Today, we had about seven inches of snow but I thought it might be nice to remember warmer times during the Fall here on the side of the Wasatch Mountains. We got an extraordinary crop of mushrooms this year. Unfortunately, we aren't knowledgeable enough to know if any of them are edible. But they are interesting to look at.
I realize that some people keep their lights up until the new year rolls around, but it is still time to say goodbye for another year. We saw some amazing displays of lights and had a wonderful visit with family and friends but now we are back to work and looking forward to hopefully better new year.
The North Visitors Center on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah has been a gathering place for large crowds during the Christmas holiday season. However, as time passes, buildings age and apparently it is time for the North Visitors Center to go. It is planned that the area of the center will become a beautiful garden spot. It is sad to see the old buildings go but Temple Square has always been subject to changing times and reconstruction of buildings. New construction north of the Temple is progressing.
This is a view of the Aston Gardens Christmas Luminaria. It is a beautiful setting for a fabulous light display. I cannot imagine the amount of work that went into placing and synchronizing so many lights.
The end of December brings final exams and Christmas Break to Brigham Young University (BYU). My wife and I volunteer at the BYU Family History Library which is part of the Harold B. Lee Library and so we visit the library regularly. It is interesting to observe the ebb and flow of students studying or socializing or doing both in the library. Every time we visit the library, we pass this statue. On this visit, there was an indication of the statue student's concentration. He was evidently ignoring the large piece of equipment right next to his knee.
We had a wonderful trip to the Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing some of the photos from the fabulous Luminaria (light) display. Merry Christmas to all and may we all remember the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ on this 2021 commemoration of his birth.
When you spend some time to look closely at the world around you, you will be amazed at the beautiful detail of simple things like this dried flower/seed on a vine. As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time." The beauty of the earth testifies to the majesty of God.
This might not actually be the last leaf to fall but it is the only one I saw that still had color. The trees around our house have lost all their leaves for some time now. The box elder tree outside my window always has a lot of seeds in bunches that never seem to drop off until the new seeds start appearing at the end of the summer. Because we have a stretch of "wild" forest next to our house, we have a view of all the fallen leaves and the branches and tree trunks on the ground from years past. Over the past few years, the deer trail outside my window has taken on the look of an established and maintained trail through the woods. Now I guess we are on our way to winter whatever that means in the middle of an extended drought.
The plant most associated with Christmas is perhaps the poinsettia. This isn't really a flower. The red part of the plant are the leaves. The flowers are the tiny parts of the plant in yellow. Here is an explanation from Wikipedia: Poinsettia.
The poinsettia (/pɔɪnˈsÉ›tiÉ™/ or /pɔɪnˈsÉ›tÉ™/) (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is a commercially important plant species of the diverse spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, the poinsettia was first described by Europeans in 1834. It is particularly well known for its red and green foliage and is widely used in Christmas floral displays. It derives its common English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, who is credited with introducing the plant to the US in the 1820s. Poinsettias are shrubs or small trees, with heights of 0.6–4 m (2.0–13.1 ft). Though often stated to be highly toxic, the poinsettia is not dangerous to pets or children. Exposure to the plant, even consumption, most often results in no effect, though it can cause nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
Wild poinsettias occur from Mexico to southern Guatemala, growing on mid-elevation, Pacific-facing slopes. One population in the Mexican state of Guerrero is much further inland, however, and is thought to be the ancestor of most cultivated populations. Wild poinsettia populations are highly fragmented, as their habitat is experiencing largely unregulated deforestation. They were cultivated by the Aztecs for use in traditional medicine. They became associated with the Christmas holiday and are popular seasonal decorations. Every year in the US, approximately 70 million poinsettias of many cultivated varieties are sold in a six-week period. Many of these poinsettias are grown by Paul Ecke Ranch, which serves half the worldwide market and 70% of the US market.
Euphorbia pulcherrima is a shrub or small tree, typically reaching a height of 0.6–4 metres (2–13 ft). The plant bears dark green dentate leaves that measure 7–16 centimetres (2.8–6.3 in) in length. The colored bracts—which are normally flaming red, with cultivars being orange, pale green, cream, pink, white, or marbled—are often mistaken for flower petals because of their groupings and colors, but are actually leaves. The colors of the bracts are created through photoperiodism, meaning that they require darkness (at least fourteen hours at a time for 6–8 weeks in a row) to change color. The plants also require abundant light during the day for the brightest color.
The flowers of the poinsettia are unassuming. They are grouped within the cyathia (small yellow structures found in the center of each leaf bunch, or false flowers). Nothing is known about pollination in wild poinsettias, though wasps are noted to occasionally visit the cyathia. All flowers in the Euphorbiaceae are unisexual (either male or female only), and they are often very small in size. In Euphorbia, the flowers are reduced even more and then aggregated into an inflorescence or cluster of flowers.
I don't usually do images in black and white, but these winter flowers growing in a greenhouse were most beautiful from their white color and form.
