December 10

Yesterday’s ice storm seemed to catch many people off guard, which is nonsensical really. It is December after all, and the fact we haven’t experienced any significant snowfall yet is simply good fortune.

Several townsfolk are out today, wrapping their hollies and such bushes in burlap – something that should have been done a few weeks ago as an ounce of prevention. We are just as guilty as the next, and this small storm shamed us into our own last minute wrapping.

I both enjoy and dislike this chore, the former because the burlap has a pleasing odor all its own, like harvest and autumn somehow captured within. The latter is my own fault, as the procrastination then necessitates wrapping in cold temperatures.

The three big hollies by the front dooryard were wrapped in little time, and they will be moderately protected from the snow that drifts here three feet or more. Soon, it will be so deep that they will be buried altogether, awaiting their unveiling next spring when the thaws arrive, making us feel like archaeologists unwrapping the coverings of some unfortunate casualty.

Three winters ago was particularly bad, with heavy snows in town that came in mid-November and didn’t let up. Unbeknownst to us a rabbit had become stranded beneath the burlap of one of the hollies and was fairly well buried for some time.

That spring, when the burlap was removed, there wasn’t a single holly leaf to be found! The rabbit had stripped the plant to survive and had left a large pile of droppings underneath.