Trees of December 14

As suggested, I am now bringing you the sequel to the daytime version of Trees in the City; Nighttime Trees in the City.

First a disclaimer.  I don't have the fine camera equipment nor the fine knowledge of how to take nighttime photographs to bring clarity and brilliance to this effort. But when I was out on Saturday night taking these photos I felt like I was in a fairyland with all the lights and that is what I hope to convey with this post. Maybe you'll think that all it shows is that I don't get out at night often enough. Whatever, here goes.


My tree in the city at night.


The tree with the pavilion in the background.


That pavilion roof looks like fairyland with the lights.


The horses were still gamely going round and round the block guided now by the lit up street trees.


All sorts of people and vehicles were out and about. It's what is in the middle background that I want to mention. This is the fountain with lights to replace the water. I get the concept but I wonder if it would look better if the lights moved to create more of a running water feel.


That tree in a real closeup look.


Decorations on the lamp posts.


One last look at the pavilion.

And there it is, the sequel. Were there trees in every photo? Er, maybe not, but I had fun trying to capture the moment.

Trees of December 12

For today I am featuring Trees in the City in the daytime.  The camera and I took a walk this afternoon in Reston Town Center. It was an unseasonably warm day and there were lots of people out and about admiring the trees all gussied up for the holidays.

Here we are in Fountain Court in the heart of Town Center.


It was a day to see and be seen. The driver of this little hot rod was wearing a red shirt with black vest and had obviously carefully dressed for his outing.


I wanted to show you the fountain up close. For most months of the year it is gushing water and looks great. But once they turn the water off to drape it in lights those stylized fish (is that what they are?) look a little weird to me. But I wanted you to see it from this angle.


One of the local service groups is providing horse and carriage rides on Saturdays from 4 thru 9pm during December and this pair were kept busy going round and round the block. At $5 per ride per adult I am sure they are raising a very satisfying amount of money to donate to this year's charity.


The combination of the tree with the city buildings was pleasing to my eye.  I wonder what the opposite view is like from the hotel windows down to the tree?


The really big wreaths dominate the four corners of Fountain Court.


Speaking of the Trees in December - sometimes serendipity works out for the photographer!


A striking pair proceed down the road under the watchful eye of the security personnel.


From this side of the tree we get an echo backdrop with the lineup of trees on the balcony.


Trees in the city. The lights are beginning to come on now and show their touch of magic.


Daylight is fading fast and so must this little jaunt to bring you city trees by daylight.

Watch out for the sequel to this.

Trees of December 10

Yesterday and today began with a lot of fog. That was a signal that the temperature for the day was going to be quite a lot higher than normal.


Trees with dog in fog.


It seemed the fog was a perfect excuse for the squirrels to play a game of "chase me!"


I know the quality isn't great here but that squirrel was moving way too fast for my camera to focus. Look carefully, it's running on air and adrenaline!


This morning the fog lifted by 9am which was good as my landscape crew were here to do the final cleanup of the garden before winter. I have to make the decisions as to which perennials to leave up for winter interest and which to cut back. These caryopteris (bluebeard) got the nod for winter interest.


The blush pink nandina out front are wearing spectacular color right now. Back against the house I gave the coneflower heads a reprieve in case the birds are not done with them just yet.


There are some very confused plants in my garden just now. The iris are poking their heads up thinking spring is almost here.


Real dog, not in fog!  The puppy next door was outside playing. I watched while a tree was attacked but once I went out for a closer look that puppy was much more interested in what was happening though the fence.

The teak garden benches leave home for the winter. In the first couple of years here I left them outside but I discovered small animals used them to gnaw on through the winter. Now the benches go home with the landscape crew and live in their storage building through the winter. Once spring comes again they come out of hibernation wearing a new coat of protective oil and return to their position in the back garden. I'm feeling a little sad to see them go this year as they have provided a good focal point or prop for many photographs this year.

In the late afternoon I heard the familiar honking of geese and looked up to see them heading...north!? Huh? Much confusion this year among nature.


Some Decembers we have already seen the trees look like this one on the left. But not this year. Temperatures are predicted to be in the 60's F for at least another five days.

The question for the day is whether this was the late Fall landscape cleanup or the early Spring cleanup? Watch this space.

Trees of December 8

Today I am inspired by Dr Seuss...
okay, my rhyming is not quite as successful as his is
and I do use creative license to create fizzes,
just enjoy! don't come at me with scissors.


Trees in box


Trees in sox.


Trees in the sky


Trees way up high.


Trees on a book


Trees in a nook.

Trees! Take a look!

Trees of December 6

This weekend was focused round seasonal activities. The art group I belong to was having it's annual holiday fest which was timed to co-incide withe the arrival of Santa Claus in our village and the lighting of the village Christmas Tree.



It has been a beautiful sunny weekend but in December once that sun goes down the temperatures plummet. I am always predisposed to be the first to notice it is cold so it was a quick trip to the tree lighting event.



Santa and Mrs Claus arrived on an old fire engine which had first done a tour through the village shopping centers. With frequent application of the fire siren to announce it's whereabouts the arrival of Santa was keenly anticipated and we dashed into a suitable viewing spot only just a few seconds before the engine came into sight (apologies for the blurry shot but it was now or never!).



As Santa's "sleigh" was pulling into position suddenly the switch was thrown and the tree burst into light.



Once Santa was off loaded it was possible to walk around all sides of his "sleigh" to admire it. And to notice that the big tree in front of the village jewelry store has been lit up for the season also.


The tree looks stunning in blue from a distance but, curiously, up close the blueness fades somewhat and careful examination of a photograph shows the lights do not extend all the way to the tips of the branches. But still, this tree is a magnificent sight on a cold winter's night and I'm sure I will be back trying to get just the right shot of it for a future post.


And to close, my set-up shot explaining my day. For the Holiday Fest I had volunteered to be Santa's Helper. This task was primarily focused on keeping track of the families that came to visit with Santa and have their photo taken. There were so many excited little people to meet in this two day event. I had set up the back drop for the photos and had brought along this old sled in case we needed an extra prop (we did not). Once we were home tonight and done with dinner I needed the reward of a good slice of pound cake with a berry and whipped cream topping along with my nightcap of a fruit tea. But oh my golly, I felt chilled through and was also tucking that plaid rug/blanket round my knees to warm me up.

So there we are, celebrating lighting the Tree of December!  Do you have something similar in your hometown?

Trees of December 4

Today I was thinking of traditional music that goes with this month...and as I looked at the trees I began to hum "The Holly and the Ivy".



In the back and side garden there are a number of holly trees both planted and native. This is one that I paid to have planted.



In closeup this does not look like the picture perfect holly tree with the expected deeply serrated leaves but it does have the requisite berries. And, trust me, it is a holly tree.



"And the ivy, now both are full well grown." This one was found today in a heavily wooded area.



The woods were in a somewhat steep area and left in an entirely natural state although they were well within a suburban locale.


As I looked down into another area I noticed this bright spot of green among the winter trees. At first I thought it was holly, and it likely is, but then I wondered if it was a rogue mistletoe because the trunk structure did not seem right for a holly and the larger canopy tree. Probably I should have stumbled down the slope to check this out but, sadly, I had other places to be



"Of all the trees that are in the woods, the holly bears the crown". Those are the words but why is the holly paired with the ivy? How many ivy trees have you seen?

Trees of December 2

Alright, new month, new topic.  I guess I was already previewing this in the last November post when I alluded to the arrival of a "live" Christmas tree although at the time I wasn't really thinking it would turn into a series.

For the time being the cut tree is on the back deck. It's been raining ever since we got it home so it is staying well watered!  This morning there was a heavy mist that hung around for quite a while and I liked the variety of green foliage all freshly washed and somewhat misted over in the background.

Out front, where I can see further the mist appeared more secretive and moody.

I like to think of these as natures string of tree lights, albeit left over from the November season. But they still light up the woods.

You know I can't resist still watching this color progression. With all the rain it is washed fresh and clean and sparkling still.

To close we are looking at the very top of the Christmas tree still dressed in only natural colors. Tonight we went out to the big orange box store to purchase lights suitable for outdoor use. Now inside we have always had plain white lights because I think they don't distract from the balance of the decorations. To be honest, the past several years I'm not even sure if we have put the lights on the tree since my unpaid helpers have rebelled at the task. But for the outside tree I "allowed" number 2 son to choose the lights (gee, he paid for them too!) and he very disdainfully gave thumbs down to the white lights  that I think look tasteful and he thinks look boring. We'll have colored ones. But at least they won't flash on and off. 

When I was sifting through my options for a December theme I fixed on featuring trees right away. At first I was going to call the posts "Ode to the Lorax" after a beloved Dr Seuss character. However, the more I thought about it and looked at quotes the more it did not seem quite right because the Lorax decries the cutting down of trees. December is the month of the traditional cut evergreen to celebrate Christmas so I'll just have to hope the Lorax does not find me.

Let's hear it for the Trees of December - both the trees cut to beautify a home for the season and the ones still outside in the woods delighting tree lovers for all seasons.