Nl december 13

11

Inside this

issue:

Meeting Dates 2

Gardener Gifts 3

Homemade

Treats

4

Walk on the

Wild Side

5

Citrus Canker 5

Out & About 6

Book Review 7

Events 7

Recipe 8

Updates & Info 8

Birthdays 8

More Events! 9

Last Word 10

...for discerning weeders December, 2013 An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

WEED OF THE MONTH By Jenny G.

DON’T FORGET TO

LOG YOUR HOURS

ONTO THE VMS

SYSTEM!

Click here to enter

It’s December and time to prepare for Christ-mas. No flower says Christmas like poinsettia. The bright red poinsettia is one of the classic icons of the season. These beautiful flowers are even the subject of a charming Christmas leg-end. According to the Mexican legend, a poor girl brought some simple weeds to church on Christmas Eve. As she entered the church, her simple weeds were transformed into beautiful poinsettias.

Poinsettias are part of the Euphorbiaceae or Spurge family. Botanically, Christmas Poinset-tia's technical name is Euphorbia pulcherrima.

Did you know a weed growing here is a close cousin of the iconic Christmas Poinsettia? Wild Poinsettia is also called Mexi-can Fire Plant, Painted Eu-phorbia, Fire on the Mountain and Paint Leaf.

Euphorbia hetrophylla is a summer annual weed primari-ly of the tropical climates of South America but developing into a greater problem in the Southern U.S. It is native to Mexico, but many scientists believe this plant is also native to the contiguous United States.

Wild poinsettia grows in zones 9b through 11 as a perennial, but will grow as a self-seeding an-nual through zone 7b. A very common, knee-high herb, often found as a weed along road-sides. The plants grow only to one foot in height and survive the heat of summer quite well, often blooming just before autumn. The colorful foli-age lasts until frost. As with all the poinsettias, the color we admire is actually the leaves sur-rounding the tiny flowers.

The minute flowers lack petals and are a 5-lobed, gland-rimmed cup, all in a cluster atop each leafy stem - just above partly red, white, or yellow leaves. The broken stem oozes a milky sap. All Euphorbias have milky white latex sap, which is toxic, so gardeners will need to make sure not to allow it to make contact with skin or eyes while working around the plants.

These plants are best suit-ed for full sun or part shade condi-tions, in "lean" soil that does not have exten-sive organic matter or fertility. Young plants will readily appear from seed after the first year, even if mulch has been applied to the flower-beds. Any excess seedlings may be pulled up

with little trouble. Allow 6-8" of space between plants.

There are similarities between Wild Poinsettia and Christmas Poinsettia: similar leaf shape, flowers cluster at the stem's top, and the cluster's middle leaves are colored toward their bases. Of course, Christmas Poinsettias uppermost leaves are red where Wild Poinsettia is a very variable species and often the leaf bases are red.

Wild Poinsettia is a Florida native plant that can add splashes of color to gardens without over-powering. The dark green leaves can be oval or indented on the sides as though someone squeezed them. Some have a splash of red that looks painted on, thus the common name "Painted Leaf.” Wild Poinsettia is not as showy as the kind sold during the holidays, but it has a certain homegrown charm. Most plants that provide food to bees, wasps, butterflies also feed other little critters.

Painted spurge (Euphorbia heterophylla) repro-duces by seed. The capsules open explosively when mature, expelling the seeds short distanc-es. They may also be spread by water movement and as dumped garden waste. This species pre-fers sandy soils, particularly in disturbed sites.

Continued on page 2

22

Weed continued

Wild Poinsettia is easily recognized by the red splotches at the base of new growth leaves. The plant is known to form large col-onies that might appear as a tangled mass of vines, but as a soli-tary plant, it will stand upright, spreading its numerous woody branches. Most scientific descriptions refer to it as "Painted Leaf" since only a small piece of the leaf turns color. The color-ing normally begins in early June and will have completed the cycle by end of November. This annual transplants well and will spread rapidly once established. However, do not depend on it being where you left it the year before because the seeds disperse rapidly and the plant escapes easily.

It is resistant to most herbicides and is considered invasive in many states, but has not appeared on the Federal Noxious Weeds List as of the latest update. The simplest way to control this plant is to manually pull it before the flowers mature and produce the fruits (seeds). Wild Poinsettias are also important troublesome weeds that can outcompete crops, such as peanuts in the southern United States and is considered the “eighth most troublesome weed of peanut” by University of Georgia.

I first saw this weed/wild flower years ago growing in Pensacola behind a building near historic Seville Square. I thought to my-self: “Boy does this look like a poinsettia!” Since then I have seen it growing along the fence at the ANNEX. By Jove, I think she’s got it!!

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/favorite-christmas-plants-holiday-decor#.Un67j5V3taQ http://ipm.missouri.edu/IPCM/2010/9/Weed-of-the-Month-Wild-Poinsettia/ http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=WF1719 http://butterflies.heuristron.net/plants/poinsettia.html http://courses.missouristate.edu/pbtrewatha/painted_spurge.htm http://www.austinbug.com/larvalbugbio/poinsettias.html http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/03030800-0b07-490a-8d04-0605030c0f01/media/Html/Euphorbia_cyathophora.htm http://wildflowers.jdcc.edu/Euphorbiaceae.html http://www.alafarmnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=1803:we-have-wild-poinsettias-in-alabama http://www.caes.uga.edu/publications/pubDetail.cfm?pk_id=6447 http://www.peanut.ncsu.edu/Weeds/Poinsettia_Wild.aspx

Ed. Note: Jenny G. is ‘retiring’ from the weed of the month fea-ture. We thank her for her tireless contributions since 2010!

We are going to offer other features each month but we know that our monthly dose of weed lore will be missed.

2014 General Meeting Schedule

There will be a few changes to the General Membership meeting

schedule. As always we will be rotating through different loca-

tions throughout the year.

All meetings will be on the LAST Wednesday of each month. The

only exceptions will be the November and December meetings

due to conflicts with the holidays.

Meetings will begin at 9:00 am.

As always, members are encouraged to sign up to help with hos-

pitality and bring a dish to the meetings.

Any questions, please contact Stacey T.

The following is the entire year for 2014. Any changes will be

sent out to the membership.

January 29th @ Crestview Extension

February 26th @ Extension Annex

March 26th @ Shalimar Baptist Church

April 30th @ Crestview Extension

May 28th @ Extension Annex

June 25th @ Shalimar Baptist Church

July 30th @ Crestview Extension

August 27th @ Extension Annex

September 24th @ Shalimar Baptist Church

October 29th @ Crestview Extension

November 12th @ Extension Annex

December 10th @ Shalimar Baptist Church

Crestview Extension is located at 3098 Airport Road, Crestview

Extension Annex is located at 127 Hollywood Blvd., Ft. Walton

Beach

Shalimar Baptist Church is located at 17 4th Avenue, Shalimar

Don’t forget, carpooling is strongly encouraged to all meetings

but especially the Extension Annex.

33

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR THE GARDENER by Karen H.

Christmas is upon us and again you are staring at your list, won-dering what to give to the gardeners who made the cut this year and are deserving of your largesse. Whether it's a gift for your sweetie, your mom or your best friend, it's important that it be perfect, right? So, you can play it safe and give the usual: garden-ing gloves, hand-painted trowel, garden gnome or the ever-popular amaryllis bulb kit. Or, you can be more adventurous and consider one of these options:

You can give your friends worms. OK, that didn't come out right but bear with me. We all know how worms improve the tilth and health of our soil and if you have a friend who has just moved into a new tract house where anything resembling topsoil was cart-ed away during the home's construction, a package of earthworms to get your friend started on building up good soil would be a very thoughtful gift. I didn't think of this idea on my own. It tops this list of 10 unu-sual gardening gifts: http://tinyurl.com/orm8rtr I didn't find the other ideas on this list very unusual; nice, but not really eye-catching. Worms, though...I like that as a unique yet useful gift. Unfortunately the link in this article takes you to all kinds of worm-named things, such as worm-gears, that are not earthworms at all. My sugges-tion would be to either dig up some worms from your own gar-den and package them in a suitable gift box (with soil and air-holes, please!), or go to a bait shop and buy a pint of worms.

How about those times when you're working hard in the garden and need a wee nip of something a bit stronger than sweet tea to make your day complete? You'll need a garden flask for that: http://tinyurl.com/oo5peog If your friend is a rose specialist she might prefer this model: http://tinyurl.com/ot5tfhd I'd like to have that one handy myself to help relieve the pain of my annual rose-pruning sessions in January during which the roses fling their thorns at me and get even for being neglected the previous summer.

And forget garden gnomes. For a mere $250 (plus shipping, I suppose), you can have this metal shark swimming around your garden and maybe frightening off the squirrels (but probably not): http://tinyurl.com/o9kedb9

Want to give a friend a real challenge (and maybe be able to cross them off your list next Christmas after they've spent an aggra-vating year trying to make this work)? Give them a topiary frame! And maybe a pot of English ivy or other suitable fast-growing plant to train on the topiary. Your friend can grow a giraffe, a bear, a peacock! They'll thank you (or curse you) every time they go outside to look at their handiwork: http://www.giftsandgardens.com/topiary.htm

For the women on your list and certain men as well, how about lichen earrings? I can't think of anything, well, earthier! http://tinyurl.com/p9p5qhp

Got a friend with a lazy dawg? How about a Zen dog statue to celebrate the dogs' laid-backness? (and if that's not a word, it should be): http://tinyurl.com/ovsosuv

And for a mere $35 your friends can grow moss in a light bulb and maybe bring themselves good luck. Why not? http://tinyurl.com/oq769az

Clearly there is no need to give the same old same old gifts to our gardening friends. We gardeners are generally regarded as being rather eccentric anyway so why not put that imagination to good use and come up with gifts that they'll remember (for better or worse! :))

Container gardening in buckets! Photo courtesy of

Dick H.

Recycling at its best. Carport greenhouse! Courtesy of Dick

H.

44

HO

LID

AY

RE

CIP

ES

AN

D T

RE

AT

S F

OR

WILD

BIR

DS

Courte

sy o

f Lin

da M

.

While you are baking and cooking for your family and

friends for the holidays, don't forget your wild feathered

friends! Here are some ideas for decorating your yard and

trees with festive, edible treats. These make wonderful gifts

for the wild bird lovers in your family, too. Use either the

suet or birdseed/fruit mixture to form the decorations that

follow.

Holiday Peanut Butter Suet

2 cups chunky peanut butter 1 cup lard

(animal fat-based if possible)

2 cups oats

2 cups cornmeal

1 cup white flour

Melt lard and peanut butter together; add

the rest, plus mixed seeds, fresh cranber-

ries, orange pieces, and other colorful additions.

Birdseed and Fruit Mixture

Edible Glue: 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup water, 3 Tbsp. corn syr-

up (add package of plain Knox gelatin for extra holding

power if necessary).

Add 4 cups birdseed and peanuts, fruits, berries, raisins, or

anything else the birds enjoy.

Stars and Wreaths

Cover tray with waxed paper; roll out mixture 1/4 to 1/2

inch thick. Use cookie cutters or shape mixture into stars

and wreaths. Freeze if using the suet. For birdseed mixture,

let dry 4-6 hours; remove cookie cutters; turn over and dry

4-6 hours more. Use raffia to hang from trees.

Birdseed Bells

Coat outside of 2-1/4" diameter peat pots with the suet mix-

ture or use a paintbrush to coat with the edible glue and

then roll in birdseed and place on waxed paper to dry for 4-

6 hours. Use needle and thread to string 4-5 cranberries for

clappers; pass needle through top of bell and knot at top.

Use paper-twists or raffia bows to decorate at top and dou-

ble as hangers.

Stuffed Pine Cones

Gather cones that are partially opened. Stuff with the suet

mixture or chunky peanut butter and cornmeal mixture

(better for the birds than peanut butter alone). Use raffia or

colorful string to hang.

Dried Fruit Wreaths and Garlands

For Wreaths: Thread a large darning nee-

dle with cotton string or dental floss. Make

a knot 4-6" from one end. String dried fruit

(apricots, papaya, oranges, raisins, etc.)

until enough to form a small wreath. Knot

string together to secure circle, leaving

enough string at each end to form hanger

loop. Use paper-twists or raffia to decorate.

Garlands look festive in outside trees.

Thread a large needle with a 3 to 6 foot length of cotton

string or dental floss. After stringing the ingredients, loop

and knot each end for hanger loops. String with the follow-

ing:

Pretzels (unsalted), peanuts in shells, dried fruits, pine

cones, sprigs of holly or pine, knotting string around the

larger pieces. Colored-kernel popcorn, dried fruit. Roll fresh

cranberries in lightly beaten egg whites and then in super-

fine granulated sugar (lightly). Place on waxed paper to dry

before stringing.

Source: author - P. H. Macayo http://

www.connectedbypets.com/articles/HolidayTreats.html

“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.

To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of

Christmas.” Calvin Coolidge

From All of Us to All of You—A Very Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year

55

A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE Courtesy Linda M.

Ho Ho Ho! This is a great time for bird watchers, here are just a

few feathered activities

to enjoy:

• National Audubon So-

ciety - The 114th Annual

Audubon Christmas Bird

Count will take place

December 14, 2013 to

January 5, 2014. The

longest running Citizen

Science survey in the world, the Christmas Bird Count provides

critical data on population trends. Tens of thousands of partici-

pants know that it is also a lot of fun. Since the Christmas Bird

Count began over a century ago, it has relied on the dedication

and commitment of volunteer citizen scientists. If you would like

to participate during the CBC season, sign-up at http://

birds.audubon.org/christmas-bird-count

• This is the best time for watching waterfowl on wetlands, lakes,

and prairies.

• Great horned owls and barred owls courting. Listen for them.

The barred owl makes its home in mature trees of woodlands

and swamps across the eastern half of the United States. Relat-

ed to the spotted owl and the great horned owl, the barred owl

is in the order Strigiformes and the subfamily Striginae. Owls in

this group have a rounded facial disk and large ear openings.

These birds of prey are relatively large in size. The length of the

bird is about 1-½ to 2 feet, and weights are about 22 oz. for

males and 28 oz. for females. Wingspan is from 40 - 50 inches

and body length ranges from 17 - 24 inches. The barred owl is

named for the feather patterns, which are barred with the alter-

nating colors of white and brown, located on its head, chest and

back. This owl is a resident species. Therefore, it does not mi-

grate. Although many species of owls are strictly nocturnal, the

barred owl is sometimes active during the day. The life span of

these owls has been known to exceed 10 years in the wild. Cap-

tive birds have been known to live as long as 23 years. EDIS

Publication #WEC 156

• Look for Goldfinches at north Florida feeders.

• Yellow-rumped warblers will show-up at feeders if it is cold

enough.

• In north Florida, bald eagles start hatching about Christmas

day. In Florida bald eagles begin building a nest in late Septem-

ber or early October. Eagles can begin laying eggs as early as

October or as late as April. Nest sites tend to be built near the

edges of eagle habitats such as in a living tree that offers a view

of the surrounding area and that can support the eagle's often

sizable nest. Most nests contain clutches of two eggs. Incubation

lasts about 35 days. Nestlings in Florida fledge from the nest, at

around 11 weeks of age and remain with their parents near the

nest for an additional 4-11 weeks.

CITRUS CANKER IS IN THE PANHANDLE

As you may have heard, Citrus Can-

ker, has been confirmed in Santa

Rosa county. This is a serious dis-

ease. Citrus canker is a highly

contagious plant disease and

spreads rapidly over short dis-

tances. Wind-driven rain, over-

head irrigation, flooding and

human movement can spread

citrus canker. Environmental

factors, such as wind and rain,

cannot be controlled; however,

spread of citrus canker by hu-

mans can be managed by proper decontamination proce-

dures and preventing transportation of infected plant mate-

rial. Transport of infected plant material is the pri-

mary means of spreading the canker pathogen over

longer distances.

It is advisable to practice personal and equipment decon-

tamination between trees. Hand and arm washing with

soap and water, hot or cold, for a minimum of 20 seconds

is needed to remove the bacterium from the skin. Addition-

al use of an alcohol-based hand-sanitizer after hand-

washing will make personal decontamination more effec-

tive. Tools should be decontaminated with a solution of 1

ounce household bleach to 1 gallon of water. To reduce the

risk of rusting, tools should be rinsed afterwards. The

bleach solution will not be effective if used on dirty equip-

ment and should be made fresh daily because it loses effec-

tiveness quickly. Disease spread can also occur via clothing,

so it is best to wash or change clothing between sites and

dates of handling citrus trees.

There is no cure for citrus canker and only way to control

the disease is through management.

More information may be found at: http://

www.crec.ifas.ufl.edu/extension/canker/ and http://

www.freshfromflorida.com/pi/canker/.

Homeowner Fact Sheet: Citrus Canker http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/

pp116

66

OUT AND ABOUT Photos courtesy of our Master Gardeners

Cassia in bloom before it was ‘removed’ by a

hurricane. Photo courtesy of Dick H.

Double Brugmansia. Photo courtesy of Dick H.

Dune Lakes field trip. Photos courtesy

of Rick H.

‘Friends’ on a Ficus. Photo courtesy of Dick

H.

77

BOOK REVIEW by Marg S.

Show of hands...how many folks re-

member reading (or being read to) the

Tales of Peter Rabbit? The magical gar-

den where Peter ate his fill only to be

chased by Mr. McGregor. There were

many other books by Beatrix Potter.

This month, I recommend two books.

The first, Beatrix Potter: A Life in Na-

ture by Linda Lear is a wonderful biog-

raphy of the woman behind the beloved

characters and illustrations many of us

grew up with. Potter was one of the first female naturalists in the

world. This book has many rare illustrations as well as an inti-

mate look at Beatrix Potter’s life. 608 pages.

The second book, Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life: The Plants

and Places That Inspired the Classic Children’s Tales by Marta

McDowell is a wonderful book and the first to explore the origins

of Potter’s love of gardening. The

book begins with a gardener’s

biography that highlights key

moments and places throughout

Beatrix’s life. Next, there is a year

in Beatrix Potter’s garden with a

season-by-season overview. The

book ends with a traveler's guide,

and includes information on how

and where to visit Potter’s gar-

dens today. Lovely illustrations.

340 pages.

Both books are wonderful and if you enjoyed the Peter Rabbit

tales, Jemima Puddle Duck and all the rest of Beatrix Potter’s

creations, you’ll really enjoy the detailed look into her life and

gardens. 5 wreaths out of 5.

SET UP FOR THE CHRISTMAS

PARTY

2 pm

TUESDAY

DECEMBER 3RD

SHALIMAR BAPTIST CHURCH

LANDSCAPE WORK DAY!

THURSDAY

DECEMBER 12TH

8 AM START TIME

88

CHEESE BALLS! Courtesy of Gail S.

From a old Hurlburt Recipe Book

2 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese 1/4 of 5 oz. can crushed pine-apple, drained 1/4 cup finely chopped onion 1/4 cup finely chopped bell pepper 2 cups chopped pecans (one cup to add to mixture and one cup to roll cheese ball in) 1 tablespoon seasoned salt Soften cream cheese. Whip cream cheese with a fork. Put in all ingredients and one cup of pecans. Mix and form into a ball and roll in remaining one cup pecans. Wrap in aluminum foil and put in refrigerator over-night. This is important, so onion and bell pepper will not be overpowering. Serve with crackers.

Do you have a favorite recipe that you’d like to share? Send it in! Submissions are due before the 24th of each month.

UPDATES AND INFO

You’ve heard that grass grows faster after a lightning storm.

Well, check out a PBS video about lightning and nitrates http://

tinyurl.com/luohetd

Find out more about honey bees. Why can’t they pollinate a to-

mato or an eggplant flower? http://bugguide.net/node/

view/475348

Information on torpedo grass http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/

node/308#chemical

Wish you had a microscope? But you happen to have a smart-

phone? Check out how to turn your smartphone into a micro-

scope! http://videos.komando.com/watch/4293/viral-videos-

how-to-turn-your-smartphone-into-a-microscope

EDIS Top 30 publications

Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide

Common Poultry Diseases

Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges, and the Re-

quired Managerial Tools

Triangulation: Establishing the Validity of Qualitative Studies

Dealing with Snakes in Florida’s Residential Areas – Identifying

Commonly Encountered Snakes

Determining Sample Size

Transformational Leadership: The Transformation of Managers

and Associates

“Black Snakes”: Identification and Ecology

St. Augustinegrass for Florida Lawns

Conducting an In-depth Interview

Sulfites: Separating Fact from Fiction

Factors Affecting Egg Production in Backyard Chicken Flocks

Understanding Exchange Rates: A Weakening U.S. Dollar–

Good, Bad, or Indifferent for Florida Farmers and Agribusiness-

es?

Common Florida Spiders

Basic Elements of Equipment Cleaning and Sanitizing in Food

Processing and Handling Operations

Avocado Growing in the Florida Home Landscape

Bahiagrass for Florida Lawns

Zoysiagrass for Florida Lawns

Mango Growing in the Florida Home Landscape

Bird-of-Paradise

Understanding Motivation: An Effective Tool for Managers

Citrus Problems In The Home Landscape

Preventing Foodborne Illness: Clostridium botulinum

Cockroaches and Their Management

Basic Principles of Landscape Design

Mites That Attack Humans

Invisible Itches: Insect and Non-Insect Causes

Blueberry Gardener’s Guide

Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’ Bloodgood Japanese Maple

Drip-irrigation systems for small conventional vegetable farms

and organic vegetable farms

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO!

Pam G.

Karen K.

Laurie M.

Ann P.

Amy Jo R.

Roxy S.

99

General Membership Meeting

Combined Meeting

and

Christmas Party

December 4th

Shalimar Baptist Church

17th 4th Ave.

Shalimar, FL

Next meeting

January 29th 9:00 am

Crestview Extension Office

3098 Airport Road

Crestview

2013 Gadsden Tomato Forum

December 5, 2013

North Florida Research & Education

Center

Quincy, Florida

8 am to 1:30 pm

Forest Certification Workshops

December 11th 9 am to 3 pm

UF/IFAS Walton County Extension Office

Defuniak Springs

1010

Your member site:

www.ocmgamembers.org

The Foundation for the Gator

Nation.....An equal opportunity

institution.

Have pictures or an idea for

an article?

Send it in!

Articles and pictures are

always welcome.

One of the houses on my street put up

his Christmas lights.....in October! I

finally had to stop and ask why so ear-

ly? His response was that he wasn’t

home last year so he’s going all out this

year. I smile and try not to make eye

contact. I like Christmas as much as

the next person but October????

It was catching. Before Thanksgiving

arrived, two more houses had their

lights up. I noticed that the day follow-

ing Thanksgiving, there are at least 4

more just in my neighborhood.

Another house (my neighbor) joined

in last night. Yes, I said last night.

Seems that a certain football game had

his attention, so he finished stringing

the lights....in the dark....with a flash-

light.

I have some of my lights up, only be-

cause I had help on that day. They

haven’t been lit, but at least I won’t be

dangling from the gutters like some

years in the past.

Christmas commercials started be-

fore Halloween! Yes they did! Thanks-

giving got a whisper until someone dis-

covered Hanukah fell on the same

day...then it was a race to see how

many ways the two could be combined.

Happy Thanksgivakah! (Gobble-Tov).

Black Friday turned into Thanksgiv-

ing shopping day. I took my mom out

Black Friday and we waited in no lines.

We did, however, see a whole bunch of

very tired looking folks that were stag-

gering to their cars when we arrived.

I admit that I have my shopping

done, only because most of it is done

on-line now.

And you know what? I miss the old

way. I miss piling into the car and

heading to the mall or the local big

town to make a day of shopping. Your

fingers would hurt from carrying the

bags but then you had a break during

lunch.

Christmas lights went up on the

weekend following Thanksgiving. The

model trains had been worked on all

through November so the platform

with the town and the whole set up

would be ready to go into the living

room once all the furniture got moved

around.

Starting on the 1st the kitchen would

smell wonderful pretty much every day

with the baking of cookies and other

treats. You gave those to the postman,

delivery guys, meter reader and anyone

else who happened to stop at the

house. You didn’t worry about gluten

free.

And then there was Santa arriving.

Funny, as a kid you saw nothing weird

in the big guy arriving by various

means of conveyance at the local store,

knowing full well that he was arriving

somewhere else...the same day. That

was just part of the magic.

Pretty soon I’ll get out the decora-

tions and put up way too many. I’ll add

more lights out front even though I

said I wasn’t going to. The wrapping

paper will come out and I’ll try to keep

ribbons and bow on the packages in a

house with two cats who think ribbons

are a basic food group.

The tree will go up and cards will be

mailed and I’ll make cookies. The fami-

ly will get together and we’ll make a

mess, eat too much and take a breather

while we prepare for New Year’s Eve.

Will there be magic? I’d like to think

so. The magic of baking a treat that I

made with my grandmother. Sitting

and watching the lights on the tree

with Christmas carols playing. Remem-

bering Christmas past with nostalgia

and a smile.

So go ahead and put up lights in Oc-

tober...if that’s where you magic is...I’m

okay with that. Just for fun, give some-

one homemade cookies and make sure

you put extra tinsel on the tree. Merry

Christmas everyone!

Marg S.—Editor

Shari F., Karen H. and

Linda M.—Co-Editors

LAST WORD By Marg S.