A Joyful Christmas, One And All:
Here at the Scarborough's we're experimenting with something new: a Christmas Letter. And since there's little to report (aside from my current 6-days-a-week work schedule, and Tad’s quiet retirement), I’ll describe my experience looking for Christmas cards online, and how I decided to simply pick a few photos from the year gone by to substitute instead.
I started out googling "Artisan Christmas Cards”. I had visions of a farmscape filled with enchanting detail. This led to thousands of images of what seemed like the same old abstract reindeer, redbird, evergreen or Santa hat. Too hum drum. So I tried “Antique Christmas Cards”. This was a bit better, resulting in many Victorian era designs, some of which I'd never seen before. But, they didn’t feel right. So, I then tried Fine Art Christmas Cards. Maybe, but nothing spoke to me.
I wonder if the reason one doesn’t see much that's captivating is that art is too easily copied these days; so artists daren’t risk putting much into their creations. Thus the slap and dash approach.
A few cards that I considered are linked to here and here. Comments: they're both nice, but putting candles on a tree is surely fire hazard territory (our old house burned down on Christmas night, 1949); and wishing someone a 'white Christmas' has an unwanted connotation when snowstorms make my workday life a lot more challenging.
As for this year's photos, I know, I know, I need to try harder:
This red-and-green snapshot shows what a maple tree does in the spring when deer nibble on its new leaves.
Here, we see bees swarming. No getting near that queen.
To my mind, this is a pretty good definition of 'radius'. Our kitchen table doesn't get much attention these days, since we eat breakfast in our respective rooms, and dinner while watching TV (pre-recorded late night comedy is our mainstay). Violets notecard from Kathy A.; mock orange blooming.
Cookies for Santa, from last year.
This pair of sticks (the one on the right is much thinner) got me thinking: what if crows left messages for their friends, like "this place has inactive chimneys".
A few of aunt Libba's daffodils on a wet spring day. They're reproducing nicely.
Insect's delight: milkweed blooming at the pond (tribute to the late Krista Manard).
Kitchen door, with faithful guardian on lookout.
Sweet William on the march.
At our niece's wedding we met a few new friends. Can't remember this guy's name for some reason.
At Annie and Kip's wedding party the cake was tree-themed.
Perhaps someone could tag this guy, too.
Hard to see, but the day after this root was exposed (our local utility re-laid our underground electric line this fall), the squirrels had a corncob picnic at the point on the drive where the root pointed (all that's left are kernels, cob and husk). Coincidence? Or the logic of how landscape subtly shapes us.
And a larger, 'big picture' photo from the wedding: mother/daughter dance (I 'd already gone to bed).
Happy New Year, all!
No comments:
Post a Comment