Photo Finish

Happy December! 'Tis the season to deck the halls, etc., etc., etc. I began sending out yearly Christmas cards once I got married. I always enjoyed the process of going out and selecting the perfect card but over the years the process of actually sending them became a bit of a chore. Over time I implemented a few changes to make things easier: I purchased pre-printed return address labels and blank labels that I could use to print out labels for the recipients. Once I set up the file containing the addresses it was just a matter of keeping it updated from year to year. The biggest improvement to the process was one I put off for years: downsizing the list of recipients. Several years ago I finally took the plunge and greatly reduced the number of recipients, primarily by removing people that I hadn't seen or heard from in years.

Even though we raised two boys I was never the person to do photo cards so that everyone could watch them grow up, nor did I write an annual fifteen-page letter detailing every aspect of our lives for the preceding year. However, things changed when we moved to our current home (aka The Cabin) in 2017. For some reason, that year I decided that I wanted to do photo cards - in part to show everyone our new house. I have kept up the new tradition and am actually quite enjoying it. While there are oodles of sites from which you can create/order personalized cards, Shutterfly is my provider of choice. I enjoy the process of selecting which card design and photos to use. One thing that all of our cards have had in common is a photo of my husband and I on the front and a photo of one of our cats, along with a "witty" saying on the back. (At least I think it's witty, LOL.) So, rather than getting to watch our sons grow up, folks will get to watch us grow old - which is fine by me. I hope that the recipients will also get to see a bit of our personalities that they may not have seen before. Now I invite you to take a stroll with me down memory lane with a peek at the main photos from our cards.

Our 2017 card featured what is still one of my favorite pictures of my hubby and I; our cat Nyx was featured on the back.

 

For our 2018 card we re-created the previous year's couple's photo - with me in my T-Rex costume. (Yes, I have a T-Rex costume.) Our cat Marvin was featured on the back.

Our 2019 card featured a picture of my hubby and I that was taken when we were at the Grand Prismatic Basin in Yellowstone National Park; Kota (the Kitten of the Apocalypse) was featured on the back.

Now, I'm going to give you a peek at the photos used on this year's cards which haven't even been sent out yet so shhhhhh! This year being what it has, I couldn't resist taking some 2020 appropriate photos of us and our newest feline family member, Bear, makes his debut on the back of the card.

Speaking of Bear, say a prayer for us y'all. A kitten's first Christmas is always interesting and I have no doubt that Bear will find his introduction to a Christmas tree to be beyond exciting.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year. Let's all raise a glass to a better 2021!

 

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Boo!

In the blink of an eye it’s gone from March to October, and Halloween is fast approaching.  But this holiday promises to be different than usual.  Will there be a Halloween at all?  Gone are the days of light-hearted dressing up and trick-or-treating.  Last year, Halloween celebrations in my neck of the woods (northern California) were threatened by wildfires and power outages.  This year, we still have have the fires, but the pandemic might be the biggest threat to celebrating the spooky tradition.  

What will children do?  Is it safe to go out and about?  What about trick-or-treating?  Digging into a community candy bowl in close contact with others is probably not the best idea.  My husband already bought bags of Halloween candy that needs to be given away or I will eat it all!  I was thinking of making individual bags and placing them along the driveway for the kids to pick up.

Besides the candy, there are other ways to celebrate.  We have had Halloween parties in the past, but that’s out the window.  I love to dress up and have gone from full costume several years ago:

to a more relaxed version recently:

I doubt I will dress up at all this year, although I may throw on the t-shirt.  

We like to decorate the house and yard:

And I love to watch a good horror movie or revisit my favorite spooky stories:

  

My husband and I make it a tradition to visit a pumpkin patch every year, and this year was no different.  My idea of a pumpkin patch is paying five times more for a pumpkin than you would at the grocery store and having to lug it a lot further to the car:

My husband’s idea sounds like some sort of convoluted fairy tale about liberating the poor oppressed pumpkins from the pumpkin patch.  I tell him we can liberate them from the grocery store for 1/5 of the price, but he’s having none of that.  Having said that, it’s nice to get outside and enjoy the cooler fall weather.  It’s an al fresco activity with plenty of room for social distancing.  And there were plenty of fun photo ops:

What are your plans with the kids or grandkids this Halloween?  Do you have any fun Halloween traditions to share?

Angela Crider Neary is an attorney by day and writer by night. She is an avid mystery reader and especially enjoys reading novels set in interesting locales. She was inspired to write her first mystery novella, Li'l Tom and the Pussyfoot Detective Bureau: The Case of the Parrots Desaparecidos, by one of her favorite areas in San Francisco, Telegraph Hill.  Her second book, Li'l Tom and the Case of the New Year Dragon is now available.  To learn more, visit her on Facebook and Amazon.

CHRISTMAS ISN'T JUST FOR HUMANS ANYMORE

 I’m not embarrassed to admit it. Christmas morning is for family, and my family is my cats. For several years, my husband and I have celebrated with love and fur. The joy of watching a beloved kitty open his present under the tree cannot be surpassed.

Wait! you say.
Open his present? you say.
Yes! Why not?

It took a little imagination the first time we tried to get our cat to open his present by himself, but over the years, trial and error has brought us a technique that works well with most cats. Check it out it and let me know what you think.

1. The presents that work best are catnip-based, like a pillow or mouse. If it isn’t a catnip toy, rubbing the wrap with catnip or spritzing with catnip spray may do the trick.*

2. The toy should be very loosely wrapped with tissue or thin wrapping paper and unbound or bound with a single piece of untied ribbon or twine.

3. Wait until you’re ready before bringing the present out of hiding. (Cats are even worse than kids for getting into things before Santa Claws gives the go-ahead.) Then make a comfortable place on the floor, gather cat and present and see what happens next.

4. Get your coffee, your camera, sit back and enjoy.

*Not all cats react to catnip, so those will need another attraction, such as dangling a string toy or Da Bird over the present to get them interested.

*Sometimes kitty will need a little help or encouragement. If kitty isn’t in the mood, you can help him along or even wait until later. Moms and dads need to be sensitive to kitty’s moods.




 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Mollie, Jim, Little, Red, and Tinkerbelle.



Loving memory of Dirty Harry, who has crossed Beyond.

The People and the Forest -- Spring Is Here by Jae Hall

Cat, Blackie and Kamisha

May is here and that means five birthdays in my family.
So starting today May 1, Happy Birthday to Carl, Scout, Venice, Migel, and Frank. I know we'll be celebrating on the ranch with cake and maybe a pizza or bbq.

The forest provides a wide variety of foods and medicines, so it's time to gather even more plants for future use.

I was going to spotlight chaparral, but due to my camera dying, I haven't taken enough good photos. Also the toxic bloom is raising cane with my allergies. I'll save that special herb and it's uses for later in the summer so this  blog is about a variety of spring topics, and of course plants.

I've been out gathering  and it's always fun to take the family out and learn something new. A plant we call Princess Pine has been used in our family for many generations. The tea can be used for arthritis and kidney illnesses. Always use caution and test for allergies.

Hunter picking Princess Pine

Scout

Great Grandma Betty and Scout 

Hunter and Scout

Princess Pine

Dogwood

Dogwood Tree

A tree that has beautiful blossoms in the spring is our wild Dogwood tree. This year due to a very mild winter, lack of water and impending drought, our Dogwood is blooming early.

Pussy Ears

We generally take a day drive up into the mountains at the end of May to gather Dogwood blossoms along with other wild flowers. We use them to decorate our family graves for Memorial Day. This year everything is blooming 4-6 weeks early so our flower supply will be limited.
Here are a few of our annual flowers that are currently blooming in the northern California  forests.

Mule Ear Daisy

Trillium

Siskiyou Lewisia

Miners Lettuce

Copper and blooming Chaparral

Red Bells

Lupine

 Spring Colds and flu have hit many hard around here.

Young Western Red Cedar

Mature Western Red Cedar

Cold and flu season has depleted my supply of  Western Red Cedar.

Cedar is our go to for chest congestion and respiratory illnesses. Always remember to identify plants correctly before using. We only use the Western Red Cedar. Other varieties may have similar or different properties and uses.

These photos are of  young Western Red Cedar and a mature tree.

I gather the green foliage and dry for a tea. We use it in place of, or in conjunction with, commercially produced flu remedies.
I gather the berries for decorations and jewelry. Again. know your plants and if possible go out with someone knowledgeable.

After 30+ years,  I'm still not used to the idea that my husband no longer fells timber and there will be no summer long camp-outs in the forest. The time I've spent living in the deep forest and taking pictures of trees and plants has contributed to the background information in many of my stories. Spending weeks away from modern conveniences is at the top of my fun list.

Some of my photos of my husband cutting down danger trees near roadways and tourists camps have become a part of on my book covers.

My children are also in the forest/logging industry and work to keep the forest healthy as our family has done for countless generations.

At the end of the day we all give thanks that we are able to spend our life out in nature passing down generations of knowledge and skills, enjoying good company, and watching the sun set on yet another great day in the northern California forest. It's our Shasta tradition.

Jae Hall lives in far Northern California with her husband, the Shasta tribal Chief, family, cats, dogs and over a dozen horses. She is the co-author of Arcadia Publishing history books Western Siskiyou, Gold and Dreams, and Shasta Nation. Through PRP is the novel TimberBeast and she has Indie published the second book in her TimberBeast series, DutchMan.
More fiction and non-fiction books are coming soon.