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December 2020

“Conversely, the red plant itself burns a brighter red when set off by the green than when it grows among its peers. In the bed I always reserved for poinsettia seedlings, there was little to distinguish one plant from its neighbours. My poinsettia did not turn scarlet until I planted it in new surroundings. Colour is not something one has, colour is bestowed on one by others.” ― Arthur Japin

All of our blood – no matter the color or shade of our skin – is red.

Something to keep in mind, and not only in the holiday season. 

Keeping thematically pure with the lines of this post earlier today, this Chamaecyparis, one of a pair standing sentinel by our front door, forms the only holiday-like decorations outside the house this year. I may string some lights around the Japanese umbrella pine that stands slightly taller than me in our small front garden. No more than that though. Not this year.

If you have a similar set-up for the holidays, and want to draw out the beauty for as long as possible, and maybe even see the greenery through the winter, don’t forget to keep these slightly waters, especially if they’re covered by a roof, as these are. When the snow arrives, and it always does, I will grab some and cover the soil with it, allowing it to melt slowly and naturally as it would into the ground. 

There’s still no guarantee or even likelihood that these will make it through the whole winter. Survival can only be counted on when the roots are secure and insulated beneath a healthy snow cover. Still, it’s worth a shot. And they make a beautiful spot of chartreuse splendor, especially as the morning sun weaves its way through the branches. 

Andy claims I have a propensity for trying to burn the house down. He’s being overly dramatic, but I do tend to have some sort of flammable mishap every year or so. This season I got the holiday fire over with rather early on, just as I began wrapping the presents. 

Setting the scene with a delicious candle of frasier fir, I conjured a cozy day after Thanksgiving, getting a headstart on the gift-giving. I started by clearing off the dining room table. No sooner had that been done that it quickly became populated with wrapping and presents, and I took a moment to make a peppermint mocha decaf coffee. Topping it off with some whipped cream – tis the season for such indulgences – I sat down and began stuffing a scarf into a bag. I grabbed some pink tissue paper and pushed it to the side as I refolded the scarf. Instantly, the pink tissue found the candle flame and went up like a piece of flash paper. Moving swiftly, I grabbed the part that hadn’t yet burned up and brought it quickly but relatively calmly to the kitchen sink, where Andy had already rushed in upon seeing the flames. 

A quick dousing of water took care of the remaining burning bits, though a bunch of smoke lingered as Andy turned the kitchen vents on and opened the front window. 

All in a holiday wrapping party of one. 

As Barbara Walters once said, “This is 2020.”

Guilty. 

So very damningly guilty.

I am.

Let us have beauty! Unattainable, unreliable, unrelenting beauty! 

For the start of December, we demand it. In the month when winter arrives after much hemming and hawing and hinting, we will need beauty and light and warmth more than ever. The holidays can falsely keep hopes lifted for only a short duration – soon that tree will lose its needles, those ornaments will lose their luster, and we will lose the spirit of cheer and joy that has only ever been temporary. Then we will be left scrambling to find the next fix, the next balm upon our hearts while the long trek of winter unfurls its endless wonder. That’s when beauty comes into play.

In the false heat and humidity of a greenhouse, these orchids bloom entirely unaware of the winter about to surround them. That winter will lay siege to all of our surroundings, but in the artificial environment of the greenhouse, these orchids will go about their business, happily blooming and growing and putting on a show. They will have no idea how helpful it will be for those of us just trying to make it through another day. Beauty does that. 

And so, let us have beauty for the beginning of December, and let it ring throughout the coming winter.