CHRISTMAS at the WEST COAST - December 25, 2017
“And I have a demure little tame owl. Name, Leander. I brought him up from a baby and he lives over on the mainland and chuckles to himself o'nights.” The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
When all is quiet in the trailer park, the pine and hemlock rows echo with the voices of a family of great horned owls; the juveniles soft hoo-hoo calls sounding like a person laughing while reading a good book.
The air is warm and the fir tres are shedding knobs of icy snow that fall to the ground with a thwacking noise. Crouched on a limb of red pine, a pileated woodpecker considers its options in loosening even more missiles.
My BC Bucket List includes scouring the forest floor in search of holly and ivy to make a wreath and decorate the Christmas pudding. I may not be so lucky as to find mistletoe, so bane berry may have to suffice. I had forgotten all about winter roses, but recognize hellebores immediately when I find them growing in an urban garden.
A stream gurgles between silty banks overgrown with blackberry canes which claw at my hand and tear my clothing. Here I find ivy scrambling up the trunk of a venerable cedar tree nearby. The holly bushes I finally locate in the dividers of a parking lot by Brewster’s Pub where we join family for brunch, glossy green leaves punctuated by clusters of red berries and serious thorns.
Christmas Eve finds us gathered around our RV table eating, drinking and laughing together. Outside, the night is a balmy 2C with light rain, and I regret not the green holiday.
We wish our friends and family both near and far, love, peace and joy in this holy season.
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