So far:  the tree is still standing, and Gizmo seems at ease with it in the house.

 

No ornaments on it yet;  we've been a little preoccupied, but maybe today will be the day for decorating our new tree.

 

 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

Here it is all put together.  Actually, it is prettier than this picture;  I just want you to see how tall it is.  I love it.  I had no idea that an artificial tree could be so pretty.

 

The first night, Gizmo did check it out, but didn't climb it.  He slept an hour under it on the soft red tree skirt, but hasn't bothered with it since.  We will see how he likes all the sparkly ornaments.  

 

Stay tuned.  

 

 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

Thank goodness!!!  It came in four parts.  Each one is fairly heavy, but manageable.  And it is prelit with 850 LED lights.  I am so excited!!!  Did I tell you that it is 9 feet tall?  

 

HAHAHA!!!

 

 

HAPPY DECEMBER Y'ALL!!!

 

All my life I have loved fresh cut Christmas trees.  And up until 2020 we had a fresh cut tree every year.  Well, that year we got a cat from the shelter, so we decided not to put up a tree.  We weren't sure how Gizmo would do with a tree in the house, knowing that he loves to climb trees outside.  So we just decorated with our usual snowmen, poinsettias, and Father Christmas decorations.  

 

I guess we got out of the habit of putting up a Christmas tree, because it has taken me this long to get around to it.  Anyway, we have lots and lots of beautiful ornaments, so this year we looked at a few trees, and we didn't really see anything we loved.  So we started to look at artificial trees and some of them are really pretty.  We looked in quite a few different places, and decided on this one from Home Depot.  

 

Uh-Oh!!!  It weighs 66.67 pounds.  Hope we didn't make a mistake. 

 

 

I WILL LET YOU KNOW...

 

Wow!!!  Talk about fall into winter.  

 

We were walking in the park, and this Sycamore grabbed my attention.  I just love those wintery trunks.  I love how they poke up into the wintery sky.

 

I hope you have sycamore trees near you so you can be awed by their starkness.  

 

 

HAPPY END OF NOVEMBER!!!

 

 

Another beautiful fall picture.  This one was taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway in 2016.  

 

I am using it today to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, filled with joy, love, and all your favorite people. 

 

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

 

On our walk the other day we saw lots of leaves on the ground.  And we were fascinated by these Bradford Pear leaves.  Look how the pattern of chlorophyll loss has created whole new leaves:  leaves within leaves.

 

It doesn't take much to entertain us.  I love how all of nature is a wonder:  wonderful!!!

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

Remember all those chestnuts we collected back in October?  Pocketfuls, or is that pockets full?  Anyway, we collected a bunch.  We know from experience that you need to freeze them, because somehow when the flowers are being pollinated, insect eggs are laid inside the flowers.  Then when the seeds (the chestnuts) are formed, the eggs are inside them.  If you don't freeze them the larvae hatch inside the chestnut and then drill a hole in the shell to come out.

 

You don't even want to know how I know this.  But I do, and I'm telling you to freeze them when you collect them, to save yourself a lot of extra work.

 

OK, after all THAT:  Years ago Linda gave me a cool tool that exes the top of the chestnuts, cutting into the shell so they don't explode in the microwave.  So I cooked a few and they are delicious.  Now we are going to add them and to our Thanksgiving stuffing:  chestnut stuffing.  

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

 

I love this holly tree.  And right now it is loaded with these gorgeous red berries.  

 

Seek identified it as American holly, Ilex opaca.  But I think it's something else.  Hang on, let me go look it up.  

 

I'm back.  Yes it is a holly, but not an American holly.  It is Dahoon holly, Ilex cassine.  American holly has more shapely leaves;  you know, with more points like those in Christmas decorations.  

 

This Dahoon holly is fantastic.  The leaves aren't so pointy, making it easier to get close to it, and the berries start out yellow and ripen to red.  Just look at them all!!!

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

This is the "resting rock" almost at the top of the community.  It is a huge, beautiful hunk of granite that probably weighs a thousand pounds.  Since our latest rainstorm, it has greened up.  The moss lives on it all the time, but it gets really green after a little rain.  And can you see all that pink in the stone?  

 

Anyway, this rock sits there waiting for us to come along and rest on it.  We love it.

 

 

HAPPY HIKING!!!