Faith, Folklore, and Friends

I know you have heard them. They are widespread in Alabama and the rest of the southern states. They sing from treetops, power lines, and rooftops. The mockingbird's scientific name is Mimus ployglottos, which means 'many-tongued mimic'. The naturalist John Borroughs called it "the lark and the nightingale in one". The mockingbird can imitate other birds' song so accurately that only electronic analysis can detect the difference. They can have hundreds of songs or noises that they imitate, in addition to songs of their own. They have been heard imitating gate hinges, dogs barking, whistles, calls of frogs and insects in addition to various bird songs. It is rather plain-looking, this mockingbird, this most remarkable songbird. Perhaps he mimics the songs of other to make up for the fact that he is plain, gray and white with no splashes of blue, yellow, or deep red to brighten the landscape. Maybe he just doesn't like his own song, thinking it inadequate wh...

Get ready. A hush is over everything Silent as women wait for love; The world is waiting for the spring. Sara Teasdale

There comes a time when we must rest. Physically, we have no problem understanding this. Surely, we have all been to the place where the effort of putting one foot in front of the other seemed impossible, when we fall asleep as soon as we sit down. So tired that we can feel every bone with their individual aches. Rest is the only thing that will help us, restore us. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done. Genesis 2:2-3. Emotionally, it's a little harder. The things that drain us emotionally--stress related to family, finances, whatever--is not so easily shut off, lingering with us during what should be our restful times. What should I do? How can I manage that? Will I ever get this done? These questions and others torment us even during our sleep. Come to me, all you who are weary and bu...

And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:9 Then the trees of the forest will sing, they will sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. I Chronicles 16:33 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:3 The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees. Psalm 104:16-17 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. Ecclesiastes 2:5-6 Be not afraid, O wild animals, for the open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. J...

I'm tired of winter already, and it is just a few weeks old. Apparently, the sweltering days of July and August thins our blood or something similar. We just can't stand the cold. Many years, we have no snow at all. We have had two significant snowfalls already, and the dreaded February isn't here yet. Of course, February may have seventy degree days and tornadoes. We never know. North Alabama weather may be weird, but it is never boring. Before the technological age, people relied on the Farmer's Almanac and signs to forecast the weather. They had about the same accuracy that digital radar and 24-hour forecasting has today. Have you heard these? 'If the first week in August is unusually warm, the coming winter will be snowy and long.' Has the first week in August ever been cool? Not in my lifetime. 'For every fog in August, there will be a snowfall in Winter.' I remember my Mom counting the fogs, but I can't remember if it worked. 'Onion skins ...

In loving memory of Mary Lynn Stricklin Horton January 12, 1937-December 2, 1990 She was the same kind of different as me. My half-sister, Mary Lynn, was my oldest sibling. Her mom died from complications of measles/pneumonia when Mary was about four, and her brother was two. Before too long, my dad and mom were married, my mom a new bride with an instant family. My parents lives, like those of everyone we knew, consisted of growing cotton and corn and children. Their world was very small, immobile, static for generations. An aunt and uncle had moved to Michigan searching for a better life and had seemingly found it. When the aunt became pregnant, Mary traveled there to help her during the pregnancy. Mary saw how big the world was. She returned home when she was no longer needed. She was never content there again. There was not a lot of opportunity for social interaction with anyone who was not a relative. People visiting from outside the area always seemed different and exciting. When...

We have snow. Not our usual look quick or it will be gone snow. Not the occasional dusting of grass. Not the snowfall where there wasn't enough to make even a wimpy snowman. A REAL snow!! Our last comparable snowfall was in 1988, when my sons were teenagers. I remember it well. A couple of years ago, Hub and I bought a sled at an auction. First born granddaughter, almost fifteen, just shook her head and said, "The only way we will ever get to use that is to put wheels on it." It has been hanging in the garage, gathering spiderwebs, until now! All schools were closed yesterday and today, and the county schools may be closed all week. Our county cannot invest in snow equipment that might be used once a decade, so the snow just has to melt on its own in most places. That's okay. We love it! Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7