Christmas Lights

[19&41]

After a hiatus last year with my shoulder surgery, I got them put up this year. I've always loved them. They are getting a bit sparse down here in recent years. I think it shows some pride in one's home and offers beauty for others.

[William]

I agree, Rex. I have a pine tree in the backyard that you can see from the street that I have lights in. I also have a wreath over the garage door on the yard garage. There are candles in the windows and a wooden Santa and a vintage sled on both sides of the front door and they have lights too.

Bill

[walyfd]

Not sure you've ever heard of this place but it's in my little town outside scranton.

Wanna see LIGHTS?

[19&41]

That's mighty litey!

[electra225]

I can certainly appreciate the amount of work putting up Christmas lights can be. I appreciate looking at them, but putting them up is not something I have ever been interested in. We put up two trees inside every year. This year, we are listening to Christmas records on Christmas day, not tape or CD's. It has been a lot of years since we did that, maybe almost 20.

[TC Chris]

I'm not a believer in good taste when it comes to Xmas lights--I prefer color and brightness--but that image from outside Scranton is way too much. My theory on the lights is that they add some cheer to the dark-days season, so I leave mine on until Feb. or so. That's when the days are getting longer again and we emerge from the night. My favorites are the big cheerful C-9 strings.

Chris Campbell

[19&41]

I know they're not everyone's favorites, but I like the small panel sized LED lights. Many come in vivid colors and even when they project their light on nearby surfaces, that's pretty too.

[William]

Wow, I would hate to pay their electric bill.

Bill

[Firedome]

I love the lights too, C7s and C9s, orange candles (never white!) in all the windows... 'tis the season to be tacky! Kids love it.

[TC Chris]

Just put up the first installment of lights at my little cottage. I like to hand a few, on a timer, to make this season more cheerful. The cottage is unheated the place seems so lonely in the dark cold months. Lights help. I've always kept a lamp on a timer in the winter too.

The first lights are a C7 string on a round wreath frame, hanging in the back (road side) kitchen window. I usually add several LED strings in the adjacent bathroom window. Because this is on a Great Lakes shoreline, I have not used outdoor lights out of concern for the effects of high winds. I hang a wreath next to the door, and it sometimes gets well beat up by the wind.

Over the holiday I am staying in my Mom's larger, insulated, heated cottage a couple doors away. Waterfront living is rewarding. I arrived at about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday night. The silence was remarkable. While carrying stuff from truck to house, I could hear a distinct bum-bum-bum-bum, the sound of a big diesel marine engine. The navigation channel is at least 4 mi. away but the wind was absolutely still, we are far from car tire noise, and sound carries. About 15 min. I saw the lights of the tug/barge combo emerging from the river into the Bay. The stars are brilliant because it is so dark.

Chris Campbell

[William]

That sounds perfect, Chris. Peace and quiet.

Bill

[TC Chris]

That sounds perfect, Chris. Peace and quiet.

Bill

We can lose track of what silence sounds like, or what darkness looks like. I just heard an aircraft sound overhead and stepped out front to see what was going on. It was in the distance by the time I got out there; probably the evening jet at the local airport. But I was standing on the porch looking out in the dark over Saginaw Bay, and you can see the lighted navigation buoys marking the channel, flashing away red and green, each with its own characteristic. There's a tower at the channel entrance about 7 mi. out and off to the N I can see that too. The stars are bright overhead. My sister was out here earlier and her cell phone has an astronomy program. We could see Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and Mercury among the stars. My house in Traverse City is much noisier and the sky is affected by light pollution. Here it's dark and quiet.

Chris Campbell