This is the best season, in spite of the cold and snow. If you read my post last week, you know we made cookies and went up on the mountain to save a tree that was ready to fall off the cliff. It was an adventure, especially for Steve who climbed the cliff and cut it down for mom. It is now in the living room, right beside my bed, and can live out its days as a beautiful tree of lights and celebration. Unlike the trees from a tree farm or lot in town, this one is wild and unruly. It was a rebellious one, daring to lean out over a loose rocky cliff. It’s long, rangy branches have never been sheared, with open spaces where the trunk shows, instead of bushy thick branches. It is not a perfect tree, but it is perfectly beautiful for our world.
I think it is like me, and a lot of cowdogs I know. Uncommon, unforgettable, but pretty good in our own way.
The best thing about the tree, is all the ornaments mom hangs on it. Sprout helped this year, and mom told him all about the many things they hung. There are lots of horses and dogs, snowshoes, doves and boats, that all tell a story. 
Little brass engraved ones with pictures of Jess as a baby, and little frames of those who have gone on, family I have never met. Mom used to carefully festoon the entire tree with thin icicles, making it so beautiful, but the cats are known to pull off and eat them, so instead there are twisted tin ones that move and catch the light. 
Of course the Christmas tree was not present for the birth of Christ, but was a tradition started by 4th century German Lutherans. Because an evergreen doesn’t lose it’s needles in the cold winter months, they chose it to symbolize life everlasting and the re-birth of the spirit. I am a dog of order and don’t like changes in my routine, but all the developments this time of year are a joy to watch. I still remember a long time ago, my first Christmas here, when I got my first present. It was a big sheepskin bone! Of course I destroyed it to get that pesky squeaker out! What a joy it was though, and I get a new one every year. 
It is a good time, amid all the hustle and bustle, to remember to think about traditions. We can practice being Light, like the decorated tree, by sharing and giving gifts. There are plenty of dogs out there who have never had Christmas, and people, too. This time of year should be a reminder, and help us show generosity all year.
I know I will try to show kindness to the cats. They are impudent young things, but they are mine. See, I let Mopsy lay on my bed. 
Let us be Light.
