Of nets and lights!

Christmas, Christmas Time is near...

The tree is up on the pier!

Time for joy, time for fun..

Oh, I'm glad that job is done..

I know that is not exactly the words to the song...not even close but whew!...I am glad that tree is up! Not that this was exactly a hard chore..just cold...really, REALLY cold! Mark and I went down late this evening armed with our net, rope, hammer, nails and strings of solar lights. All of this to erect one small Christmas Tree! It actually only took a few minutes to make the tree and add the string of lights. We supposed since it was a very long string, one would suffice. At least, we would give it a trial run for one night and see how bright the lights were. After the cold front moved through here, the past few days have been quite chilly. I can handle chilly but once the wind turned back out of the south, it was downright frigid! This wind picked up the moisture as it moved over the water and combined that with the cold air to make it most uncomfortable. But...the tree is up! After dark, we did decide that it needs a few more lights and will rectify that in the morning.

Speaking of cold...frigid...icy..I went to the pier early this morning. I was there before daybreak (about 5AM) and the sky was a fiery red! As the darkness of the night lifted, I could see that there were literally hundreds of ducks on the Bayou. I marveled at the fact that they did not seem to mind the cold, cold water. A lone nutria rat was also on the prowl and she, too, appeared oblivious to the iciness of the water. I, on the other hand, was not oblivious to the cold. I sat shivering even though I had the presence of mind to bring a heavy throw to wrap around me. (This proved to be an extremely smart move as the pier was sopping wet! My bench was covered with a thick coating of frost and that would have made for not-so-fun sitting!) I did not wait for the sun to fully rise before heading back to the Little Bayou House and a hot mug of coffee and a leftover muffin from the night before!

Tonight, the sunset was even more enthralling than the sunrise. The layers of color were so vivid that it was breathtaking! I started thinking about my feeble attempt at decorating the pier. My strings of solar lights could never compete with the brilliance of the Master's own solar lights! Still, I will continue to decorate the pier, adding lights as necessary to make my little tree a thing of beauty. After all, this is for a very special Birthday and I am sure He will understand that my tree is from the heart and it needs not to compete with the beauty or brilliance of any other.

...I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum

That's fit to give a King, pa rum pum pum pum....

But I try......I try.