Inside: Practicing a gratitude attitude, early seasonal lighting, and oh Christmas tree! Check out all the latest news fresh from the farm.
Practicing a Gratitude Attitude
This past week I’ve seen several articles and posts listing twenty reasons to be thankful in 2020. I won’t bother to number mine. I’ll allow my mind to ramble, with an impromptu, unorganized, and even downright messy collection of a few things for which I wish to express my gratefulness. First and foremost, I’m thankful for my family, and that we’re all healthy. I’m thankful for work which pays the bills and puts food on the table. And speaking of food, I’m thankful that never, not once, did I have a problem finding what I needed at the grocery store. (I never had an issue locating toilet paper, either, not that paper products are food.)
I’m thankful that in my neck of the woods, people have remained kind and helpful. I’m thankful that the weather here was mostly mild and the crops thrived. The weeds did, too, but that’s another matter. The point is, the temps were overall pretty pleasant. My flowers were lovely, and my garden produced plenty of tomatoes–including some to give away to my sister-in-law–and cucumbers to put up some pickles. Oddly enough, ticks, fleas, and other nuisance bugs were scarce. Not sure why that was, but I sure appreciated it! (I will admit to about a month of mosquitoes being unruly, but, hey, you can’t have everything!)
My brothers and their families visited in the summer, and it was wonderful to spend that time together. Mom and I attended the Apple Fest in our area this fall, and life, in places, looked pretty normal thanks to freedom to move and be in our state. I am very thankful for this!
I’m thankful for the common sense of rural folk, as well as their common decency. I’m thankful to God for His care, and I’m not just paying lip service when I say that. He’s been a constant, an ever-present help in times of trouble. He’s smoothed my rugged places into straightaways. He’s kept my feet on solid ground.
And when the shelves of life sometimes appear empty, He brings me abundant joy.
Until my cup runneth over.
Early Seasonal Lighting
Normally I’m a proponent of waiting until after Thanksgiving to put up Christmas lights, but this year calls for drastic measures. Folks in the bend have put up their Christmas lights early, and I couldn’t be more happy to see it! In fact, one neighbor had his lights up mid November, and that was fine by me.
Now I haven’t put my own up yet. For now we’re focused on getting the Hillbilly Christmas Wreath going this year. But in the meantime I have plenty of inspiration when I look out my door across fields of corn stubble to see those strands of colored lights in the distance.
Oh Christmas Tree!
So it was different this year when going Christmas tree shopping. For so many years we’ve gone to our favorite Christmas tree farm, Brushy Fork Pines, but this year they were closed.
As Mom and I drove by Sacred Heart Church and spotted a lovely selection of pines in their parking lot, a plan B quickly formed in our brains. We would stop by there on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. . .
We did.
And boy am I glad we did!
We arrived bright and early that morning to a parking lot of men waiting to assist us. This bunch of friendly guys explained their selection of pines, and in less than five minutes I spotted the tree of my dreams–my Christmas 2020 dreams, anyway.
“I think I’m in love,” I said, grabbing the douglas fir.
Mom quickly selected a Scotch pine, and a couple of saw cuts, bundling, and forty bucks later, we were on our merry way.
And the coolest part of the deal? The money goes to charity.
Win-win. Now if I could just get those guys to come over and help me decorate!
Resources and related posts:
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 4: In Pursuit of Perfect Pines
Swirling Patterns of Blackbirds, Posing, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Wake-up Call, Missing Dad, and Other News Fresh From the Farm