Is mistletoe symbiosis or a parasite?

Jacksonville is well lit for Christmas. During our Halloween volunteerism, the organizer from the Chamber of Commerce mentioned it took some doing to get all the businesses in downtown historic Jacksonville to chip in to get their holiday garlands and lights to match.   Seriously! It started the weekend after Thanksgiving and one by one, the shops got up tiny white lights framing all the shop windows with cedar-looking garlands bedecking the pillars and frames.  We missed the Christmas tree lighting as we were at the coast that weekend, but on several subsequent forays downtown we pass heavily decorated shop windows, passers-by in Victorian garb and people on the side walks giving away hot apple cider.

Last weekend we did our chores early Saturday and went on a wine tour of Upper Rogue Valley.  Didn't mean to hit 3 wineries before camping, but they were so co-located!
Agate Ridge Vineyard has a spectacular view of (much of the year) snow-covered Mount Mcloughlin.  In the summer they have live music and bond fires and giant games:  (life size Jenga and other stuff I guess.)  We just threw a slimy tennis ball for the owner's energetic dog, Syrah, and tasted some good wines.  We ended up with a free coupon for a tasting flight at the neighboring winery: Cliff Creek Cellar.  It happened to be their members' pick up day so they were having food and festivities.  We're not members but they let us eat their prime rib and chocolate and had generous portions on their tastings.  We imagined going back in the summer (since they're also 22 min from Jacksonville.)  Their grapes abut grapes at Folin Vineyard's, so we had to stop there too.   It sounded like they were closing after this weekend and we still aren't sure if they meant for the season or forever. We ended up with two beautiful wine glasses and the phone number of a dude who teaches fly-tying  (in case Judd needs a 6-8th grade project.)  

All we had to do at "camp" was open the yurt and turn on the heat.  (We had stopped at India Palace and picked up Indian food to warm up for dinner. It didn't even make it to the warmer.)  I did lose soundly at cribbage. Only drawback to Valley of the Rogue State Camp Ground:  it seems to be 20ft from Freeway  5 (they're free here) and apparently they don't turn off traffic at night. Zooming sounds woke us up all night.  We had a nice, brisk morning walk along the Rogue River and went home to prep for Sunday/Monday.  DId I mention these chores involved buying 9 pound boxes of spaghetti and 18 bags of mini marshmallows for Judd's "tower challenge?"  (i.e. have 6-8 graders spend the last day before holiday break seeing who can make the tallest tower out of spaghetti and marshmallows.) Doesn't sound lethal or messy, right?

On the way home, the fog was thick but the sunrise promised to break through.  It made stunning black and white snaps of the trees full of mistletoe balls. 

I refer you to this awesome Prezi by Wade Sumner and Elize Perez, if you can click through it with your arrow button:
https://prezi.com/ql1hdfrsyuqc/symbiosis-between-mistletoe-and-a-tree/

And, in an unrelated note:  Hotel at work conference in Seattle, The Edgewater (famous for  4 Beatles fishing out a window)  uses antlers in all of their decorating....

Jacksonville Victorian Judd's Birthday and Big FOOT

Bagpipers !

Judd's Birthday Parade in Jacksonville!!  They called it "a Victorian Christmas Parade" but it was heavy on antique cars spewing diesel fumes and low on Carolers in Victorian garb.  We had gone to breakfast at the Jacksonville Inn (hearing that it was classy, but pricey for dinner.)  It was pricey for breakfast.  And we were still too early for the parade so we walked downtown and had tea at Pony Espresso.  While we were perusing the local paper, we overheard a woman squeal a greeting to the barista, "It's MY birthday too!"  So, Judd went over and squealed, "It's MY birthday TOO!"  The three of them congratulating each other was adorable. The predicted rain held off and we cruised the main street (3 blocks) to find an acceptable curb. We didn't know until the start whether the parade was going up or down California St. (It went down.) 

It was a cute, small town parade and cuter still to see the families and tourists lined up to watch. Because it was wet/cold everyone had hats or mittens or were  wrapped in blankees. Best ugly sweater was blue and yellow and said Oh Vey!  with dreidels all over it. We did our Saturday laundry and shopping chores and met a work friend for dinner at the BackPorch Bar and Grill. Serious BBQ.  Judd and I had just discussed at breakfast that we really should share a meal when we go out because the portions everywhere are so American. But then he ordered his own beef brisket and I ordered my own seared ahi tacos. We invoked the birthday exception-to-any rule.

 On Sunday we had a great breakfast at the Honeysuckle Cafe in Ruch on our way to Applegate Lake.  Two breakfasts but justified this time because we were taking leftovers for lunch after a hike. We had been told the World's only Big Foot trap was in those woods up the Applegate.  We found the trail head sign and it has a foot logo on the trail marker.  That made it official.  The website said the trap was baited for several years but all they caught were bears.  (They didn't say who went up to free the bears.)  So now the trap is locked open "for your safety."  We had forgotten the directions I printed out and lost cell signal so we were hiking by memory.  It was purported to be 3/4 mile into the trail.  After we hiked about 45 min, I said we must be beyond 3/4 mile.  (I'm not THAT out of shape.) There had been a slight turn off and we figured that must have been it. So we hiked back and there it was a few feet off the main trail.  It looks like an oversized outhouse where some big foot has painted "Big Foot was Here."  We hiked through a dreary green forest--so many colors of green, drippy from the frozen fog, which cleared by the time we emerged from the forest. Ferns grew out of tree trunks. Lichen drizzled along branches.  Holly-like, pokey plants lined the trail and we started to worry it was the poison oak which was reported along the path. (We googled it later and decided it wasn't poison oak.) We cam across some deep holes but chose not to find out if they were bat caves or big foot hide outs. Judd declared it a spectacular start to his birthweek.

"Sleepless in Seattle"

I'm  in Seattle, not sleeping. I left work at noon and it took two flights to get to Seattle. I did have that delay at TSA security.  After they xrayed my backpack, "Do you have anything sharp or dangerous?"  I reply, "knitting needles."  While I put my boots back on, I see the dude frisk through my knitting, bag of almonds, reading glasses.  I told Judd I made a point of removing my 1.5 inch knife-- I call it my "Swiss Princess knife" because I don't like armies.  It's pink and comes with a plastic "ivory" toothpick, mini-tweezers and knife/scissors.  I'm confident my "Swiss Princess knife" is in my car.   The TSA dude rifles through the backpack and finds Judd's jackknife.  (Set up again!!!)   I ask the agent if I can mail it home and he says that I can go put it in my car.  Happily, I've allowed enough time, and the Medford airport is so small that I can walk to my car in  minutes.   SO, I return Judd's, did I say, engraved , pocket knife, to my car and get to do (boots off/xray etc) security clearance a second time and still make the flight on time. 

Our contingency got to the hotel at 6:00 pm and went out for dinner at 6:30. Fabulous Indian/Nepalese food at Kastoori Grill.  Most of us got 3 out of 6 spicy. One colleague got 6/6!  We didn't share that one. We walked back along the Public Market and very near crossing the road to our hotel, a very long train went by. We stood stamping our feet in the cold. I got myself all tucked into the hotel room: work clothes shaking out on hangars next to the luxurious robes, left-overs in the hotel fridge, phone and computer charging. And then I tried to start the fireplace (the room's source of heat.)  I ended up needing to have an engineer sent up.  I hear him say, "Oh, Sh...!"  So, my valve doesn't work and now, at 8 dark 30 bedtime, I'm being offered "a new room with heat."   SO, I repack all my crap which has exuded across the beautiful room; I schlepp my stuff, which now includes an already poured glass of wine, up and over a floor, and end up, EXACTLY over that train crossing........ but with a fabulous fireplace and ottoman-shaped-like-a-bear.   And a note from the hotel:  "Should the sounds of the passing trains disturb your sleep, please take a pair of earplugs , on the house."

Not sleeping yet......

Beecher's Handmade Cheese