Peace, health, and happiness.........thank you! And the same to you, Lois. Safe travels as you wend your way to a warmer climate tomorrow.

Happy Holidays to all here on Rocky Mountain Gardening! And Happy New Year to each of our gardens! December 21st is my Favorite Day of the year! And, yes, the days are already a couple minutes longer than they were three days ago! Actually, technically, that's not true, because they keep getting shorter in the morning for a few days, but the sunset starts getting later immediately, and that's the part of the day that matters the most to me! I've been out cleaning up and cutting down perennials for an hour or two for each of the last few days, I have batches of Dutch Iris coming up all over the yard--normal for them, and one of my patches of crocus is showing already! I "worry" about the crocus every year, but they somehow manage to "come up," but don't start blooming until "the right time!" So for now I'll just be enjoying the new green foliage! I rarely have frozen soil in my yard--it's been frozen a couple times here, but is completely thawed again right now. There are other things I can see "budding" and raring to get going, but I'm not really worried about anything at this point. Like PopMama, I can see that the German Iris are "spreading out" and starting to form new fans. They're a Favorite Thing of mine, not only because of how pretty they are, but they're one of the few things that are fragrant! Right now I'm really enjoying feeding and watching The Birds! I have 14 feeders out right now, and I regularly have Chickadees--my favorite, hairy woodpeckers, juncos, Flickers--both red and yellow--and an interbreed that's a really pretty salmon color!, and the usual house finches and doves, with an occasional bluejay. They don't quite qualify at "regulars," but today I also had a bunch of bushtits show up again--they're fun to watch! Best Wishes to each of you for a wonderful Gardening Year in 2020! Skybird

RE artificial Christmas trees - I see many of those on the curb every year, because they start to shed their "needles" after a few years, long before they look shabby, or because the owners wanted to "upgrade". They can't be recycled - the scrappers won't take the ones with metal parts even. So they go to the landfill, to continue the march toward more farmland being converted to trash disposal. Whereas a live tree has come from a farm, (not overseas), will be replaced with another tree, and while growing is providing all of the benefits of trees in the landscape. In fact a tree farm is creating a "woods" where otherwise would be crops like corn or soybeans. Then the tree can be turned into mulch, composted, or simply broken up with loppers and piled in a corner of the yard to provide shelter for various wildlife. (I realize that many towns/cities still don't yet offer pickup and processing of Christmas trees, or other yard waste, but if citizens keep asking for that, it will come). On my walks around the neighborhood on trash day I often see things like sets of dishes, intact glassware, and other usable good condition household items of all sorts, including bedframes, outgrown clothes & toys, linens - from decluttering and downsizing I assume for the most part - set out for the trash pickup. We have 3 or 4 thrift stores within 2-3 miles, and a store (furniture bank) that takes furniture donations another 2 or so miles further. So the mindset is there, if not to the extreme of trashing rather than dealingwith an entire special occasion kit.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!