We finally took our tree down today, the official sign that Christmas is over. Holiday lights linger in the windows of some of our neighbors so the 2010 Christmas spirit continues on…or our neighbors have less motivation than us.
We initially planned to “de-Christmas” on New Year’s Day but missed that goal as well as our 2nd goal of a Christmas free Epiphany. Finally today, Epiphany Sunday, we stripped the tree, loaded it into the trunk of the car and drove it to Ijams Nature Center where, along with hundreds of other trees, it will be reduced to mulch for trail maintenance.
John tossing our tree onto the Christmas tree pile at Ijams Nature Center
That’s our tree, the one on top, to the right of the white pine
After unloading the tree, we decided to walk around Ijams and enjoy the wonder of winter. Snow from Saturday’s crazy storm lingered, most small ponds were mostly frozen.
We were surprised by the layer of ice that had formed across the surface of such a large pond, and pleased to catch the light reflecting just right..
Another one of our self portraits. John, wearing his new hat and down jacket is a happy (and toasty warm) boy!
Icicles, in various levels of melt, hung from the cave located along the river walk at Ijams.
This view of the Tennessee River is not visible for 3 seasons of the year due to heavy leaf cover. It’s a treat to gaze through the leafless trees at the snaking river. More pictures are available in our Picasa sight :
http://picasaweb.google.com/johnandbeverly74/IjamsNatureCenter010911#
This winter I think I have turned into some of my friends with poor circulation, I am having a hard time keeping warm. This factor is affecting my desire to get outside to exercise so I am looking for some solutions. John set my bike up on one of the trainers in our basement today, now I have no excuses for getting back in the saddle. We are also looking at treadmills. I have narrowed the search down to a Sole F80 and a Livestrong LS13.0T. The treadmill is instead of a new bike purchase planned for this year. I love to run more than I love to bicycle so I know I have made the right choice.
Another prediction of snow tomorrow. This is suppose to be a big one but Todd the weatherman has had some misses recently so we will see!
