5 December

The large tractor trailer was met by one of the mothers in front of the Old Coast Guard Station. She directed it toward the lowland parking lot just across the way. All over the rather tiny island other PTO families had been waiting for her call. The Christmas trees are here! It wasn't long before the gravel lot began to fill up with cars. Fathers and mothers, aunts and uncles and even a  few grandparents began to form lines from the back of the open truck to unload the trees that were tied up tightly. The edge of the lot and the grassy park was full of children running about. The older children were watching over the younger ones and the teenagers were watching over them all. Someone strung up a set of Christmas lights and at twilight they began to blink red, yellow, green and blue over the scene. There was plenty of hot cocoa and cookies to go around. The smell of pine trees and the salty sea mingled together in the tiny lot and townsfolk beeped as they drove by on their way home from running weekend errands on the mainland. The word went out.
The Christmas trees are here!
It didn't take very long for the island's trees to be unloaded and the big truck drove away down the causeway to deliver the rest of his load. Fathers rested for a bit and then tied their own trees to the tops of their cars. Mothers rounded up the children and all the cars drove away. A convoy of Christmas tree topped cars driving up the hill and around the curve toward home. The lot was empty once again. Well, not quite as empty as it had been before. The stand is open now on weekends from 9 to 9.
We will be picking out our tree on Saturday.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening -Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know

His house is in the village though

He will not see me standing here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farm house near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake

The woods are lovely, dark and deep

But I have promises to keep

And miles to go before I sleep

And miles to go before I sleep.

 

 This is one of my very favorite poems and Susan Jeffers has illustrated it so beautiful in the children's holiday book. I read it often to my daughters when they were young and now we read it to Joe's boys.

 
holiday blog hop 2013

little things Thursday

favorite things thursday