If you are going to be a tree....be an oak!

  Live Oak Trees have massive and strong roots. To my feeble way of thinking, it seems that we all need a good set of sound roots to survive. Just like the oak tree that stands strong during a hurricane, if our roots are solid and run deep, we can withstand most anything that is thrown against us. 

  I was pondering this fact as I hiked down the hillside to the old oak tree that sits near the marsh edge. This tree has been here as long as I can remember.   During their childhood years, my kids climbed the limbs and pretended to conquer the world.  Like a kindly grandfather, the tree wrapped its limbs about them and cradled them from falling.  It protected them.  Now, I gain a lot of strength from this old tree.  Its roots tie me to the Bayou.  It limbs shelter me from storms.  It just plumb makes me happy.  In the midst of Hurricane Katrina, Mark and I watched as the storm surge sent huge waves over the top of the tree's limbs.  At the time, we thought sure that the old oak would topple.  It did not.  It held strong and survived where as dozens of other trees were uprooted.  The oak tree's roots ran deep.  They sprawled out in many directions and each grabbed hold to the soil with a massive strength.  Our tree withstood the beating and never faltered.  

  We need to be more like that old tree.  If we could send down good, solid roots as to have stability and yet throw our arms skyward to show compassion, our own lives would be far better.

The "New" Reading List

  I am happy to find that reading is quite back in style.  For years, the charm of a book seemed to slip from everyday life of many folks.  The introduction of electronics in our era left many to almost despise the good old paper print.  Gone were the times spent with a leather-bound volume in hand.  Instead, a hard piece of plastic with a glaring screen ruined our eyes.  Lately, though, more and more folks are turning back the clocks in favor of a good book.  How much better does it get?

  This morning, I received a late Christmas gift from my daughter, Elizabeth.  A large envelope came in the mail and when I opened it, I found a wonderful book!  Well, there starts my resolve to read more actual books.  This book is just the beginning of hopefully many to be read this year.  Elizabeth and I are in the midst of planning the next Clue Hunt on the Bayou and she explained that the book might come in handy.  Actually, she got me several such books and each will be used as reference points after I read them.  This book, however, will be the first on my list!

  The book, "Legends and Lyrics of the Gulf Coast (1896)" by Laura Fenling Hinsdale is a collection of poems first printed back in the late 1800s.  Each is centered around legends or places of the Coast which is exactly the theme of the upcoming clue hunt.  Some of these, I have read before.  Some have been handed down verbally.  Still others are totally new to this southern gal.  

  As I skimmed over a few of the verses, I knew that I needed more time to delve into this collection than just the few minutes in between the kumquat marmalade canning and the bread-baking.  THIS, my friends, is a book to be enjoyed and not just read!  So starts my reading list for the year of 2015!