Tale of the Tiny Discarded Tree

Draper's Acres, Winter of 2007

In October 1999 when we moved to our farm, we planted an 18" spruce tree where it would stand as a beacon to show the corner where the lawn ends and the gravel driveway branches off. This is needed to aid snow clearing so we don't ruin our lawn every winter. It was the perfect spot for the imperfect little tree. The tree is special to us as we had rescued it in 1994 from a large tree farm operation that threw out several hundred seedlings because they'd grown too large for the automatic tree planting equipment. We rescued 10 of the trees, deep down from a pile that had been left lying with their roots exposed to the sun for several hours. We planted them at home on our acreage, hoping they'd survive. The next year we retired from our military careers and left CFB Cold Lake, Alberta for the balmy climate of Saskatchewan. Along with our kids and belongings, we took our houseplants and six containers of sorry-looking seedlings which we transplanted into the garden of our new home. (The seedlings, not the kids.) We lived in town for five years. The seedlings were alive, but didn't thrive. Then came the move to the farm where we picked the healthiest seedling for the honored corner spot.

By 2010 the small spruce was still too small for Christmas lights. Although it wasn't actively growing, it was still green and healthy looking.

Draper's Acres, May 2010

Then during the summer of 2011, we noticed new growth at the ends of each little branch and it didn't look lopsided if you looked at it from the right angle.

Draper's Acres, Dec 2011

In 2013 the tree grew upwards and outwards, filling out yet still with its signature branch jutting out.  The gardener in me figures the roots had stretched out and down and the tree decided to put its efforts into growing topside. But my heart likes the thought that the little discarded tree finally realized it was home and would never be uprooted again.

Draper's Acres, Nov 2013

The tree was 20 years old in 2014 and continued its growth spurt--so much that when Nelson (and the boys who are hidden) went to string the lights, they had a tough time reaching the top branches. And oh, that tree shone through the darkness, a wonderful sight to behold during those long winter nights.

Draper's Acres, Dec 2014

It's hard to tell how tall the 2015 spruce tree is in this next photo, so that's when I decided I'd need to include the power line above it in all future shots.

Draper's Acres, Dec 2015

By 2017 the once-discarded spruce was over 14 feet tall as shown by the height of Nelson and JJ, the space between them and above them. To string the lights, JJ used two of those picker-upper things so it looked like he had extended lobster claws, but they did the trick of reaching the top of the tree. (For comparison, check out the 2010 photo to see the progress in the past 7 years!)

Draper's Acres, Nov 2017

Throughout the years we've lived on the farm, the tree has been the gathering place for family photos. It's a visual reference to the growth of the kids as well as the tree. Like this 2017 photo when all four kids were home for Christmas and after they went home, we were left with a beautiful memory of the event.

Draper's Acres, Christmas 2017

Draper's Acres, Nov 2018

The guys have gotten inventive over the years and last week when they went to string the lights, Nelson taped one of the picker-uppers to the end of a long handle. JJ held the lights up and they both circled the tree, winding the lights around as they went.

Draper's Acres, Nov 2019

A few hours after this year's tree was strung with lights, the moon tried to peek out and add to the light show. .

Draper's Acres, Nov 2019

So there you have the tale of the tiny discarded spruce tree. I only have one worry now...because of where we planted it, we may have to shave a bit off the top side if it reaches the power line. It's my fault--something I should have considered, but never imagined 20 years ago on that late October day when we moved to Draper's Acres to raise our family.

What started out as a tiny discarded tree provides us with immeasurable blessings throughout the year.

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Anita Mae Draper lives on the Canadian prairies where she uses her experience and love of history to enhance her stories of yesteryear's romance with realism and faith. Readers can enrich their story experience with visual references by checking Anita's Pinterest boards. All links available on her website at www.anitamaedraper.com

Perception

As a writer, I'm interested in people's traits and personalities. I don't decide to go somewhere and people watch, but I keep my eyes and ears open. More often than not when I'm in a public area, I'll make a note of something I see or hear that sparks my interest enough to consider it for a writing project, but what I write will be a different version of what I saw because I don't know what I was seeing...only what I perceived it to be.

Nelson and Jessica sharing a tender moment, 1992, Vermilion Bay, Ontario 

The above image shows my husband and daughter sharing a quiet roadside moment as we travelled halfway across Canada back in 1992. This scene has stayed in my memory because it shows a special bond between the two...a bond of trust they still share. Yet when I put my writer's spectacles on, I can imagine the child having a drastic allergic reaction to something the man is giving her. Or what about a desperate father deciding to kidnap his daughter from his estranged wife in a scene worthy of Amber Alert. Yet it can be as simple as a teacher giving a blind child a pine cone so she can feel the texture. 

The truth is, we usually don't know what people are doing or why they are doing it if we aren't clued into their life and circumstance. We see something and imagine the rest without having all the facts. That's a dangerous assumption all around. 

While searching for an image to show how different people perceive situations, I typed the word, cry, into the search engine at pixabay.com and the following image came up with tags of cry, sad, and want to be alone.  What I found interesting is that my first thought upon seeing it wasn't sad at all, but that of a boy playing the game of Hide-and-Seek and he was counting before looking for the rest of the kids. 

Source: pixabay

Words can also have different perceptions. I was recently looking for a verse to go on a Scripture Pic that would show how God doesn't judge us and I came upon 1 Samuel chapter 16. This is the chapter that shows how God directed the prophet Samuel to anoint the new king of Israel from among the sons of Jesse. Samuel doesn't know who will be chosen, so asks to see all of Jesse's sons. As the first one is brought in, verse 7 reads, "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

That first part by itself tells us that it doesn't matter if someone is too tall, too short, too handsome, or not. God doesn't care what our physical bodies look like...He looks in our heart to see if we're good or evil. But if I only used the first part on my scripture pic, or even the complete verse, those unfamiliar with the chapter might be confused because this verse doesn't actually say that God rejected the eldest son because his heart wasn't good.

For my scripture pic then, in order to avoid confusion for those who wouldn't see the rest of the verses in 1 Samuel chapter 16, I decided that the last half of verse 7 was what I want people to know about our God.

Perception is best explained as how we see things and put them in perspective using our senses and understanding. In today's world where one image of a person or situation without a qualifying explanation of the story behind it can change lives forever, we need to step back and stop the speculation of what we think we see or hear, or even read, because it doesn't matter. 

The only thing that matters is what God sees in our heart.


Note: I have no theology credentials other than having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ who lives in my heart.

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 Anita Mae Draper lives on the Canadian prairies where she uses her experience and love of history to enhance her stories of yesteryear's romance with realism and faith. Readers can enrich their story experience with visual references by checking Anita's Pinterest boards. All links available on her website at www.anitamaedraper.com

Tale of the Bluebird Tree

Mountain Bluebird, male, May 2019. Source: Anita Mae Draper

One day, a man and woman were driving along and saw a flash of blue in a field of stubble. Oh, how pretty to see a bluebird. Another bird flew past with only a touch of blue on the wings and landed on a nearby tree branch.

Mountain Bluebird, female, May 2019. Source: Anita Mae Draper

The man and woman didn't think the tree looked pretty at all. It had no green leaves like all the other trees were getting, and the branches were wiggly and sharp. 

The Bluebird tree, May 2019. Source: Anita Mae Draper

The man and woman drove away, but later at home, they looked in their bird book and saw that the bright blue bird was a Mountain Bluebird male, and the one with only a bit of blue was the female.

A week later, the man and woman went back to see the pretty bluebirds. They were surprised to find the male poking his head in a big hole in the dead tree.

Mountain Bluebird, male, May 2019. Source: Anita Mae Draper

As the people stopped to look, the male pulled his head out and flew away. The people were sad they had scared him away, but happy when the female came out of the hole to take a look.

Mountain Bluebird, female, May 2019. Source: Anita Mae Draper

And the people knew that the bluebirds had built a nest in a hole of the dead tree. Soon, baby bluebirds would hatch from eggs laid by the female. 

The woman took a picture of all the trees near the bluebird tree so they would remember where it was, and then they drove quietly away. 

Before the storm, Jun 2019. Source: Anita Mae Draper

One week later, a terrible wind blew across the prairie and many trees were damaged near the man and woman's home. They drove out to check the dead tree that held the bluebird nest. 

But where was it? The people knew they were at the same place because they had a picture of it. But where was the bluebird tree?

After the Storm, Jun 2019. Source: Anita Mae Draper

The bluebird tree was gone! Everything in the picture was the same, but the tree wasn't there.

The man walked over to take a look.

Looking for fallen Bluebird Tree, Jun 2019. Source: Anita Mae Draper

He pointed to something that the woman couldn't see, and then he took a picture of something laying on the ground. 

Taking photo of fallen tree, Jun 2019. Source: Anita Mae Draper

The man showed the woman a picture of a tree on the ground with a big hole in it, and they knew the mighty prairie wind had pushed over the bluebird tree.

Hole in Fallen Bluebird Tree, Jun 2019. Source: Nelson Draper

Then the man showed a picture of inside the hole. It was empty. Only bits of old grass and small twigs lay at the bottom. The nest was gone. 

Empty hole in fallen tree, Jun 2019. Source: Nelson Draper

The man and woman were heartbroken. The pretty bluebirds were gone and they didn't know if they had even survived the storm. For several days, the man and woman stayed away. It was too sad to drive by the fallen tree. They prayed that God had taken care of the birds that He had created. 

One day when they couldn't wait any longer, the man and woman drove to the fallen tree. From a distance, they saw that nothing had changed.

But then they saw a flash of bright blue zip past their car. Right behind it flew a bird with a bit of blue on its wings. The bluebirds! Yes! As the man and woman watched, the bluebirds flew past the fallen tree and deeper back into the trees behind it. Somewhere in that bush, they had built another nest, sheltered from the prairie wind. So deep, that the man and woman couldn't see it from the road.

Mountain Bluebird, male, on stubble, Jun 2019. Source: Anita Mae Draper

It was the last time the man and woman drove that way, but one day, they'll be back looking for new bluebirds. Meanwhile, they look at the pictures and imagine the male bluebird out on the stubble and new crop, watching out for insects to bring back to his family.

Tale of the Bluebird Tree video shows the bluebird pair at the tree.

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This is a true story, but if you like fiction, you can check out my other stories at www.anitamaedraper.com

Notre Dame Cathedral Fire

by Anita Mae Draper

A few days ago as I watched the Notre Dame Cathedral fire in Paris on the national news channel, I felt the same overwhelming sense of loss that I had felt in September 2018 upon hearing that Rio de Janeiro's National Museum had been consumed by fire. The loss of Brazil's science institution, culture and history was immeasurable and I still grieve for the loss that touched all Latin countries because of it.

Notre Dame Cathedral West Facade

Although I'm not a Roman Catholic, Notre Dame Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and at the very least deserves respect for its art, artifacts, and medieval architecture. I haven't visited Paris, but from all accounts the cathedral is a magnificent structure unlike anything else in the world. And as a World Heritage Site, its loss would have a profound effect around the globe. 

On the TV screen, fire shot up and smoke billowed behind the newscaster. I heard sirens and shouting as if chaos had erupted. A crowd had gathered but as darkness fell, all I could see were people swaying as if trying to see past the onlookers in front of them. I was glued to the screen as I waited for news of the three breathtaking rose stained glass windows.

When my daughter, Crystal, sent a text with an image she'd taken earlier of the west facade of Notre Dame Cathedral, she added that she was safe and only 5 blocks from the fire. How could I have forgotten she was in Paris? I remember worrying about her when she'd first told us she was going and I had asked if she knew it was during Holy Week. She wasn't worried and I had consoled myself that at least she wasn't going to be in Jerusalem at such a time. And now they were on their final day in Paris and their Hop-On Hop-Off Seine River Sightseeing Cruise had gone awry because they passed in close proximity to the fire.

Map showing locations where Crystal's photos were taken, Apr 15, 2019

   
They said that we couldn't go to the next stop and we had to skip it because there was a fire near Notre Dame. Smoke was pouring out of the area and shading the sun orange. As we got closer we were rerouted by police (in boats) and then re-re-routed. I don't think they knew what to do with the river traffic yet as there was a lot of chaos in the area. We ended up getting off near Le Louvre (4 stops away) and walking back to see what was happening. People were everywhere watching...on the seawall, streets, bridges...crying, stunned. Everyone was so quiet. There was a moment when everyone gasped...and then we saw the tower collapse in. It was surreal.

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, April 2019. Video capture by Crystal Draper

Hours later, as Crystal flew over the Atlantic Ocean, the news reported that much of the art and artifacts had been saved and that the fire was out, but the three rose windows had been lost due to melting of the lead that held the glass together. If such was the case, it would be devastating since the artistry which created the windows has been lost over time. However, a few hours ago a new report stated that the rose windows appear to be intact. Oh, what a blessing that would be.

The latest news is that over 700 million dollars has already been pledged to rebuild the Gothic structure with aid coming in from around the globe. As usual, some people are saying there are better ways to use the money for humanity, but to the people of Paris, Notre Dame is the go-to place in times of trouble and times of joy, summoned by the tolling bells. 

As a historian, I am relieved that the fire was extinguished before catastrophe occurred. As a Christian, I am thankful that a sanctuary has been spared. As a citizen, I am grateful that no lives were lost during this event. 

Finally, I'll never forget that the Notre Dame Cathedral fire happened on April 15, 2019 not only because Crystal was there to photograph and videotape it, but because it happened on her dad's 65th birthday. 

Care to share your thoughts?

UPDATE: Crystal is back home now and shared this image of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Behind the river wall, you can see the restoration scaffolding and the South Rose Stained-Glass window along with the magnificent architecture. She took this photo on April 15th around 2 pm at the early part of the boat cruise, just over 4 hrs before the fire started. 

Notre Dame Cathedral, abt 2 pm, Apr 15, 2019. Credit: Crystal Draper

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Anita Mae Draper served a 20-year term working on air bases in the communication trade of the Canadian Armed Forces before retiring to the open skies of the prairies. She uses her experience and love of history to pepper her stories of yesteryear's romance with realism as well as faith. Anita Mae Draper's published stories appear in Barbour Publishing, WhiteFire Publishing, and Guideposts Books. Readers can enrich their story experience with visual references by checking out Anita's Pinterest boards. All links available on her website at www.anitamaedraper.com

Word Choices from Sad to Melancholy

Words fascinate me. I first became aware of word choices as something to be treasured in their own right when I stumbled upon the word melancholy while looking for a synonym for sad. We were living in Thunder Bay, Ontario, at the time and I vividly remember sitting in my Grade 5 classroom in the second-last seat, farthest row from the wall of windows. The assignment of the day eludes me, but the moment I mouthed the word melancholy, I liked the way it made my lips and tongue move together like waves rolling and lapping on the shore.

I believe part of the reason the experience stayed with me is due to the presentation of the words. Sad is a short word. You're sad that something has happened. You grieve first, and then suck it up and carry on because there is hope that things will improve.

On the other hand, the word melancholy is longer. It's longer to say, longer to read, longer to write. If you're into cursive writing, melancholy is a beautiful word. It's an intimate word that wraps you in pseudo-comfort that you can't bear to share. Yet its meaning is like a tactile, black cloud that weighs down your shoulders while filling you with the gloom of hopelessness. 

A synonym is gloom, a word that I personally place somewhere between sad and melancholy, and not merely because of the number of letters it contains. Gloom reminds me of a sleek boat with an even keel that's beautiful to watch. If only it could break free from the tractor beams of the dark, dense cloud above it. 

Gloom reminds me of the time I was playing Scrabble and challenged my opponent when he put down gloam, a word I'd never seen before. We checked The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary Third Edition, which we were using at the time and yes, gloam was a good word meaning twilight. 

According to Collier's Dictionary of the English language 1924 Edition, gloam means, "to begin to grow dark, like twilight; exhibit sullennesss or gloom." 

Since I consider gloom to be dark already, I'm placing gloam between sad and gloom on my word list for synonyms of sad, and then adding melancholy at the bottom.

Words evolve over time and I see my spell check has a red line under gloam. I've checked and it seems that current dictionaries consider it an obsolete word. Does that mean I shouldn't use it? Sometimes when I can't find the word I want to describe something I make one up and then watch it get deleted by a critique partner or editor. But then I hear of new words that come into use because they are coined (neologism). And that's a topic I'll leave for another day.

Since I'm a writer and NOT a health care professional, I need to stress that the opinions presented in this blogpost are my own interpretation of the words sad, gloam, gloom, and melancholy. They do not reflect degrees of mental illness, but are used here for descriptive writing purposes only.  

For another of my favorite words, you might want to check out my post Hear the Rustle.

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Anita Mae Draper is a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces who served twenty years on Air bases with her eyes on the skies. She uses her experience and love of history to pepper her stories of yesteryear's romance with hardship, faith, and joy. Anita Mae Draper's published stories appear in Barbour Publishing, WhiteFire Publishing, and Guideposts Books. Readers can enrich their story experience with visual references by checking out Anita's Pinterest boards. All links available on her website at www.anitamaedraper.com

Edison 1898 Sleighing Video

It's January, winter, and I'm working on a Christmas story so it's only natural that I'm thinking of sleigh bells jingling as my hero and heroine travel about. So, while doing my research, when I found this 1898 Edison Film Company video of horse-drawn sleigh rides in Central Park, New York, I thought the least I could do was share it with you.

If the video doesn't work below, you can view it at the Library of Congress
https://www.loc.gov/item/00694381/


If you'd like to know more about sleighs and the different makes and models, check out my past posts:

Nov 1, 2011 - 19th Century Sleighs
Nov 22, 2011 - 19th Century Children's Sleighs
Jan 17, 2012 - Royal Sleighs

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Anita Mae Draper writes historical romance in the Land of Living Skies where her love of research and genealogy yield fascinating truths that layer her stories with unique and personal details. Her faith is reflected in stories of forgiveness and redemption as her characters search for love and home. Readers can enrich their reading experience by checking out Anita's Pinterest boards for visual references of her stories, and more, at the links on her website at www.anitamaedraper.com

Anita Mae Draper's published stories appear in Barbour Publishing, WhiteFire Publishing, and Guideposts Books 

All I Want For Christmas is Spending Time With You

It seems the older I get, the less I want for Christmas. I've reasoned that this is due to several things. First, I have the means to buy something I want when I want it, instead of waiting for someone else to maybe put it under my tree. Second, my house is so full of things I thought I needed, but later realized I simply wanted for a brief moment in time. Third, I value time more than things these days, and that's something you can't buy or give.

In response to the question of what I wanted for Christmas, this is the first year that I've found myself saying, "Spending time with you at Christmas is the only thing I need." It may be a cliche, but there is a profound truth in such a statement and it doesn't have to do with age.

During my junior high years, my economics teacher surprised me by injecting a life lesson into the middle of his talk on wise spending. The funny thing is that of all the time I spent in his class that year, the only thing I remember is this: If you need to decide between spending money on a new sofa, or spending it on a trip with the family, choose the trip. Ten years down the road, your kids won't remember when they got a new sofa, but they'll tell their kids and grandkids about the family vacation. My teacher said you have to determine the long term benefit to realize the true value.

And everyone who's shared a family vacation knows that the more memorable times will be when things go awry, such as playing Pictionary by lantern and flashlight in the garage during a ferocious electrical storm that zapped out the power. That's our most memorable family get-together to date.

But some of the best memories are when two family members of different generations share an activity they both enjoy, such as the image below of my daughter and her grandma briskly walking in the biting wind of a wintry prairie day. They both came back to the house tired, yet invigorated. A special moment to treasure for all three of us, brought together for Christmas.

A Walk With Grandma

So if I can give you one piece of advice to end this year, it's this...cliché or not, spending your time with someone is more valuable than anything money can buy.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our house to yours.

The Draper's, 2010

Fruitcake Now or in 100 yrs

Draper's Acres, Saskatchewan, Nov 2018

Did you see Susanne's lovely post, Too Early to Decorate For Christmas? a couple days ago? I know how she feels because it seems that this year Christmas is starting early. Up here on the Canadian prairies, we have an inch or so of snow covering the landscape which heightens the sense that Christmas is on its way.

This really helps because snow in November inspires me to start my Christmas baking with those goodies like fruitcake that need time for their flavors to meld. And yes, we do love fruitcake in our house. Instead of a large cake or loaf, however, I usually make 4-6 small, personal-size loaves. Wrapped in a clear holiday-themed cellophane bag, they make nice gifts for seniors, get-togethers, as well as sending in "care packages" to distant loved ones. And of course, we eat some.

Fruitcake made by Anita Mae Draper, Dec 2013

We don't drink alcohol in our house, so it's always interesting when I go to the store and buy a bottle of brandy for the fruitcake, both to add to the recipe, and then to soak the cheesecloth in before it's wrapped around the loaves, which are then wrapped in tin foil set in the fridge. They'll be unwrapped, soaked and rewrapped every week or two for at least 3 weeks, until needed. If I'm short of time, I'll use my Robin Hood Fabulous Fruitcake recipe which is non-alcoholic and only needs a couple weeks in the fridge to taste wonderful.

Robin Hood Fabulous Fruitcake made by Anita Mae Draper, Dec 2013

Fruitcakes are notorious for their long life. It's one of the reasons so many were sent from the home front to loved ones fighting overseas. In a letter from my husband's grandfather, a WW1 sailor, he wrote that he hadn't received any letters from home since setting out on his current "cruise", but that he was still portioning out part of the last fruitcake he'd received months earlier.

Fruitcakes last because they contain preserved foods like dry and candied fruit, and nuts that help to keep bacteria from developing, as does the alcohol and cold storage.

How long does it last under optimum conditions? Well, that's hard to say, but it could be decades. Really. Of course, the quality will diminish over extremely long periods, but you could eat it.

Did you hear about the 106-year-old fruitcake that was found by members of the Antarctic Heritage Trust? Yep. They found it in a hut and although the container was rusted, it was still wrapped in paper and appeared edible. It is believed to have been left behind by the Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his team back in 1911. Here's the video about it:





So I have my fruitcake recipe at the ready and will begin baking this week. As mentioned in the comments of Susanne's post, I stored my Christmas CD's somewhere safe about five years ago and haven't found them since, so I'm listening to a holiday music channel on our satellite TV.

But with snow on the ground, holiday music in my ears, and recipe in hand, mouth-watering aromas will soon be escaping from my kitchen.

Thanksgiving Blessings going out to all my American friends wherever you are.

Anita Mae Draper's historical romances are written under the western skies of the Saskatchewan prairie where her love of research and genealogy yield fascinating truths that layer her stories with rich historical details.  Anita's contemporary short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, found in A Cup of Christmas Cheer Volume 4, was a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Her novellas are included in Austen in Austin Volume 1, The American Heiress Brides Collection, and The Secret Admirer Romance Collection. Readers can check out Anita's Pinterest boards for a visual idea of her stories to enrich their reading experience.  Discover more at:

Website - www.anitamaedraper.com

Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/anitamaedraper/