I sat in the swing pondering this morning and marveled at how just a few swipes of God’s white pastel drew some wisps of clouds on the dark blue sky canvas. Later I sat in the swing and watched the dark blue sky gather her cotton ball clouds, bleached white, rounded and fluffy, rolling them in and covering the horizon. So pretty and clean looking in the bright sun.

Mother Nature has turned up the heat and humidity today. The heat index is 125 degrees now at 2 pm. I had to make a quick run to the grocery store and my glasses fogged up when I got out of the car. Town got a five minute downpour and me, within walking distance to town, just got a few sprinkles. The pavement in the parking lot was just radiating heat and humidity. I hear some thunder now. Father Sky is calling his thunderheads and Mother Nature is helping them along with a swift wind. The bamboos are lining up for their conga lines, the wind chimes have started their loud tintinnabulation symphony, and the clouds are bursting with rain. Everything will be so pretty and green after these rain showers.

Went out to walk Penelope at dusk and the sky was glorious in the colors of a beautiful ripe peach. The whole horizon was watercolor painted in muted pinks, oranges and light purples. The sun setting was a blinding orange ball. She was laying her head down with a soft peach kiss to the nighttime sky. These raspberry sunsets just fascinate me. And to think of all the years I’ve missed enjoying them. I’ve read winter sunsets are more spectacular. Looking forward to these winter masterpieces.

When I was filling up the suet feeders this morning I was looking up in the branches of my big water oak to see if there were any more dead limbs for the squirrels to ride to the ground. Only two more limbs to go and I’ll be back parking in the driveway. The limbs are not too big. While I was looking up an acorn fell and hit me on the head. The “small nut of the mighty oak.” I had been noticing the acorns in the yard and on the sidewalks and I’m thinking it seems kinda early for acorn fallings.

I picked up the double acorn and noticed how beautiful it was, how intricately the acorn caps were carved. The caps look like a woodcut artist created a khatamband on the acorns’ cup shaped caps. One acorn was colored mossy forest green and the other was coffee with creamer tannish, a little darker than their brownish caps. Both clinging to a little stem. I don’t think they were through growing, just got knocked off too soon. Their caps are bigger than their bodies. Got enamored with these little acorns and the big water oak so I did a little reading and discovered the water oak is also called the possum oak. Man, does that explain my yard critters! Possums are found lots of time in the hollow parts of the water oaks and three times this summer they were found in my house!

There is lots of symbolism in the little acorn that becomes a mighty oak. The acorn symbolizes our potential, our growth, and our prosperity. The oak tree symbolizes strength, longevity, and endurance. We can compare our lives to the acorn and to the oak tree it becomes. The little acorn grows and puts down roots where it falls from the tree. Nature places the acorn on the earth’s floor. Some thrive, some die. Just as a young tree needs nurturing, we’re born and nurtured in our family’s bond, connected to our family and our ancestors through our roots. We grow and evolve through changes like the acorn changes and grows to become a tree. Our trunks stand straight and tall as we mature. Just as the oak struggles with wind and rain and blistering sun, we struggle with stumbling blocks along our journey.

Like the mighty oak tree, we learn how to be strong in the face of adversity and learn to stand our ground and weather our storms. We all have the potential to grow and prosper but we have to be resilient to the changes and the struggles we face along our journey.

Faith can be an acorn in our lives, too, a symbol of new beginnings. We need to plant our acorns deep in our Christian faith. We need to nurture our faith through prayer and let our faith help us grow tall and and strong. We all have potential like the oak tree that once grown spreads it branches to reach for the sun. We all need to grow and spread our arms toward the sun, praising the Lord for giving us breath, seizing the day, and grasping our dreams.

“The strongest oak tree of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the the sun. It’s the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun,” — Napoleon Hill