Acorn and Ant

Acorn and Ant
About 11 years ago Jan's colleague Ann presented us with an oak tree in a flower pot. She'd taken a few acorns from a tree in the town park, planted them, and worked her usual magic until she had several small oak tree saplings, about 20 cm high, whence she passed one on to us.
We planted it in the garden and I remember making a joke about using it for one end of a hammock. Now, ten years later the oak is 5 meters tall and would definitely support a hammock. Obviously I should have planted two!  
This year is the first one where we have got acorns, albeit rather small and green acorns.  The wood ants seem very interested in the acorns but I couldn't see what it was they were doing. They weren't trying to carry the acorns away. Despite their ambitious work ethic this would have been too much of a load for them. Nor did they seem to be eating the acorns, or going for any pests. I'll keep my eye on them and see if the mystery is revealed.
When we planted the oak we knew that oak trees could grow this far north, along the coast and a bit inland, but we were told they could not reproduce naturally. Recently I was shown one that had definitely not been planted but was growing in a friend's forest near their house. Out on a walk with Rose, a year or two back, we found an area on the edge of town with many young oak saplings scattered amongst other trees where the mature forest had been felled.
So now I think global warming has worked its spell and oaks are spreading northward. One of the main spreaders of acorns are jays, which are very common here. They carry acorns off and bury them in caches, and sometimes they don't return, and the acorn takes it chance to start growing.
Other news...  I picked a batch of redcurrants this morning and froze them for those winter breakfasts. They looked good glowing in the sunlight so they are here as an extra.
Work continues on the veranda step/extension. I realised I needed to remove more soil to leave enough of an air space under the planks, and I worked out how many supports I needed in my frame to which the planks will be screwed.  That job won't be completed tomorrow because we are out in the evening, but the next full day of day should see it done.
Life goes on, and it is good!