"The year 2006 has been the Year of the Acorn. I had to rake a carpet of acorns from one corner of the lawn where, in previous years, it has been hard to find a single ripe acorn. I have learned that oaks all over Britain have produced bumper crops. So, it has been a 'mast year'. The Old English word maest described the fruit of trees and can be used for feeding livestock, but the word is now often applied specifically to the fruits of Beech."