December. The darkest part of the year. The rich and beautiful greens in the forest turn to black by late afternoon. But the proud little Grand Firs in the nursery cheer me like fine Christmas trees. The lingering leaves of the Thimbleberries glow like a congregation of candles. And someone has turned on all the moss – on the rooftops, up in the tree branches, beside the path, in the lawn — the LEB*s are all aglow. The Snowberries are the only snow in the nursery – suspended on nearly-invisible twigs, the brilliant white berries ornament the day like stationary snowflakes.

In the greenhouse, a bowl of bright red berries from the Orange Trumpet Honeysuckle awaits my attention. The berries are bursting with seeds, waiting to be spread in flats and placed under the big Western Hemlock mother tree. There they will sit until inspired by lengthening light-time that will begin after we turn the corner of the Winter Solstice. And in the dark soil, they will sprout.

May the holidays lighten your winter lives and may the New Year find you planting bright seeds for your future.
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*Light-Emitting Bryophyte

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