Signs of Life

This fall we saw a bumper crop of oak acorns on the Farm. The woods were noisy with the sound of falling acorns, and one needed to be vigilant to not be struck broadside on a walk. It takes an oak tree about 20 years before it reaches maturity and begins producing acorns. The first crops from a young oak tree tend to be very thin. It can take an additional 50 years before an oak tree reaches a point of maturity where it can produce a really healthy crop of acorns. Even when an oak reaches this point it will often alternate years of great acorn production because of the immense effort required to produce so many acorns. Once acorns are developing they face animals, blights, molds, and insects before having an opportunity to germinate and produce a green shoot of life. One reference suggested that an acorn may have a 1/10,000 chance of actually becoming an oak tree. Given this, it an oak tree could be 50 or 60 years old before its produced enough acorns for one of them to actually be able to replace it. The life cycle of forests is amazing.

This fall while on a walk I filled my pockets with lots of acorns and decided that I need to plant them in cans. I was determined to help these little guys get past the 1/10,000 odds. The property we're on has lots of white oaks which can be planted immediately (acorns from red oaks should be stored and planted in the spring time).

So I pulled out some brightly colored gingham fabric, tin cans, and craft glue spray and decorated a couple of new "pots". After filling them with potting soil I sorted through the acorns and picked out the heaviest and healthiest looking ones. The chosen few were planted with much anticipation. I made a couple mistakes, namely not watering them frequently enough and after a few months I thought they were dead. I was planning to hang onto them until spring when the contents of the little pots would be tossed out as compost for the forest floor.



But alas! Mike and I came home from Minnesota and found signs of life in the drafty, cold front entryway of the Farmhouse. There is one little green shoot in each can. Hope springs eternal! It's hard to not think of this in spiritual terms. So often we work diligently to pour into someone or to overcome something, but it is really not our timing that can produce that sign of life. Only the natural timing of our Father who is Author and Creator. Now I'm anticipating planting these little saplings where we move in the spring so we can be reminded of how growth is not of our making.

Look closely, there's a little green leaf in the bottom of the can!