Howdy Beaver
By Alkali Springs Correspondent
This is our favorite column to write each year. It is our annual Christmas column.
But first an update. If you have driven out the Beaver Creek Road of late, you have noticed that the bridge decks between the north park entrance and Kiwanis Camp all look wet. That is because state highway employees have sprayed them with something called mag chloride. That is put on to prevent frost and ice on the bridge decks. Each application should last from three weeks to a month and should help with traveler safety on icy roads.
We put our tree up and put some outside lights up and we positively glow around the house just basking in lights, evergreen scents from the tree, and Christmas music that even outranks football once in a while.
For the past several years we have purchased fresh trees locally. Before that, we (with lots of help) cut one each year. Out of maybe 20 trees cut in the beautiful Bear Paws, only one was as nice as those purchased from a tree vendor. Most were dreadful and in dry years were as dry as those purchased. Let's face it, there are just not many good trees in the Bear Paws. Oh, there are plenty of wonderful ponderosa pine to choose from, but they leak sap all over everything and cause a general mess. Douglas firs have two bottoms, just one side, huge trunks that will not fit into any stand, and more often than not, before getting one home, the "main" branch is broken off. Yes, Virginia, Christmas trees do have a "main" branch.
We used to decorate the tree to the nines lots of lights, lots of ornaments, and tinsel to cover all. We had seen floor-to-ceiling trees before that at Francis and Laened Black's house many years ago, and it was our desire to equal their trees. This never happened. And a few years ago, we gave up on the tinsel because, frankly, tinsel these days is so light and cheap that more of it gets tracked around the house than ever stays on the tree. And we do not have the patience or time to put tens of thousands of individual strands on the tree. And when we stand back and throw it at the tree, it looks horrible.
One thing we never do compromise on is the lights. We use the big beautiful bright lights of our youth that were on the Black's tree as well. They are awesome.
And all the time we are decorating the tree and decking the halls with boughs of holly, we never forget the reason for the season. After all, it is the evergreen we put in the stand that represents everlasting life. That reminds us of the birth of the Christ child. But just in case we forget, we put a tiny Christ child in a tiny manger right on our cookstove so even when we are cooking meals, we have a reminder that, and looking at that evergreen we have brought into our house.
Don't you just love Christmas?
From us and ours to you and yours, the best Christmas and holiday season ever!
