There’s a huge oak tree in front of the church where I work. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a familiar crunch as I walked past it – the sound of fallen acorns crumbling beneath my shoes. I spent another day or so crunch crunching, then started attempting to walk around them. I can only imagine what someone watching my arrival must have thought as I zig zagged my way across the parking lot. Oh well, I live to entertain. After a day or two more of my circuitous strolling, I decided instead of crunching or avoiding them, I’d stoop to pick some up.

Every day this week I tossed three or four in my lunch bag with no thought other than they’re too cute to destroy or ignore. These little harbingers of autumn could surely be used for something other than sound effects, even if they just filled a jar on my mantel. My arrival at work morphed into a mini nature walk and Mother Nature did her part to ensure I enjoyed them by dropping temps to near record lows during what’s usually one of the hottest weeks in August.

This morning, as I cleaned out my lunch bag and scanned my living room, looking for a place to put my collection, I saw the wool felt balls still adorning my coffee table. I warmed up my glue gun and fitted each of the acorn caps with these soft and colorful little bodies. Two dozen of them barely fill the tiny heart-shaped dish I chose to display them, but the addition of these bright bits of nature to my living room has an impact so much greater than their size.

Acorns in August remind me that soon I’ll be back to making sweater pumpkins and clay leaves, burning fall scented candles, and giving thanks for the chill in the air. These acorns in particular will always remind me to pay attention and find the potential in what’s around me. I promise this is as far as my “fall decorating” will go until this year’s fall equinox. I will let August be August, walk through what’s left of it slowly and enjoy it for what it is. But when August gives me acorns I figure I’m allowed to use them.