Merry Christmas--SNOW!

White Christmas in Alabama--2010

Not white enough or deep enough? This is great for Alabama! Not scenic enough? I opened the kitchen window to take this so snow would not hit the camera. The flakes you cannot see are huge and wet. How much snow can a camera take? Can you see the swing just beyond the picnic table and the blue and white umbrella that should have been taken down? Evergreen trees, cherry laurel and pine, keep some of the ground free of snow that is falling straight down.

I put the hens still in their cage out of the house. Sometimes, I just open the door and let them exit their cage from inside the house. Today, I placed the cage out on the porch. They stayed there thirty minutes, just looking upward at the falling flakes, not daring to venture out into the yard. Maybe those flakes could be white birds ready to pluck the hens up. Hmmm? Finally, I had to be the brave leader, rushing them through the snow to the safety of their pen. They ran along beside and behind me as though the white sky birds might swoop down and carry them off.

It is now after 11:00 AM on Christmas morning, and I have been awake since 4:30 AM, waiting on Santa to come to my grandchildren in New York. Finally, my daughter called, saying they were going to open gifts from me. My granddaughter got clothes from me and seemed thrilled with them. My daughter told her she would have plenty to choose from. I am sure she has clothing to choose from...just a little girl thing. Grandson tried on the coat I sent and liked it AND it fit. Both liked their cameras! So, it was a good Christmas morning in spite of my lingering and worsening fever which means forced isolation today.

As I lay in bed at 4:30 AM, feverishly clutching my cell phone, making sure I did not drop it and not hear the ring if I went to sleep, I thought back to the many mornings of my own childrens' childhood when I had only a few hours sleep before they were bounding into our room, wanting to go tackle the presents under the tree.

At our house Santa delivered nothing in a box or with tags that had any indication of a factory other than the North Pole, all left unwrapped under the tree. Only gifts from people were wrapped. I like the way it looked in my childhood, a staggering array of gifts. Okay, I remember it as a staggering array even it was modest. It seems that people in the South more so than other parts of the country, unpackage Santa gifts with manufacturers' wrappings and leave no sign of anything that smacks of a store bought gift. My children never had a Santa who left wrapped gifts either.

Okay, below is a view from the back door, the exact opposite of view from kitchen window. Sooo pretty. If it keeps this up, I may scoop some up and make snow ice cream. Yes, I will eat snow.



Christmas 2010 in Alabama

Since I took both these pictures, the snow is even deeper. This picture is take on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen view. I cannot move the Adirondack chairs to the basement, so they are out and in the picture. That is three chairs, stacked. Last summer, I got all three plastic chairs for $4 and a dozen fresh eggs. I digress.

Merry Christmas