Red berries and a cow’s tooth

Each December I look for the red berry bushes along our local roadsides. The berries stand out on leafless branches against the new snow.

As goldenrod signals the coming autumn, the brilliant berries tip us into winter. Move me into the frenzied weeks before Christmas with the quiet excitement of an Advent candle.

Plus, as you might have guessed, they make great arrangements and beautiful wreathes. No fuss for decoration-challenged people such as myself—clutter being my main motif.

Tomorrow we will buy a Christmas tree, a Frasier fir, from one of the local stands. Ours is a family that would never consider an artificial variety.

Each year though, I suggest cutting a hemlock from our nearby woods as my family did when I was a kid. After all, a hemlock would be cheaper and easier to get, and wouldn’t require the gymnastics of bungee cording a tree into the trunk of a Honda Civic. And although the Charlie Brown Christmas tree must have been a hemlock, I still say nothing can compare to a hemlock’s graceful, slender branches and open spaces.

But my kids don’t want a scrawny tree. They want a “real” tree. A “real” real tree.

So let the decorating begin. Along with all those antique glass balls and the yearly hand-print reindeer ornaments from school, I treasure my real (and ancient) cow’s tooth hanging from its wire hook. We also have the “spork” from Kentucky Fried Chicken. This unique ornament has prompted many a raised eyebrow—but just to say the word “Spork” makes me laugh.

Happy holidays—one and all.

In this season of giving I would also like to offer you a list of local food pantries. The following is a partial list of places where food can be donated or picked up. All food donations need to be “in date.” Monetary donations are also accepted. Remember too, especially in these difficult economic times, that the need for food continues after the holidays. In summer when school is closed, some children go without an adequate lunch. So plan to donate then too—a kind of “Christmas in July.”

Narrowsburg Ecumenical Food Pantry operates every Thursday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. from the side entrance of St. Francis Xavier Church, Bridge Street, Narrowsburg, NY. Donations can be dropped off during pantry hours. Monetary donations can be sent care of Barbara Drollinger, 48 Old County Road, Cochecton, NY, 12726. Call 845/252-3224 for more information.

Caring Hands Food Pantry located at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 15 St. John’s St., Monticello, NY operates the first four Tuesdays of each month from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and the second Saturday of each month from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Donations can be dropped off during operation hours and after church services. Call 845/794-8111 for more information. Food pantries in Monticello are also operated by the Monticello Community Center and The Federation for the Homeless.

Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank operates out of the Father Rausch Memorial Hall, 346 West Main St., Hancock, NY, each Tuesday from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Food donations may be dropped off at the Rausch hall or the side door of St. Paul’s Church located next door. Call 607/637-2571 for more information or for donation arrangements.

Wayne County Food Pantry in Pennsylvania has a monthly distribution in each of the following communities: Lakeville, Damascus, Honesdale, Lakewood, and Newfoundland. Call 570/253-4262 to register or for donation information.