Look at this beautiful Sycamore tree.  Platanus occidentalis.  This one is in Meeks Park, near the little bridge.  

 

I love looking UP into the sky at the Sycamore trees.  The mottled brown bark flakes off in jigsaw puzzle pieces, leaving the trunk to look like Camo fabric, and exposing the white underbark at the very top.

 

My Peterson Field Guide says that Sycamore is considered one of the most massive of eastern US trees.  They grow 50' to 130' tall, and live to be hundreds of years old.  The leaves are huge: 6-10 inches across.  That's how I remember the botanical name:  leaves as big as dinner plates.

 

The wood is hard and coarse-grained, and used for boxes, barrels, butchers' blocks, cabinetwork, and furniture.  Indians used the trunks for dugout canoes, some weighing thousands of pounds.  

 

Be sure to notice the Sycamores when you're out and about.  They're the ones with the stark white branches poking up into the winter sky.

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

 

 

Photo credit:  The Farmers Almanac.  

 

I was reading an article about the Winter Solstice in The Farmers Almanac, and came across this picture.  It shows the longest shadows at noon, caused by the angle of the sun in relation to Earth.

 

The Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is the shortest day and the longest night of the year, and it occurs next Monday.  It's probably already on your calendar, showing the first quarter moon.  

 

This year on the Winter Solstice, December 21, 2020, we get to welcome winter with the "Great Conjunction."  The moon is near the two giant worlds of Jupiter and Saturn on the 16th and 17th.  Then Jupiter passes extremely close to Saturn from the 20th to the 22nd, coming closest on the 21st-the solstice.  These two giant planets will be so close together that they appear to merge into a single "star," and be visible with the naked eye.  

 

This phenomenon occurs every two decades, but in 2000 it was too close to the sun to be observable.  Look for it about 45 minutes after sunset near the Southwestern horizon.  We'll be out there, and I hope you will get to see it too.

 

HAPPY (almost) WINTER!!!!

 

 

 

Now that the leaves are off the maple trees, it's easy to spot Mistletoe growing on the branches.  You can see it all around the neighborhood.  This tree is in Lee's yard, but there's also lots in one of the trees in the meadow, across from the haybale snowman.  Look up, and if you see clumps of green in an otherwise bare tree, it's probably Mistletoe. 

 

I remember hearing stories about Nanny shooting Mistletoe out of the trees using a .22 rifle.  It could be a family legend, but I love that story.  

 

My favorite horticultural story is that the berries are sticky, and when birds eat the berries they have to clean their beaks of the sticky residue.  They scrape off the sticky mess on the branches of the trees, thus REPLANTING the seeds!  The ultimate gardeners!!

 

If you decide to bring Mistletoe into the house, be sure to remove the berries, as they are toxic to children and pets.  We love to hang a sprig in the doorway, to sneak a kiss whenever we walk under it.  Like we need an excuse.....

 

Remember to look up when you're out.  I hope you see some Mistletoe.  Think of it as a kiss from me.

 

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's my friend Patty and her joyful sign post decoration.  She is the mastermind behind these decorations, and I am the Partner in FUN.  There are 4 more signs:  HOHOHO, HOPE, LOVE, and BELIEVE.  Look for them around the neighborhood.  For those of you who are too far away to cruise around the neighborhood:  here are the other signs.  HOHOHO is already mounted at Solitude.

 

 

We even started thinking about next year's decorations.  Can't wait to create more folk art with my friend.  We do have fun together.

 

 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

 

 

I didn't know we were going to see a parade.  But we did!!!

 

Five turkeys walked right up our driveway.  And they did it slowly enough for me to get a picture.  I wonder is five turkeys qualify to be called a rafter.  That is one of the four collective nouns for a group of turkeys, according to Siri.  The other three are:  gang, raffle, and jewel.  So, I guess instead of saying we saw parade, I should have said we saw a Jewel.  Nah, it was more of a parade.

 

I love our neighborhood:  Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter!!!

 

HAPPY DAYS!!!

 

This makes me feel warmer already.  This is a picture of the beach at Nags Head on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  It was mighty hot that day if I remember correctly.  We walked on the beach barefoot, and waded into the ocean a lot.  

 

There was even a venue set up for a wedding on the beach, looking out at the ocean.

 

 

That was fun.  Thanks for going with me on our virtual trip to the beach.  Now, back to winter in the mountains.

 

HAPPY DECEMBER!!!

 

Oh look!!!  Our favorite Santa.  Wonder what HE is doing!!????

 

"Making a list and checking it twice.  Gonna find out who's naughty and nice.  Santa Claus is coming to town."

 

I hope YOU made it to the nice list.  I know WE did!!!!

 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

 

 

Today is Momma's birthday.  It's a special day in our family.  It's the day we officially put up Christmas.

 

Here are our decorations:  the mantel, with Father Christmas, evergreens and silk poinsettias.  There are a few other areas with evergreens and silk poinsettias, and of course the wreath full of, you guessed it:  evergreens and silk poinsettias.

 

We have a playful new cat, so NO Christmas tree this year.  Ranger wasn't impressed with having a real Christmas tree inside.  But Gizmo is much younger, and my guess is that the tree would be horizontal before Christmas ever arrives.  I love him, but he is quite rambunctious.  

 

So we will just skip the tree this year.  Maybe we'll make cheese biscuits instead.  That was Momma's other fun thing to do on her birthday.  The recipe is under cheese in the recipe section of Neighbors sharing.  You can even see a picture of Momma making cheese biscuits at Betsy's house.  

 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

Hanukkah starts tonight at sundown.  I was not raised in a Jewish home, but we celebrate Hanukkah every year, in our own way.  Actually Hanukkah is a celebration of historical events that occurred from the years 167 BC - 164 BC.  The story is very complex, highly political, and tragic.

 

But Hanukkah often coincides with Christmas, and is also called The Festival of Lights.  It tells the story of the miracle of the one-day supply of oil miraculously lasting eight days.  That part may be legend, but it's the idea and ritual we choose to celebrate. 

 

This is our menorah.  It holds 9 candles:  one candle for each night of Hanukkah and the shamash.  The shamash candle is used to light all the other candles.  We light one candle on the first night, two candles on the second night, and so on until the eighth night, when all the candles are lit.  My picture shows the first night of Hanukkah last year.  You can see the shamash candle stands apart, and the first night candle is lit on the right.  

 

The picture also shows a couple other things.  You can see that it is sunset, and you can see reflections of our Christmas lights.  My favorite part is this story behind the menorah:  The menorah is placed near a window or door, to remind us that when we go out into the world we should let our own inner light shine.  

 

So that is my Hanukkah story from my Christian perspective.  Let's celebrate the lights in the world.

 

 

HAPPY HANUKKAH!!!

 

 

 

 

 

We took Gizmo to see Dr Hester, DVM at Alpine Animal Hospital in Murphy.  His left eye is red and weepy, and Dr Hester said it's an eye infection.  Both the vet and his assistant commented on how well-behaved he was.  He sat there on the table without complaint, and let them put the meds in his eyes.  So now we get to administer 3 different meds into his eyes, 3 times a day!!!!  AAK!!!  

 

He also told us that Gizmo has gained 2.6 lbs since we adopted him three weeks ago.  Wow.  I guess he's making up for lost time.  He's been eating like there's no tomorrow.  Since Thanksgiving he has eaten a ton of turkey, and every day he gets half and half.  And he sleeps in the big green chair with Jon.  Does that sound like the perfect life?  Or what?

 

Lisa said she wonders if Gizmo knows he hit the kitty cat jackpot of homes.  He probably does by now:  weighing in at 8.8 lbs.

 

HAPPY KITTY!!!