gathering

There's a downy snow falling.  It's cold, but there's no wind, so I thought it would be a good day to try and gather some greenery for Christmas decorating.

I set out , secateurs in hand, with visions of myself loaded down with armfuls of greenery (a la Martha Stewart).   I hiked around to the middle of the back field via our little trail, to a stand of pines I had noticed on an earlier walk.  By the time I scraped my way to them through the undergrowth and thorny bushes, I realized the branches were a bit high.  I did manage to jump up and grab a few, and cut them down.  This is all I managed to get despite my valiant efforts.  

Those red branches are sumac.  I cut them by the front of the property, near the road.  I guess I'll have to try and fill out my little urns with some dry hydrangea heads and things scrounged from the garden.

Three things come to mind, after today's expedition:

1. Nothing good comes without a great deal of effort.

2. Simplicity is really the way to go, when it comes to Christmas decorating.

3. The only thing Martha and I have in common, is that we're both Polish girls and anything Martha-related that I have attempted is inevitably doomed to failure. (Not that you don't totally rock, Martha, you do ).