Anne here, with the last of our Christmastide daily posts. We hope you've enjoyed them. (Of course, for Orthodox and Eastern Christians, Christmas celebrations are just about to start, so if this is you — Happy Christmas!)
I started my first Christmastide post with talk of picking peaches and here are a couple of photos, which I include not to make you envious, but as a reminder to those in freezing climes that spring and summer will come again, truly it will. And in the meantime you can have your peaches canned, brandied, as jam or in some other delicious form.
The 5th January (and in some parts the 6th) is traditionally the day to take down your decorations and the tree. Have you taken down your decorations yet? I'm always a little sad to do it and the house seems strangely bare afterwards. I always try to fill it with flowers or greenery at least.
If you had a real tree, it can still go on bringing joy — or at least some good — to the world. In some places Christmas trees are being used for positive environmental projects, not simply as chipped or mulched wood, either. Read the article on this link to see how they're used to halt erosion, help rebuild coastal environments and provide a haven for fish and other aquatic species.
And whether you're deep in snow and ice, as several of our wenches are, sweltering in the summer heat, or somewhere in between, all the very best to you for 2018.
So, have you taken down your decorations or not? And what has been the best part of Christmas for you? (Or if you're sick of Christmas talk, if you had oodles of fresh peaches, what would you do with them?)