O Christmas Tree Saga and "Winter Nature Scenes"

Well, we finally got our Christmas tree put up after a few complications...There's a story here...it's a bit long so pull up a chair and get a cup of coffee or tea and settle in for the saga...

I didn't take pictures of what happened before we got to this moment, where Hubby is hugging our "old tree"...

And I am saying "well, we live and learn..."

You see, this tree that you see above we have had for about 20 years. It is one of those artificial trees that you have to insert every single branch on the tree individually, and of course you also have to put the lights on manually.  Every year in the recent past I have been saying that after Christmas we need to take advantage of a sale on Christmas trees and replace this one (that also is shedding badly if you look at the floor above) and get one of those lovely pre-lit trees that also just come in three sections and you don't have to individually insert each and every branch, which is very time consuming and difficult to do for us old folks, namely me, because I am the one who normally does all of the above...

Well, just recently at our local flea market one of the vendors had a beautiful Christmas tree standing there for sale. It was the type that came in three sections, very pretty and full, and it was one of the "pre-lit" types, although they did not have it lit at the flea market because it is an outdoor market with no electricity available.  But the lady vendor said she "thought the lights worked just fine."  They only wanted $25.00 for the tree, and there was another man standing there ready to buy it if we didn't, and so,  after a minute or two of deliberation, we decided to take a chance on it. After all, even if the lights didn't work, we could always put lights on it since we have plenty. I mainly wanted it for the fact that it would be easy to put together and save myself some energy and time.

And so, finally the day came for us to bring the tree into the house and set it up. First we laid it out on the front porch and sprayed it with some bug spray, because it had been stored in an old box that looked questionable, and in Florida you just never know what might have taken up residence in the tree.  And then we left it on the porch for a while to air out before bringing it inside.

We got everything ready to put the tree together inside, and it was indeed very easy to do. I was thrilled. Except for figuring out how to connect the lights from section to section...that was a little tricky, but I finally figured that out, and then came the moment of truth...would the lights work? Well...yes and no.  I'd say about 1/4 of the lights worked and that was it. But still, I was undaunted. I would make it work. 

Hubby had to go run an errand,  and I thought I would start putting some lights on the tree. However, I am still having issues with my right arm since my surgery, and I realized that I could not reach up and stretch around the tree as normal, and so I decided to wait for help. Meanwhile I was getting a headache. The tree had a peculiar odor...not the bug spray because it was unscented, but a perfumy strong odor that just seemed to be getting stronger and stronger the longer I was in the room with the tree. I opened up the back door behind the tree to bring in some fresh air. I went out on the porch and breathed the air, but when I came back inside my headache was getting worse and I was feeling nauseous. (I am very "scents-itive" to scents)  I looked at the tree and said, "you are making me sick! I can't have you in this house!" If I could have gotten it out of the house by myself I would have, but I didn't have the strength to take it back apart and do that. So I stayed on the back porch until hubby got back home and then together we got that tree out of the house asap.

Again, I don't know if the bug spray exacerbated an already toxic issue, or if it was something else, but the tree had to go.  When our son came home we asked him to put it back in the box and put it out on the curb for the trash men to pick up. And so he did, but it was already after dark.

By morning, before daylight, that box and tree were gone!  I guess someone passing by decided to see just what we had put on our curb and they decided they wanted it badly enough to take it. Which is fine with me, but I do hope that whatever that odor was wasn't really toxic enough to make someone else sick. And mainly, I just don't want them to bring it back to our house! LOL.

And so, we got our old tree out of the shed and hubby actually helped me put it all together, one branch at a time.  Our son Scott thankfully put all the lights on for us, and then I was able to finally put on the decorations a little at a time. 

And that's the saga of the Christmas Tree.

It looks so pretty, I think it will just have to last us another 20 years...

Oh, and guess what?  The kids are coming over tomorrow night to set up the train and village under the tree like we did last year for the first time in over 30 years! A new tradition has been started, and this little girl is so happy!

Okay, so now, what else is new?

Remember my "One Word" for 2021 was "Believe"?

Well, we were in Walmart the other day and I saw these plates, and I 'believe' they were calling my name...I only bought two. I believe that will do, but don't you agree that I needed these plates? I am glad you agree...

This morning we woke up to a very foggy morning...

This is how it looked out on Still Waters Pond. My son said it looked very "wintry" to him...one could just imagine that was all snow and ice out there...a blizzard blowing in from the north...

I noticed these yellow hearts on the tree by the pond...grapevine leaves changing color for fall/winter, and red maple leaves make a nice contrast against the green tree and foggy background...

The fog also showed me where I need to sweep down some cobwebs on the back porch:

Oh, and also I checked something else we've been concerned about. Lately we've had a lot of wasps swarming on the back porch in the afternoon sun. They appeared to be flying in behind that thermometer attached over there on that post. I looked behind it since it was so cool and foggy this morning, and sure enough, there was quite a large nest of wasps sitting there sleeping in on this cool morning.  So I sent out our Ninja Warrior son to take care the enemy wasps whilst they slept:

Armed with two cans of long distance wasp spray, he knocked them out of that nest in no time at all:

And those mean old wasps started dropping like "flies".

The thermometer may never be the same...

And there is one lone witness to the massacre sitting out there in the tree on this foggy wintry day:

A little later, when the fog lifted and the sun broke through, we decided to take a walk. I ventured onto a path less traveled through the woods and made another new discovery:

This strange looking plant is known as a Ghost plant, or Indian Pipes

Have you ever seen such a plant before? I never have in my life, and this was the only one anywhere around that I could see.  Another of God's mysteries and interesting parts of His creation.

Then, not far from this I saw this empty tortoise shell:

I am thinking it is from a Gopher Tortoise, because we have many of their holes and tunnels all around in these woods.  

Now for more "winter nature scenes" from here in Florida...

My hubby discovered these two beautiful white/gray feathery plumes in our yard. I believe they came from a Sand Hill Crane, but they are so light and feathery and pretty, I just had to keep them.

Not sure what to do with them, but I decided to temporarily at least add them to the Tea cup tree as "Angel Wings"...

Okay, now for the most interesting Christmas gift I think I've ever received...

This came in the mail today, and it had no name attached as to who it was from, but I had been given a heads up earlier in the week from one of my dear old "fun" friends to expect a gift in the mail coming from Montana. Now, she was not in Montana, but the gift was being sent from Montana. She then sent me pictures of several things from Montana, like buffalo and elk. I asked if she was sending me some "Buffalo Chips", because in the past I have received Moose Poop from Maine (actually it was candy), and many Pink Flamingoes from Florida and other unusual gift items throughout the years. She is the kind of friend that you just never know what to expect.

So when this arrived today in the mail, I wasn't too surprised, but yet, it was certainly not something I'd ever expected to receive, that's for certain! LOL

Yes, this is a "Bird Nesting Globe", filled with 100% natural Alpaca fleece.

Lots of varieties of Alpaca wool went into this very interesting and unusual gift.

And so, of course I set about right away to find a place to hang it.

However, the little branch I tried to hang it on broke, so I had to come up with another idea, at least for now.

My son is like my hubby...he loves to take funny pictures of me.

Finally we decided to hang it on this bird feeder hook until we can come up with a better plan for hanging it in a tree.

So now the birds have their very own Alpaca nesting globe,  so they should be all set for winter!

Tell, me what is the most unusual Christmas gift you've ever received?

Can you top this one?

Yesterday I told my hubby I was tired of waiting for my arm to get better and for my energy to return following my surgery 5 weeks ago. I no sooner said that than we sat down to read our morning devotions, and this was the verse that came up in the devotions:

"Wait on the Lord;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the Lord!"

Psalm 27:14

So there you go. That's what Advent is all about...waiting for the coming of the Lord into our homes, hearts, lives, world.  The Good News is, He's already here...Emmanuel means, "God with us".  Jesus is already here...so let us just be patient and wait on Him to strengthen our hearts, our bodies, and our lives...He will not fail us. 

Merry Christmas everyone!

Have a blessed and wonderful Advent season...preparing for the Birthday of Jesus!