By Lynne Adkins

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — You clear off the front walk only to have another thousand acorns drop the next day.  If you have an oak tree on your property, you’ve noticed that the acorns started dropping early this year, and all too often.

Paul Meyer, executive director of the Morris Arboretum in Chestnut Hill, says the oak trees are loaded this year. But he says that, contrary to superstition, that doesn’t indicate we’ll have a colder than normal winter.

“The conditions during the time of pollination is key (for the production of acorns),” he tells KYW Newsradio.  “Now if you think back to last spring, everyone was complaining about all the oak pollen all over their car and causing allergies and so forth.   We had a very heavy flower set.”

So now, the trees are loaded with acorns, and the squirrels are  fat and happy — but for us it’s just a big mess and more work.