Persimmons; Photo credit: fructibus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nPlants with fleshy fruits, referred to as soft mast, are producing in abundance this year at Bernheim including dogwoods, persimmons, and grapes. Persimmons are incredibly abundant this year, so heavy that some trees are bent over from the weight. These soft mast fruits are important for animals as they fatten up for winter. Species such as birds, deer, raccoons, possums, foxes, and even coyotes have been found chomping down on the fleshy fruits.<\/p>\n
Trees with nuts, referred to as hard mast, include the white oaks and are also producing well this year. The white oak acorns will begin to fall in October, and black walnut is already dropping a large crop. Nuts will provide a great food source for wildlife, and we should see animals such as squirrels, turkey, and deer thrive this fall on the abundant food source. The white oak is a keystone species at Bernheim, providing food and shelter throughout the summer for pollinators such as moths and butterflies, habitat for birds and bats that feed on insects, and later in fall feeding larger wildlife with nutritious acorns.<\/p>\n
Stay tuned as we keep you informed on fall color highlights. We hope to see you out at Bernheim soon!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bernheim has long been known as one of the best destinations in central Kentucky for fall colors. This year promises to be spectacular again, with colors beginning to show throughout […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,847,472],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Bernheim Welcomes Fall | Bernheim Forest and Arboretum<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n