Well, if the above title happened to be the answer to a Jeopardy question, what would that question be?

I’d say “In Autumn, this is something that falls on your head and goes thunk, thanks to the squirrels who scramble around on the branches above where you are walking – what is it?”

In my humble opinion, those mischievous squirrels purposely pelt those acorns at humans, then wear a defiant look when you sneer at them after it bounces off your noggin.

Leaves are not the only things that are falling from the trees these days, and those acorns sure pack a punch sometimes.

Whenever I see an acorn, I am reminded of a book of proverbs and quotations that my mom bought for me many years ago. I’ve often mentioned in my blog posts that I circulated a daily quotation, which I entitled “Thought for Today”, for many years.  This was long before I had a computer at home, and our work computers were dummy terminals, which were networked within our office only.  We had an archaic-style of e-mail communication, but we had no access to the internet.  That would come many years later, after Y2K.  To produce my daily “Thought”, I’d peruse some of my collection of books that were brimming with quotations on different subjects.

One book in particular was chockfull of “country wisdom” and it contained a lot of proverbs. A good deal of the quotations were not attributed to anyone in particular, just sayings or wisdom passed down from generation to generation, like this little gem …

“Today’s mighty oak is just yesterday’s nut that held its ground.”

I see a lot of oak trees in my daily travels down Emmons Boulevard. It’s hard to believe that these magnificent and sprawling trees, which host their share of beautiful songbirds or sometimes-cantankerous squirrels, all began with a tiny acorn.

But, I’ve been around long enough to watch a few trees in my very own neighborhood, that once were tiny saplings, and now provide beautiful shade to dip under on a hot day. My next-door neighbor, for example, has a beautiful red maple, that one time was just a pesky “helicopter seed” which landed in some dirt and began to grow like crazy, just  like Jack’s beanstalk.  At first, it was a hoot to see how the former homeowners nurtured this maple seedling, first by staking it to a ruler, and putting a small wire fence around it.  I wouldn’t have given it much hope, but, today it is large and takes up most of the City property.  It is especially beautiful in Autumn when the leaves are ablaze in red and yellow tones.

The other day, as I wandered along Winchester Avenue, having been diverted by the detour for the Boulevard’s sewer renovation, I came upon a tall and skinny maple sapling. It was about six feet high, and the base of its trunk remained “planted” in some dirt within an old Folger’s decaf coffee can.  That can was literally rising out of the ground, listing to one side, and was split at the bottom from the expanding tree roots.  On a lark, someone must have buried the entire can with the maple seed inside, never expecting it to amount to much.  So, there was some grit and determination going on when that seedling sprouted and became a young sapling.  Some day it will look just like my neighbor’s tree.

So, are you thinking Fall thoughts as we usher in our new season, on a day where Summer is obviously still in overtime bigtime?

Autumn weather, and all its beauty, will be here quickly enough. Soon, we will be shivering and wishing for just a little of that Summer warmth that we complained about.

As we fall into Fall, on the calendar anyway, it is hard to believe that there are only 100 days left in 2016.

Speaking of falling … Sir Isaac Newton’s Theory of Universal Gravitation does not apply to the acorn pictured above. No apples or acorns were harmed during this photo opportunity.  Nor did they harm a single human.  I saw this drawing last week and couldn’t help but take a photo of  it to use for the first day of Fall.

I miss glancing at the sidewalk to see what colorful renderings the chalk artist has created since I last happened by. I think the only renderings he or she is creating now, are doodles on a looseleaf page with a number two pencil once boredom sets in while class is in session.  I have a few more to share in future posts, because that chalk artist was quite prolific.