Feeling the Love

I am so grateful for those lovely readers who have commented and emailed me regarding that last post/rant/scream.  You are wonderful!  It is amazing how much a simple "you're not alone in how you feel" or just plain "you're not alone" can mean to a person ~ to me.  Thank you all so much for being there.

I'm actually feeling a tad bit better and poor Mr. MoonCat is like a little kid about sparkly decorations, so we're going to get with the program and try to cheer it up around here.  He is of the opinion that I will feel even better if I have pretty things to look at.. (If you have seen Chevy Chase's movie "Christmas Vacation", you'll have an idea of what Mr. MoonCat's vision of decorating entails....Mine is closer to the Charlie Brown version.)

Of course, my agreement to go ahead and decorate has now spawned arguments about the tree.  He wants a GIANT tree

while I would prefer a smaller, more manageable tree. 

His theory is that we have a giant ceiling in the great room so we should have the GIANT tree.  My counterpoint is that the big tree will cost 3 times that of the one I like and just because we have the space, doesn't mean we need to fill it! 

Plus, I have a vision of the tree sitting in the lower-ceilinged corner with goodies all around it ~ off of the floor where lions and tigers roam.  I have an old corner tv stand that we're not using similar to the one below:

I think it would be really cute to put the lighted Christmas village on the shelves behind the glass doors.  (It will be much, much safer for the little villagers to be ensconced behind the glass ~ we have large monster kitties that roam freely in this home!)  My stand isn't as nice as the one above, but I think it will do ~ for now... hint, Mr. MoonCat... I like the one above..

So what do you think?  A 12ft-ish tree or a more modest, manageable, magnificent tree of about 4 or 5 feet sitting on a pretty stand with a village nestled below?  Whichever way we go, you know it'll have to be made secure from the ferocious felines...

**Are you getting the impression that everything we do around here comes back to the critters?  How will it affect them?  What kind of destruction and havoc can they wreak?  Gotta love 'em or else....

Sunday Selections

Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.

- Chinese proverb

Happy World Forestry Day

World Forestry Day - Plant a Tree

Tomorrow, March 21, 2010 is the date that has been designated as World Forestry Day. It coincides with the autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Northern.

This worldwide observance was a product of the 23rd General Assembly of the European Confederation of Agriculture in 1971. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization put its stamp of approval on it later that year as they recognized the value of having a day every year (March 21st) to direct the world's attention to the importance of protecting and nourishing our forests.  Conservation is a predominant theme in the celebrations.  It promotes awareness and encourages communities to plant and manage trees that are native to the area.

Many people immediately think of a forest as just a lot of trees.  They miss out on the fact that it is an entire living community that consists of several layers and micro-communities.  The trees are the backbone of a forest, but it takes many types of flora and fauna to make it whole. 

What can you do to celebrate and acknowledge World Forestry Day? 

• Plant a tree!  
• If that's not feasible, go and visit a local forest.  Spend the afternoon walking in the woods, enjoying nature and paying attention to the diverse forms of life that a forest truly is. 
• Learn about the contributions forests make to your life.  Think about the different things that surround you that are the product of a forest.   
• Just enjoy nature.

For more information, you can visit these sites:

Bloggers Unite
Fraoch Wood
Oklahoma Forestry Services
Forest Health (this link has a really cool page about the life cycle of a forest tree)