Winter
Icy sliders
Tricky landings
Skating to lift-off their cold wings
Ducks
Cinquain by PamelaWLucas 12/19/17
Inspirational photo by Pixabay
Month: December 2017
History Nuggets: President William Henry Harrison and the Holly and the Ivy
William Henry Harrison, (No. 9) was not in the White House long enough to enjoy a Christmas season, serving only one month before he died of pneumonia after making—in the snow—the longest U.S. presidential inauguration speech on record.
William Henry Harrison, was born at Berkeley Plantation in Virginia on February 9, 1773. His father, Benjamin, was a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The young Harrison grew up on the James River just 30 miles from Yorktown, where Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. William, the youngest of seven children, learned to rely on himself early in life. The Christmas season was celebrated on Virginia plantations by attending church services and decorating their homes with holly and ivy. William, no doubt, followed the colonial boy’s custom of “shooting in the Christmas,” which consisted of firing their guns into the air on Christmas Eve morning. “Oh the holly and the ivy…”
Hear the ancient Christmas song “The Holly and the Ivy”.
The inspirational photo by Pixabay
History Nuggets: The skinny on John Q and where was Christmas?
John Quincy Adams (No.6) spent four Christmases in the White House and yet there is very little written about his Christmas celebrations, if indeed there were any.
President Adams was known to follow the same routine every day. He would arise early, swim nude in the Potomac, read several newspapers during breakfast and hold meetings. In the evening dinner was at 5 PM and then he would write in his diaries. He had been raised in Massachusetts where the Puritan distaste for Christmas celebrations may have affected his outlook and he would not have allowed Christmas day to interfere with this practice. However, First Lady Louisa Adams probably celebrated the Christmas holiday in a more prominent way for the children’s sake. There is no historical evidence of Christmas parties at the Adams White House, but Louisa was a very good hostess and may have sent invitations for Christmas dinner at the White House to further her husband’s political connections. Bah, humbug…
Read from the personal diary of John Quincy Adams.
Inspirational photo by Pinterest
Cinquain: White-Throated Sparrow
Migrate
North to the east
Pretty song and whistles
Stays near the ground scratching for food
Sweet face
Cinquain by PamelaWLucas 12/17/17
Inspirational photo by Tara McLaughlin 12/17
Lots more about the White-Throated Sparrow
Haiku: Father’s forest
Selecting the tree
Father’s forest in Finland
Family Christmas
Haiku by PamelaWLucas 12/17/17
Thank you “Finland with Small Steps” for allowing me to share your snowy family forest at Christmas.
Visit a special Christmas post about finding that special tree in Finland.
Haiku: Jack Frost
Natures crystals shine
Cold short-lived before the sun
Run away Jack Frost
Haiku by PamelaWLucas 12/16/17
Inspirational photo by Pixabay
Cinquain: Suspended
Frozen
hardened and iced
an encased cold clearness
an absence of animation
Frozen
Cinquain by PamelaWLucas 12/15/17
Inspirational photo by Pixabay
Cinquain: Cold berries
Berry
Red and posing
Catches the hungry eyes
Birds search to pluck the surviving
Berries
Cinquain by PamelaWLucas 12/14/17
Inspirational photo by Photo by Lum3n.com from Pexels https://www.pexels.com/photo/red-berry-plant-235311/
History Nuggets: John Q #6 and the Christmas Poinsettia
The popular Christmas Poinsettia was first introduced to the U.S. during John Quincy Adams’ presidency (#6) by Joel R. Poinsett, the first diplomatic minister to Mexico.
In 1825, President Adams appointed Joel R. Poinsett as the first diplomatic minister to Mexico. The diplomat, an amateur botanist, found a plant growing wild in the southern states of Mexico and sent back samples to the US. Perhaps they arrived at the White House during the Christmas season, because the “Poinsettia” has grown into a very popular seasonal decoration.
Inspirational photo by Pixabay
Haiku: Winter and the Red-bellied
Scrounging feeder seeds
Brilliant vertical wonder
Barred back gleaming head
Haiku by PamelaWLucas 12/12/17
Inspirational photo by Pixabay
Find more information here about the spectacular Red-bellied Woodpecker
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