Three December Lovelies and a Gift of Snow

Busy day ahead. The lady who sold us our goat boys is having a potluck at her ranch this afternoon. So, I thought I would do a quick post for four very good reasons. Then I need to dribble some frosting on the Banana Nut bundt cake I made this morning and do some outside chores, then take a shower. But first....
1. This is the wonderful Persimmon Pudding that my husband made me on my birthday. Yes, he did this all by himself and it was delicious.











2. The Chinese Talon tree in all it's Fall to Winter glory.















3. The grape arbor, with the sun rising behind it.









and...,SNOW.
Do you see it ?
Floating down upon my blog pages? My friend Jo, in Pennsylvania, ( jonjdsbitsandpieces.blogspot.com) felt sorry for me here in the foothills of California, below 2000 ft., where we don't get much (if any) snow. So she gave me a gift for the holidays. Now I have snow anytime I want it and I don't have to work in it, shovel it, or drive in it. I can just enjoy it. It's wonderful and I won't whine about not having any snow around here again..., maybe. Thank's Jo. You know what this meant to me.

Waiting for..., something...

The "last roses of summer" are still blooming...,

The animals are soakin' up the sun...,

Some of the Christmas decorations are up...,

It's Dec 12 and the sun is shinning brightly. The garden is still blooming and more than half of the leaves are still clinging to the trees. It's another beautiful day in the Foothills.The weather report says a storm is going to move in over the weekend. That will be a first for us. I am beginning to think that we are going to have a very mild Winter this year when we badly need a heavy snow in the mountains and rain to fill the rivers and reservoirs.

The full moon lights up the night. (Silent night, Holy night?) It is the climate of this season many, many years ago, in a country far from here, that allowed two people to find shelter and have a baby, without snow, or wind or rain. It is the quiet before the storm of history that has produced an amazing 2000 years of belief that boggles the rational mind. I don't know what to think of all this, but I celebrate and I hope, and wish for peace in our world..., and I wait for Winter to come.

Wordless Wednesday: Kansas & Twister; my friend's kittens

Tarantulas

Tarantulas on the Lifebuoy
BY THOMAS LUX

For some semitropical reason
when the rains fall relentlessly they fall
into swimming pools, these otherwise
bright and scary arachnids.
They can swim a little,
but not for long
and they can’t climb the ladder out.
They usually drown—
but if you want their favor,
if you believe there is justice,
a reward for not loving
the death of ugly
and even dangerous (the eel, hog snake, rats) creatures,
if you believe these things,
then you would leave a lifebuoy or two
in your swimming pool at night.
And in the morning
you would haul ashore
the huddled, hairy survivors
and escort them back to the bush,
and know, be assured that at least
these saved, as individuals,
would not turn up again
someday in your hat, drawer,
or the tangled underworld of your socks,
and that even— when your belief in justice
merges with your belief in dreams—
they may tell the others
in a sign language
four times as subtle and
complicated as man’s
that you are good,
that you love them,
that you would save them again.

My youngest son left this poem in my email as a response to my "Trust" post. He knows me well. This poem speaks to my very soul.
My youngest son is a poet and a visionary. He has always understood the nuances of human behavior and ,it seems, the affinity of his mother to the natural world.
Thank you for the wonderful poem, Jess.