A very, very cold Monday morning! And it’s going down to 4° tonight. It’s been a long time since early December has been this cold and snowy.
As I was making coffee just now, I watched a squirrel go up and down the black walnut tree right outside the kitchen. He was clearly looking for something. He jumped down, dug in the snow – nothing – then dug in the snow two more times. Finally, he found it. A black walnut! He carried that large nut off in triumph. Squirrels are amazing.
We put the lights on the tree yesterday, with a delay in the middle of the process when we realized that 3 strings of lights were no longer working. Off I went to Lowes to buy some more. I ended up buying an extra box so we’d have them on hand. Back home, then lots of adjustments to the previous placement of the lights as the new strings were longer than normal. Finally, we finished.
There it is.
We love it.
We’re going to leave adding ornaments until tomorrow, as we always waiver at this point. Do we want to ruin the beautiful simplicity of a tree adorned in pretty white lights? So we’ll sit with it for a couple of days.
Plus, we’re tired today. And we have to go grocery shopping.
Stay safe.
Happy Monday.
Your tree is stunning with the lights on. It truly doesn’t need ornamentation….but it’ll still look stunning with your ornaments.
This weather is more like January weather I feel…and I’m not ready for it. Fortunately, with the exception of getting groceries, there is little reason to step outside. We have quite a lot of visitors to our bird feeders…so there’s our entertainment lol.
Enjoy your day! ;)
Love watching birds anytime!
Thanks so much, Donnamae.
Stay safe.
glad you could get replacement lights for the tree. it is beautiful! your home is beautiful! the two trees, all the other greens and blues, creams, and brown woods. for sure looks like the home of two nature-lovers! :)
glad you could watch the squirrel and see him find the walnut. :) though they need to stay outdoors, i think squirrels are 100% adorable. :)
cold here, too … eleven degrees right now … so this morning, for the fourth time this winter, my sister and i have walked in a mall. glad to get walks in, but going around and around and around indoors like that makes me feel like a hamster on a wheel. much more enjoyable to be outside, away from crowds and the smells of too many perfumes and greasy-looking pretzels, but the paths need to get cleared again (we got another two inches of snow). welcome to winter, huh? okay by me.
trying to get things done early, not just today, but also this month. best i get going.
hope you, don and everyone else have a very nice day. stay safe in every way.
kathy
We don’t have a mall near us (which I like) so we have no alternative. Though I’ve been known to walk up and down the stairs and repeatedly circle the living room/kitchen!
Stay safe, Kathy.
same here, claudia … and yay for us all doing what we can. :)
kathy
xo
Squirrels and their habits can be so entertaining. Fun to watch! Your tree looks beautiful! I like your idea of keeping it ornament-free for a while and enjoying its simplicity. It is fun, though, to add all your special Christmas treasures and bring back lots of good memories. Stay warm!
Thanks so much, Barrie.
Stay safe.
Back in 2015, 2016, 2017 my Mom stopped putting ornaments on her tree except for her glass icicles with her white lights and it just looked so lovely with the beautiful green tree. And she was at the point she wanted to keep the try simple and easy and it was perfect. Love your tree!
Makes perfect sense, Dawn. We may reach that point someday.
Stay safe.
Beautiful tree. Good for you for getting a real one and supporting agriculture and local businesses.
Thanks so much, Kay.
Stay safe.
It would be cool to just have a tree with the lights. We dont have our tree up yet. Well, I dont have our tree up yet.
We’re expecting a big storm starting tonight. It’s supposed to get rather icy.
I’ve connected with two friends lately, after 40 yrs. Deborah is a dr living in regina now, but travels here every other weekend to be with her dad.
I hope to see her sometime! She helped me so much in school. We have a lot in common as we”re both caring for our old fathers.
Your house is so lovely, Claudia!
I’d better go. I’m always late for appointments. Maybe the doctor can cure me, hah. Feeling worse as the days go by.
Thanks so much, Irene!
Stay safe.
Your tree is lovely. It is shaped like a Christmas tree should be shaped. It’s nice to see your feather tree and your “real” tree at the same time. We bought our tree this morning so will put it up sometime this week. Hugs, Elaine
Enjoy your Christmas tree, Elaine.
Stay safe.
That tree is the perfect size and shape. We put up our tree yesterday and I always enjoy seeing the old ornaments as they bring back so many sweet memories!
Yes, they sure do!
Stay safe, Ellen.
The tree is perfect! Love when you find a good one. That is the first thing I do in the morning is turn the tree lights on. It has been cold for Phoenix, especially at night. Bill has finished putting up all the outside decorations and I am almost finished with the inside. I have a lot of things I collect…Dept. 56 villages, Byers Choice Carolers, Possible Dreams Santas plus more just decor. I am trying to simplify but not having much success. Well, I ended up in the ER yesterday because I was having terrible pain on my right abdomen, but I don’t have an appendix! They did a CT scan but showed everything was normal. The only thing we could figure out was I really pulled a muscle lifting Gracie, our overweight Golden, up on the bed at night. She is heavy! But she is still with us even after her cancer diagnosis. Thankful for that! It still hurts today so I have the heating pad on it. Just going to take it easy today. Enjoy your tree! Take care.
Yes, we come downstairs and immediately turn on the tree lights!
I’m sorry you had to go to ER, but it sounds like everything will be okay.
Stay safe.
Your tree is beautiful with just lights! I wouldn’t be able to resist adding ornaments, however.
We’re adding them today, Ceci.
Stay safe.
It’s gorgeous as it is! I do the same thing. I love the plain beauty of the tree with just the lights. I used to fantasize about a room full of them… when I had a large room and trees out in my meadow… but it seemed too much like waste to ever actually do it… Sigh… when is enough just enough? Anyway, Your tree is perfect. Enjoy!
Thanks so much, Betsy!
Stay safe.
Your tree looks gorgeous. And you can always do with more lights — you never know when they’ll crap out on you. (Usually it’s after the tree already has decorations on it!) I sat with mine for a few days and it was lovely, even without the ornaments.
Still in love with your feather tree!
I am crazy about that feather tree!
Thanks so much, Jeanie.
Stay safe.
Beautiful tree!
Our tree has white lights only, as our two very young cats just won’t leave ornaments alone yet. I’ve grown to love it without ornaments though.
Stay warm,
Lily
Yes, a tree with only lights can be very striking and beautiful. Ours is.
Stay safe, Lily.