Saturday, December 31, 2005

A Winter Walk At Wilderness


Sweet Little Sister and I went to Wilderness Park (just outside Frontenac, Kansas) for an afternoon walk with the dogs. I was really proud of Sister--we did the mile and a half loop with nary a complaint and made plans to go back in the Spring when things are in bloom.

But the bareness was nice too. We enjoyed being able to see through the trees down to the water. There was so little growing that the different textures of bark and moss and leaves were easy to spot. The few little spots of color we found stood out starkly against the brown grass and trees.

And the dogs slept like rocks for the entire rest of the day....

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Clause

This has been one of my favorites ever since I discovered it, 'round about age ten. No matter how old I get--and maybe even more so as I get older--the last part still brings tiny tears to the corners of my eyes. This year, as Sweet Little Sister is just reaching the age where she's mostly just pretending to believe so as not to disappoint us, and Adorable Baby Niece is just old enough that she's beginning those short, few years when she really, truly believes....eh, it's wonderful what people can do when they sit down and really honestly try to answer a child's questions.
Editorial Page, New York Sun, 1897

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O'Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus?Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
In searching for this in order to quote it, I also found some information about Virginia and the editorial writer, Francis Church, that I thought I'd post as well. (It came from this site.)
Francis P. Church's editorial, "Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" was an immediate sensation, and became one of the most famous editorials ever written. It first appeared in the The New York Sun in 1897, almost a hundred years ago, and was reprinted annually until 1949 when the paper went out of business.

Thirty-six years after her letter was printed, Virginia O'Hanlon recalled the events that prompted her letter:

"Quite naturally I believed in Santa Claus, for he had never disappointed me. But when less fortunate little boys and girls said there wasn't any Santa Claus, I was filled with doubts. I asked my father, and he was a little evasive on the subject.

"It was a habit in our family that whenever any doubts came up as to how to pronounce a word or some question of historical fact was in doubt, we wrote to the Question and Answer column in The Sun. Father would always say, 'If you see it in the The Sun, it's so,' and that settled the matter.

" 'Well, I'm just going to write The Sun and find out the real truth,' I said to father.

"He said, 'Go ahead, Virginia. I'm sure The Sun will give you the right answer, as it always does.' "

And so Virginia sat down and wrote her parents' favorite newspaper.

Her letter found its way into the hands of a veteran editor, Francis P. Church. Son of a Baptist minister, Church had covered the Civil War for The New York Times and had worked on the The New York Sun for 20 years, more recently as an anonymous editorial writer. Church, a sardonic man, had for his personal motto, "Endeavour to clear your mind of cant." When controversial subjects had to be tackled on the editorial page, especially those dealing with theology, the assignments were usually given to Church.

Now, he had in his hands a little girl's letter on a most controversial matter, and he was burdened with the responsibility of answering it.

"Is there a Santa Claus?" the childish scrawl in the letter asked. At once, Church knew that there was no avoiding the question. He must answer, and he must answer truthfully. And so he turned to his desk, and he began his reply which was to become one of the most memorable editorials in newspaper history.

Church married shortly after the editorial appeared. He died in April, 1906, leaving no children.

Virginia O'Hanlon went on to graduate from Hunter College with a Bachelor of Arts degree at age 21. The following year she received her Master's from Columbia, and in 1912 she began teaching in the New York City school system, later becoming a principal. After 47 years, she retired as an educator. Throughout her life she received a steady stream of mail about her Santa Claus letter, and to each reply she attached an attractive printed copy of the Church editorial. Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas died on May 13, 1971, at the age of 81, in a nursing home in Valatie, N.Y.
Happy Holidays Everyone!

Friday, December 23, 2005

Amaryllis Art

I'm leaving for Christmas today, and I'm a little sad because I think I'm going to miss the amaryllis' bloom. The head gets just a bit more swollen every day, but just hasn't quite burst open yet. Next year I need to plant just a wee bit earlier, I think.

But the sleek, tall shape of just the stalk and head is gorgeous. It's like a sculpture that changes ever so slightly all the time. And as you can see from the background, my paperwhites have been gradually flowering for about a week now, so I'm getting my flower fix just fine for now.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Winter Solstice

Keep your faith in beautiful things;
in the sun when it is hidden,
in the Spring when it is gone.
- Roy R. Gibson

Saturday, December 17, 2005

The Day After

I think the worst day of the year is "the day after". The day after Christmas (when all the presents have been opened), the day after New Year's (when you take the Christmas decorations down and go back to work or school), the day after the 4th of July (all the fireworks are gone and it's unbearably hot)--it can be the day after anything that you've planned and waited for....

It's like waking up with a bad hangover. And maybe it is a hangover, of sorts. You get all the adrenaline and excitement in the build up for a big day, and then all of a sudden it's over and all the happy brain chemicals are gone. It's no wonder days after feel so crummy.

But it is snowing outside, so at least it's a pretty day after.

Friday, December 16, 2005

Putting the House in Order

Isn't it funny the things you don't even notice you're living without until company is coming? For example, until today, Sweet Husband and I had a total of two washcloths. I have mine and he has his and when they're dirty we wash them. I didn't even realize we only had two until I went to lay some out so that Mom and Sister could find them, and saw that there were none to lay out.

Funnier still are the things you live with. In the past few days we have cleaned behind the fridge, in the space between the washer and dryer, our spare room (which now looks almost homey, compared to the tornado-has-just-passed-through motif we had going on a few days ago), and several other nooks and crannies that probably wouldn't have seen the light of day for several more months at least, if not for the fact that our Mommies are both coming tomorrow. (Not to say we wouldn't have cleaned for you too, Dads, but you know how it is....)

And it's not that either of our Moms don't know we're both kinda messy. They raised us, they know how we are. So why the show? Are we trying to prove that we're all grown up? That we're capable of taking care of ourselves? That some of their lessons did sink in?

I'm not sure. But I do know one thing with absolute certainty--there is not a single dust bunny behind our refridgerator.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Not a Creature Was Stirring, Not Even A Mouse....

'Cause we killed it.

We saw "The Nutcracker" this weekend for the first time. If you aren't familiar with the story, at the beginning, the Nutcrackers have a battle with the evil Mouse King and his minions. That's what it's been like at our house lately, only instead of Nutcrackers we've had humans and doggies, all on the hunt. And instead of an outright battle, our mice have been utilizing guerilla tactics.

A few weeks ago I read the PETA book "Making Kind Choices". They suggested that when you have a mouse in the house you should buy live traps. Then you should catch the entire little mouse family and take them all out together and release them into a field. While I think this may be the more admirable thing to do, I just don't have the patience.

Feel a little bad about it actually. I know our mice aren't really evil. They're just coming in to get warm, and I kind of like mice when they stay outside. They're fuzzy and soft, and their little movements are so delicate and sweet. But I just can't deal with them being in the house. They make little messes and I hear them scurrying around at night when I'm up late and the house is quiet--gives me the creepy crawlies. I need them out NOW.

So, we pulled out all the stops--little springy traps with peanut butter for bait--and tonight we caught one.

Luckily, Sweet Husband is also Smart Husband. He whisked the remains outside before I could see them. I think--in a way that does not need to be spoken even--he knows that if I had to see the little mouse body we'd have to get some live traps, regardless of how much longer that would take to get rid of our tiny invaders.

It's just easier for both of us this way.

Friday, December 09, 2005

Christmas Gifts for Gardeners

This seriously cool article was in the LJWorld the other day. I'm sure I don't need any of this stuff, but the idea of a digital, wireless, self-emptying rain gauge made visions of sugar plums dance in my head.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

First Snow



We got our first real snow yesterday. It's kind of nice actually, I think if it's going to be freezing outside, it's so much better if there's snow. It started really early in the morning, and turned into nice big fat flakes in the afternoon. By the time I came home from taking a final it looked like someone was sprinkling glitter from the sky. All told there were about six inches some places in Lawrence. I could definitely tell that I don't have four-wheel drive anymore!

And it was Moe's very first snow, so I had a lot of fun watching his reactions (but for more on that, see "Moe's World").

And Speaking of the Earth....

I just discovered Google Earth and I've been flying all over the world. I went to Pittsburg and California and England and Paris and Ireland and even Antarctica! But don't worry, I know where home is--38*57'29.03N and 95*13'44.58W.

Really, give it a try, it's kind of fun.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Purple Carrots



Found these at the Merc this weekend and thought they were too pretty. Next time we try to grow carrots this is what I want. They're a nice reddish-purple on the outside, but on the inside they're orange like a regular carrot--makes for a cool contrast.

Monday, December 05, 2005

Now That's a Tree Topper

Since last year, the grocery store where we shop has had these Jayhawk handpuppets on sale. Everytime we went shopping I would pick one up and torment Sweet Husband with it--pecking him on the ear, handing him things from it's mouth, talking as if the Jayhawk were talking--you know, usual stuff. When we were done, I would always abandon the puppet in the check-out line.

Meanwhile, I've been looking for a tree topper for our Christmas tree. We weren't really into stars or bows. I kind of like angels, but the wings on Christmas tree angels these days are a little creepy. So, I started looking for an angel without wings. Sweet Husband said an angel without wings was not an angel. What I was really looking for was a "reasonably attractive Christmas woman"--a thing that does not exist in the form of a tree topper.

So, then we went grocery shopping again, only this time the Jayhawk puppets were way on sale. I'm guessing they decided it was no longer cost effective for them to keep moving them back to their place with people leaving them all over the store. We decided (okay, I decided) that for $2 we could take one home and torment people with him all the time! This happened to be the same day the Christmas tree went up, and, oh look, the space for a hand was the perfect thing to keep him on the tree....


Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Wrapping Roses

Had to go out and give the roses some cover yesterday. I'm worried that they won't make it outside this winter, but we don't have any place to bring them into so they'll have to do the best they can. I covered the pots and the lower parts of the canes with burlap and cedar, and gave them a little water. Maybe they'll make it, it's been pretty cold this past week and they're still hanging in there.

It seems kind of sad to have to be winterizing the roses in the first place. I'd rather think of them making beautiful, warm roses then outside shivering and bare. After about two months of waiting and wishing for winter, I found myself thinking about the first day of summer, when Sweet Husband and I went to the rose garden in Kansas City. I know that it really was hot and there were mosquitoes, but in my imagination it was a perfectly warm, perfectly wonderful day.

This is a new turn of events for me, I usually don't start thinking of spring until after Christmas, at least....

(Update: Well we ended up finding inside space for the roses after all. Moe decided he just couldn't leave those nice big bags of mulch alone. After I rebundled them four or five times (and got progressively more frustrated each time) Sweet Husband finally said he thought it would be easier to just make space in our attic. Rearranging was a pain (it's things like this that are why he is SWEET Husband) but we finally puzzle-pieced everything in.)

Christmas Topiary



Wonderful Dad sent me some birthday money, so I picked out something completely just-for-fun. I think the people at Sunrise might think I'm a little crazy--it took me about fifteen minutes to decide between this and a rosemary tree. But the little tree that died last winter broke my heart, so we'll see if this stays alive better.

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Paperwhite Growth



These were planted at the beginning of November, but not watered until mid-November. They're just about to pop. The extra root space that the bulbs nearer to the center have is making for a nice conical effect.

Also, you'll notice we have an uninvited--but maybe not unwelcome--guest. A very interesting looking little sprout of a fellow has popped up. I have no idea who or what he is (I used clean potting soil, I swear) but he looks benign so we're leaving him put for now.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Hanging the Greens

On the aforementioned trip to Sunrise I also bought some nice fresh evergreen cuttings to festoon the outside of our house with. Sweet husband helped put up the lights (a long time ago, but let's not dwell too much on that) so now we are all properly gussied up for the holidays.

Evergreen trees were originally a symbol of life in winter. Their branches were thought to have special powers because they never were barren, as other trees were.

Actually evergreens do shed their needles, they just don't do it all at once.

Another, very charming, myth I found goes as follows:

"Many years before the birth of Christ the peoples of Europe hung evergreens above their doors during the winter for they believed that the woodland spirits wandered about in the cold. They hoped that by offering them shelter within their homes, they would receive good fortune and health."

Isn't that a fun thought? I can just imagine a shivering little brownie curled up in the crook of my wreath. It's pretty cold out though, maybe I should invite it inside to nestle in the paperwhites instead.