The Night After Christmas

Twas the night after Christmas, when all through the house, 

Not a creature was stirring, not even a louse.

Stockings were hung by the chimney with care

In hopes that they'd dry out and stink less out there.

Johnny and I were all snug in our bed

While visions of grandchildren danced in our heads

Johnny in warm socks and Linda with hot pad

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap

When right in their room there arose such a clatter

That Linda woke Johnny to tend to the matter.

"There's a cat in the house! It scratched our door open.

Go find it!" She poked him until his eyes opened.

"It's hail on the roof or a branch that is whining"

...then noticed the clock was not shining...

"The power is out" he said with a shrug.

 "Go back to sleep. Will be OK tomorrow."

But Linda kept poking and prodding, so he

Climbed out of bed to search with a flashlight

But no cat was found nor anything else

"Go back to sleep," he said when returning,

"I'm going to bed," ...but Linda kept churning.

When the sky started to brighten, she got up and dressed

And went to feed critters and look for some damage

... None seen and no hail... after all it was 50!

Small limbs were down but not near the house

...She tripped over a cat: it was stalking a mouse...

Grandma found nothing that could give such a fright

As she had been given in the wee hours of night.

But later Johnny found it... the source of the noise

Not a cat nor hail... Not twigs on the rooftop...

Friends, children, grandchildren and pup -- come out...

And know when Grandma Linda says "Look out!"...

LOOK OUT!!!

 

The noise Grandma Linda heard was not a cat scratching on the bedroom door. It was a tree breaking off in the front yard and falling across the front driveway. A very large trunk of the very tall poplar tree in our front yard. After the noise, I (Grandma Linda) could not fall asleep, so I turned on the light and wrote the first part of the above poem. I finished after Johnny had found the source of the noise and showed me. Son Steve and family were due to arrive that morning... and they did. I had them all, plus friend Mary, stand in the back yard while I took their photo and read them the poem. 

 

 

Then we all trooped out to the front yard and saw the huge trunk lying across our driveway, the fence between us and the neighbors in front of us, and for many feet into their property.

I had not seen it when I went to the barn that morning to milk and feed goats. Johnny came out and moved branches off our long driveway from the road so the kids could drive in, then discovered the huge tree across the front drive to the barn. He came to the barn and said, "I moved the stuff off the driveway that I could, but I'll need help with one." After I finished chores, he led me up the drive to the fallen poplar, again saying "I'll need help with this one." 

Indeed!!

 Since grandson Kestrel and son Steve, atop the log, are both 6 feet tall, I think it's more fair to check out the size of the trunk in comparison with Johnny and Jupiter...

Jupiter is a big dog, and not in the least intimidated by this tree...

 I have no idea how we will get this mammoth tree off our driveway. It did *not* come down across a power line. Nineteen thousand PGE customers were out of power the day after Christmas thanks to the wind storm Christmas night. Our power came back on late the next evening. 

                                          Happy Christmas Week!!

 

The Holiday Wreath Project

 Every year I make and give to family and friends wreaths made entirely from ingredients on our farm. Our grape vines are pruned after grapes have been harvested and are coiled into rounds to serve as the frames for the wreaths. In November, I start cutting greenery... this year it was shore pine and Modoc Cypress and Arizona Cypress and holly... to make the wreaths that are shipped to family members in other states and to give to local friends. And some for us to hang here on our farmstead. I love when recipients send me photos of their wreaths. Here are some I received this year:

 From nephew Rob in California... 

 

 

 From friend Hazel in Washington (looks like this one got squished in transit)

 

From grandson Ian in Washington... on his apartment door

 

From niece Melissa in Colorado, who keeps them up inside her house for years. This years is in the center, beyond the chandelier...
 

 

From son Steve in California:

 

The kind comments make all the work worthwhile. My favorite comment this year:

"Your wreath is just beautiful. I love looking at it. One of your very best! Thank you SO much."

That comment came from an artist, making me proud.

Whatever greenery is left, I use to fill however many wreath rounds I have left that are reasonably usable. This year there were three. One hangs on the woodshed, facing the concrete slab where visitors park.

 

 Another hangs next to our back door...

And the third hangs high in the milk room, out of reach of goats on the milk stand. You can tell I was running out of greenery...

 

                     HAPPY HOLLY DAYS TO EVERYONE!!

 

  

Hug Your Loved Ones!

 Time marches on and I seem to be forever falling behind. I planned to do a post on the Holiday Wreath Project, and another on our Too Many Bird Surveys in December but... 

One event that has overridden all the others happened on the day of our cider party, subject of the previous post... All of our guests were delayed by a terrible car wreck between them and us. I learned the afternoon of our party that an innocent victim was a close friend of our son Steve. Brad and his brother were two of those kids, like the cider party "kids", who spent much time at our place in their youth. It's been a terrifying, stressful time for his family and friends, but today I can say that Brad, although critically injured, survived and is recovering. It will be a long journey back...

Hug your loved ones, friends!