This stone is one of many crosses. Crosses and faces are the most common drawings to appear on stones. Two lines that intersect; two dots and a mouth, sometimes even showing nostrils and teeth. I call this a “flowering cross” because it seems to me to have flowered. It also appears to be attached to a sac, like an embryo. The life of a Christian could be likened to this – having to plant a stick in the ground (the soil) and to wait for it to bear fruit (there are instances of this happening). This involves patience and faith. Also, to others (and to ourselves at times), it may appear as foolishness – waiting for a stick to blossom. But it does.

Meanwhile, in language, it can be seen that “fruit” is connected with “root” – there is no way to bear fruit without drawing on the soil’s nutrients; “root” gives “shoot” by a step in the alphabet (r-s) and the addition of breath (h). A “shoot”, as it appears above the ground, resembles a small “tooth”. But I like the connections with “flower”, which of course is meant to turn our heads (or the heads of insects). Doesn’t “flower” contain “lover” and, in reverse, read “revolve”? It is also connected with “grow” (step in the alphabet, f-g, and phonetic pair l-r). We are here, if for nothing else, to grow and bear fruit.