"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands........" 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

There are hundreds of mesquite trees

here on the grounds of "Pleasant Prairie".  I know, because I have walked the woods with Sophie, looking over every one of them.......
However, in the back yard, ...............in front of my greenhouse, is a younger mesquite tree that has a wonderful clump of mistletoe growing on it. It is the only one out of all of the trees here on the grounds that has mistletoe. I know it is actually a fungus...........but I love it!

This is how it looked last week when we got the "big snow". This tree also supports one end of my clothesline...............which I love!

DID YOU KNOW?
Kissing under the mistletoe, our favorite sprig of green leaves and white berries, dates back to a 17th century English custom.
At that time, a berry was removed every time a kiss was made, which meant there were no kisses when there were no berries.


How about you??
 Do you have mistletoe hanging in your trees?..................or more important...........
do you have mistletoe hanging where you can get a kiss or two??
I hope so!

11 comments:

peggy said...

I had never seen mistletoe growing. You could put a red bow on it and stand under the tree. I also didn't know about this plant (fungus?) Wasn't that a beautiful snow!

Terry and Linda said...

And then they bloom in the spring and the world smells like them!!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

Mistletoe blooms? Who knew? I see some growing high in the trees I pass sometimes and wonder if anyone else even knows what it is.

Anonymous said...

Alright, alright, am I the only one who didn't know mistletoe was a fungus???? Looks pretty, but sounds a bit gross;-) Beautiful pics of the snow. We were visiting our "new" town and thought we might get some snow...but just on the top of the mountains.

Enjoy your week,
jilly

lil red hen said...

Mistletoe used to be such an important part of Christmas when I was a child. We don't see much of it anymore.

Connie said...

I don't believe I've ever seen mistletoe growing before either. How neat that you have some there in nature to enjoy. :-)

Vickie said...

Hey Kathleen, we have mistletoe on our oak trees. It eventually kills the limbs, and I hate it. Especially in our big 150 year old oak in the back yard. It falls all over the house and every so often we have to get it sprayed. Even the cherry-picker trucks can't reach it all. Yes, it's fun at Christmas but that's about it!

grammy said...

Great Mistletoe facts!!!
I loved the snow pictures...and the little mouse was so cute. Did you actually take that picture?
Have fun getting ready for Christmas!

Kelly said...

Beautiful pic of the snow. So pristine and beautiful. Hope all is well and you are having a wonderful pre Christmas.

GardenOfDaisies said...

I have never seen mistletoe growing! That is so cool that you have it right there in your tree!

Ardith said...

When I first moved to Oklahoma and saw these round, green balls in the bare trees I was going crazy wondering what it was! Didn't take long to find out it was Mistletoe! It grows on trees where birds poop the seeds! I pick my own now every Christmas and love it!! What fun. Have a great Christmas!