Christmas Day and I am alone.

Finally. When the whole clan gets together, it's a little much sometimes. I'm more accustomed, living alone, to a quieter nature than my family allows. The barking dog, the screaming nephew, the loud voices of my mother and sister, the snoring from the recliner in the corner where my dad sleeps the day away, it's just too much sometimes.

There was lots of food, some of which I brought back in Tupperware containers for the next couple of days. There were gifts, greatly appreciated because I needed or wanted them. There was a lot of rain. One and a half inches fell while I was away. The wood heater is getting fired up again to dry the water that collected in the basement from the leaking concrete walls.

When I got home, the second thing I did was to take a quiet walk through the backyard. I clipped a few butterfly bushes and stuck them where I want them to grow. I did the same thing last year with great results. I also collected the seed pods from the Gomphocarpus. Inside, lots of brown seeds were found. I hope they're viable. I'll wintersow them in a couple months. It's a host plant for the Monarch.

Tomorrow is a work day. I'm sure we won't be busy. 66 Christmas trees need to be sold at $1 each to fishermen who place them in their ponds or favorite spots in area lakes for Crappies to raise their young. I've got a couple seed trades to get out now that things are getting back to normal. Next week, I'll cut some more firewood and get it split for two coldest months ahead.

What started out as a cold Christmas has turned into a pleasant day. It's 57 degrees and cloudy. I'm beat.