It did not feel much like Christmas this year. There was much sadness in my home and outside, no beautiful, sparkling blanket of snow. Christmas Eve day was overcast and foggy and warm enough to walk out in a tee shirt. My husband went to run some errands and I stayed behind to work around the house. I went out back to pick up after the dogs and got side tracked. Paul tells me that I do that all the time, get side tracked, but something will catch my attention and I’m off. In this case, it was our backyard planter. I saw there was still so much that was green so I went to check it out. I was surprised to find a single pink blossom blooming in the back. As I stood there amazed and admiring the wonder of nature, I heard a voice saying, “Go look. There’s more.”

I’ve lived here for ten years and there are still many parts of our woods that I have never walked. I went down our garden steps and saw how the plants were confused and beginning to sprout.

I continued down the hill, following the old, stone wall that ran down to the road. I stopped, took a deep breath and decided to let my heart look. The first thing I saw was a fairy castle.

It had a magic portal on top.

I saw the skull of a dead tree.

Farther along was a snake tree.

There was a velociraptor head.

And a miniature forest.

And just so much green.

A beautiful rock that seemed a world of it’s own.

And moss dressed for the holiday.

Finally, I stopped at Grandmother Tree. I knew it was she who had guided me on my walk. She stood there reaching up to the sky with her strong arms, her finger branches spreading out to bless and protect us all.

“Thank you, Grandmother. You have given me so many gifts. I would not have seen them without your showing me. Merry Christmas.”
I know she heard me because as I walked across the expanse of lawn I found one more gift, a single, beautiful pine cone. I picked it up and held it to my face and breathed in the scent of Christmas.