOVERNOR DESANTIS
PUSH BANK FRAUD BYRON DONALDS...
THIS ASSWIPE NEEDS TO RESIGN
The Florida Homestead rebate has not been raised since 2008 when the average price of a home was $125,000. The people fighting this think our taxes should triple but we don’t get any inflation adjusted help. Talk about hypocritical. Just this metric alone makes sense.
There are also a lot of people who also don’t realize:
—the majority of residential property tax revenue taken by local governments is non-homestead residential properties
—homestead property tax revenue is a fraction of all property tax revenue which also includes commercial properties
—property tax revenue is a fraction of total revenue for large counties
—property tax revenue taken by local governments has nearly doubled in the past eight years
DRIER AIR COMING!🙌Get ready Florida for a rare June front to drop humidity later today through Thursday, Friday and this weekend! Dew points in the 50s and 60s for most across the state. Even 40s in the Panhandle! Enjoy it while we have it, this might be it for a while!
Opossums live short, difficult lives, yet they spend their nights doing work many people never see.
Most only live about one to two years in the wild. They move through backyards, forests, roadsides, and neighborhoods after dark, searching for food while avoiding cars, dogs, predators, and harsh weather. Their lives are brief, but their role in nature is meaningful.
Opossums help clean the world around you. They eat pests, insects, carrion, and sometimes even venomous snakes. They also help reduce ticks, which can carry disease. In their quiet way, they support the balance of the places they pass through.
Still, many people fear them because of how they look or because they appear at night. But opossums are usually shy, gentle animals. When scared, they often freeze, hiss, drool, or play dead because they want to survive, not attack.
Kindness can be simple. Give them space. Do not harm them. Slow down when you see one near the road. Let them keep doing the work nature gave them.
Opossums may not live long, but they leave the world cleaner than they found it.
We got Beef! Just kidding. These are some local rancher friends of ours. Great people.
We don't wish to participate or win, but we want to share their wonderful give away with you fine folks! Let them earn your business with great tasting beef too. 🤌🏻🥩✨️
Two Florida House Republicans voted NO on property tax relief.
Yes, you read that right.
Florida homeowners are demanding relief from unjust property taxes — yet @TheFLGOP Rep. Patt Maney and Rep. Nathan Boyles voted against the Save Our Homes bill (CS/HJR 1F).
Ask them why.