(Writer’s Note: The popular Pinterest website has modern homemakers viewing the pages and pages of ideas for creating meals, home decor or clothing. Months ago, my nephew’s wife saw a wreath made from acorns. The picture of the shiny autumn acorns absolutely glows in the picture she shared on her family-only website. I could see why it captured her attention. After posting the picture of her completed wreath, she recorded the following saga of the creation made of acorns.)
I saw this wreath online and immediately thought, “This should be easy! And cheap! I’ll do it!” That was months ago when acorn season was long over. So, I waited and waited until this fall. I envisioned myself finding an oak tree, scooping up a bagful of acorns and spending a few hours assembling my wreath.
I looked for oak trees. I couldn’t find an oak tree. I became obsessed with oak trees. There are maple and walnut trees around me, even sycamore and sassafras, but not many oak trees. I thought about it, but I was loath to steal acorns from the park across the street – not that I had seen any acorns there.
I looked online. People sell acorns. I could buy enough acorns for the wreath for $40 with shipping. That seemed counterproductive.
I waited and fumed. “Where are all the acorns when I want some?”
Finally, I sent out an e-mail to my home school group, asking if anyone had some acorns I could gather.
Responses came. Some informed me that their acorn crops were poor this year due to the odd spring we had. Some were willing to go out and gather the few they had. A woman I don’t know saw acorns at Houghton College while dropping off her son and gathered a bag for me. They were great but it was not enough.
Then, my friend Debra invited our family to her mom’s lake house. As soon as we pulled up, the kids spotted a profusion of beautiful acorns. We spent a happy time gathering acorns. I figured we had enough.
I gathered supplies to make a wreath of acorns. We glued acorns and acorns and more acorns. When the wreath was about 90 percent completed, I ran out of acorns.
I had figured wrong.
It was so close. I just wanted to finish that wreath.
Fanatically, I looked for acorns on family trips. I think I spent more time at the festival this fall looking at the town’s trees than at the festival. I saw neatly manicured lawns with oak trees that sported nary a nut. I read that there is an Oak Savannah near our house. Near dusk one evening a contingent from the family visited. They had an interesting experience but their bags came back empty.
Desperation lowered my inhibitions. I went driving through the park across the street scanning the roadside for oak trees. To my surprise, I actually saw quite a few. I would park, jump out and begin scanning the ground. No acorns!
I began sending out my young son Joshua to spy out the land.
“Oh, Mommy, I think I found one!”
“Great! Before I get out … do you see another one?”
“Oh, wait … oh, look!”
“What?”
“A mushroom!”
“Oh. Do you see acorns?”
“OH! I see an ant hill. With WHITE ants!”
“But, do you see acorns?”
“No.”
Around the 10th stop, we found a tree and competed with a local squirrel for 20 tiny acorns.
They were really too small to bother.
Then one beautiful fall afternoon as we took a hike around Round Pond and climbed steep hills, we walked into a grove of oak trees with enough acorns on the ground beneath the trees to complete the last 10 percent of the wreath with big, beautiful acorns.
And, so, I made a wreath. It was cheap. It was easy to make. But before we made the wreath we had this saga of gathering enough acorns for my fall wreath.
So Tara has her wreath. It looked quite nice in her picture.
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