Beginning in late August and continuing through December - right now - various species of oak acorns are maturing and ripening for collection. Ripening dates vary from year to year and from state to state by as much as three to four weeks, making it difficult to use actual dates to determine maturity.

The best time to collect acorns, either off the tree or from the ground, is when they begin falling - just that simple. This can start as early as late September or as late as the first week in November, depending on oak tree species and location within the United States. The acorn is perfectly ripe when you can easily remove the cap.

Read this report on how to select, prepare and plant acorns for growing oaks.

Acorn Sprouting an Oak Tree - Getty Images/Don Ferrall

A representative organization of timber owners and forest industry is opposing tougher laws on timber theft and wood buyer record keeping. The Alabama Forestry Association claims that record keeping will be too expensive for the wood buyer, that the Alabama Forestry Commission has no authority to tinker with the legislative process and that the liability imposed on wood buyers would be unacceptable.

I'm sorry but I have been for tough timber theft legislation all my forestry career and this just does not pass my smell test. AFA concerns seem to support the old ideas of industry protection at the expense of timber growers. Remember, this is not just an Alabama issue and can potentially be the attitude of your state forestry association.

More on the Alabama timber theft issue:

• Full Discussion on Proposed Alabama Timber Laws
• Alabama Forestry Association Appeal to Kill the Bill

Don McClain is a farm equipment dealer and expert in harvesting pine straw. He lives in west Georgia and has been in farm equipment sales for over 30 years, mostly in hay harvesting equipment. Don owns Agriquip, Inc., a company set up to import and distribute quality baling tools. Don McClain is a big time player in the pine straw baling business and agreed to do this interview.

• Pine Needle Harvesting FAQ

Norway spruce can grow 80 to 100 feet tall and spread 25 to 40 feet in North America, though some cultivars are shrub like. It is the official Christmas tree displayed each Christmas at Rockefeller Center in New York City.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree - The Unofficial National Holiday Tree

Small-diameter branches sweep horizontally from the straight trunk which can grow to four feet thick. Branchlets droop from the branches toward the ground in a graceful, weeping fashion forming a delicate pyramid and makes a great Christmas tree.