Time to deck the halls, etc., etc.
Headed for church a few weeks
ago, I knew it was time to start
thinking holiday decorating. A
couple of pickup trucks passed
me, headed the other way, pine
trees bouncing along on the backs.
‘Tis the season...
Not that I wasn’t aware. Why,
just the day before, I’d lopped off
a few snippets of Norway spruce
and hemlock, tucked them into a
pre-used floral arrangement hol
der and poked a single red candle
down through the middle of the
damp oasis base. Viola! Instant
holiday centerpiece for the kitchen
table. Inexpensive, too, since the
candle was also slightly used.
But seeing the Christmas trees
flying by on the pickups was a
reality check. I returned home
filled with purpose and determina
tion - and the realization that we
only had two more weeks to get
our children’s Sunday School
Christmas program pulled toghe
ter... that I hadn't done any shop
ping.. or written a single card...
or.. Phew!
Behind schedule already.
After lunch, I put in a request to
use the pickup - which meant The
Farmer had to juggle his plans
since he also had need for the
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A
truck. Much as I love my little
compact car, it lacks 4-wheel
capability. And between home
and my destination was a muddy
field road. No need to go “mud
bogging;” the pickup was dirty
enough already.
With a sturdy “limb-lopper”
pruning tool, a smaller pruning
shears and several plastic bags in
my pockets, I trudged off in search
of some holiday decorating
inspiration.
Winds which had rattled our
neigborhood a few weeks before
had not missed the tall, old pines.
Small limbs lay tossed about the
ground, their needles still green
but slightly limp. While I wanted
an armload of the boughs of soft,
fragrant needles, they needed to be
fresh-cut, not storm-downed and
already wilted. Trimming from a
few low branches, it took, but a
few minutes to gather a large
bouquet.
More bounty was scattered
across the ground. Fat pine cones,
their edges iced with whitish
sticky sap were plentiful. The
plastic bags filled quickly as I
crawled through the soft carpeting
of old needles and dry leaves. A
chilly December wind sang in the
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high limbs overhead and stirred
the scent of fresh pine. Heaven
must smell like a pine forest.
The quiet peacefulness of the
woods and the fragrance of the
evergreens were exactly what I
needed. It wasn’t necessarily the
boughs of pine or the sweet, sticky
cones, but that sense of peace
away from the rush that prepares
some of us to celebrate Christmas.
And there it was, not in the stores,
or the malls, or the lines - but in
the woods.
The pine cones are piled, along
with some shiny red balls, in
baskets around the house. (And
after seeing them priced at twenty
cents-apiece at a store recently, I’d
found the mother lode, pine cone
wise.) A bouquet of pine fills an
old nail barrel on the front porch,
with more of my pine cone wealth.
The old grapevine wreath has a
new wrapping of cherry paper -
twist ribbon. Candles glow in the
living room at night - when I
remember to light them.
We’re getting there. For us,
holiday decorations are done in
few simple, seasonal, natural
things,
If you’re still looking for
Christmas, steal a few moments
away from the glitz and the gauch
e, the tinsel and the tinny, the high
prices and the long lines.
Go to the woods. Go for a walk.
It’s a good way to get back in
touch with the peaceful spirit of
the season.
DJOHIN DEERE
CREDIT
WESTMINSTER, Md.
Those decorative plants that adorn
your home for the holiday season
are colorful and festive, but they
also pose a hidden danger to small
children and pets because their
leaves, berries, seeds, or roots may
Se poisonous. Although poison
ings from plants in Maryland are
rare and deaths from plant poison
ings are even more rare, many
plants have poisonous properties.
Poinsettias, mistletoe, holly an
Christmas-rose are a few of the
poisonous plants identified in the
Cooperative Extension Service’s
easy-to-read bulletin, “100 Poi
sonous Plants of Maryland.” This
55-page booklet is a handy refer
ence tool that can help you identi
ty quickly and easily the most
the trees, pruning and shaping.
Janet does most of this work her
self but utilizes the help from the
rest of the family when necessary.
She adds that her daughters have
yet to develop the “trained eye”
necessary to do proper “shaping.”
The area’s first major snow
storm came a bit early this year—
Janet had only finished all of the
work with the trees two weeks pri
or to the big storm.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 16, 1995-B3
Holiday Plants Have
Hidden Dangers
Plateau Farm
(Continued from Pago B 2)
common poisonous plants found
in Maryland.
This fully illustrated booklet
lists the poisonous plant alphabeti
cally by common name with a
complete description. Where they
are commonly found; why they
are poisonous; and what symp
toms they cause are explained in a
nontechnical and concise manner.
You can request your copy
from the Carroll Extension Office,
700 Agriculture Center, Westmin
ster. MD 21157.
“100 Poisonous Plants of Mary
land” costs $3.75 for Maryland
residents. For nonresidents, there
is an additoinal charge for ship
ping. Please make your checks
payable to the Carroll County
EAC and send to the above
address.
All of the operations at the farm
are a concerted family effort in
some way or another. According
to Janet, “the girls are learning ba
sic skills when they have to take
over more of the daily household
responsibilities that enable me to
do the necessary outdoor work.”
Being outdoors is an added bonus
for this energetic family. Janet
feels that this accounts for the lack
of stress in their lives.