Not really. It's only the method of time-keeping invented by man that causes two moons to appear in one month. La Luna keeps to her own schedule of approximately 28 days, and cares nothing for the artificial schedule created by man.
This little cardboard house is my most cherished Christmas ornament. It's worth nothing monetarily, but to me it's priceless. It belonged to my grandmother on my mother's side. When I hang it on the tree I think of all the other hands that have touched it; my grandmother's hands, all of my aunt's hands, my mother's hands and my sister's hands. They have all moved on, except for my sister, but I keep them near me with things like this.
The golden-colored bell was my first ever present...and, at the time it was given, I wasn't even aware of it as I was only one day old. Granny Edwards, not a blood relation but a wonderful woman who was called 'Granny' by all who knew her, gave a set of four bells to my mother the day after I was born, and told her that they were for me because "this child will love Christmas and it will love her back." The set contained 2 golden and two deep pink bells. I still have all of them, although they are faded and worn. 
My husband and I bought these darling little mice in 1992. We've bought a dated ornament each Christmas since we've been married. We should have 34, but the cats ate the one dated '1977' so we only have 33.
The ornament on the right is the second oldest ornament that I have. My mother and dad bought it for their first Christmas together in 1927.
Since my husband's favorite holiday is Halloween I bought this Christopher Radko ornament for him. No, really I did. Just because there's a little red haired witch with an adorable black cat on the pumpkin had nothing to do with it. ;)
My husband made dozens of these 'candles' for our tree in 1998. He used doweling then drilled a tiny hole for the piece of pipe cleaner. To make it look like wax has dripped down the candle he dripped a really thick gesso down the sides after he painted them with the same gesso.
And this sparkly reindeer is the newest member of our Christmas decorations. When I saw them (I bought 6) I just couldn't resist! 
It's so good to come back into the warmth of my cottage! It was 22 degrees Fahrenheit when I went outside this morning to put out food and water for the feral cats and the birds. I always make a fire and put the tea kettle on to boil before I go out.
That way, when I step back inside, I'm greeted by the cheery crack and pop of logs in the living room fireplace, the welcoming sound of water boiling in the tea kettle, and, soon, a hot mug of Earl Grey tea with milk added. Ahhhhh... 
She is suspended by the wreath all through the day, staying so still you could be fooled into thinking she's just a figurine. Why, she even hovers by a wire to add to the illusion!
I finally finished the decorating and baking this afternoon (Dec. 23). I have more pictures to post, but I'll have to do it after Christmas day.
This is a picture I took last December on the Winter Soltice/Yule but it seems to personify, for me anyway, this day. 
All the rest are not. So my poor husband had to take the whole strand out of the garland and replace it. Gremlins cause grumbling...
even among the toy animals! Miss Paulina Purrmeeze is complaining that a mean old gremlin came by and knocked a large snowflake onto her ear. I'll bet I know who that particular 'gremlin' was...
Lars Olaf says, "Hmmpf. I have NO idea what you're talking about." 
I'm lonely. Aren't you done decorating yet?
This is what it was doing all day here. 60 mph wind gusts and heavy snow. According to the weather forecast, it's supposed to continue for the next six days! Whoo hoooooooo! We need it desperately. I didn't get much Christmas decorating done today because I was kept busy trudging from feeder to feeder. The birds and animals seem to have bottomless pits for tummies during the first really big storm of the season.
I'm sorry this picture is so blurry. I didn't want to take my camera out from underneath the shelter of the porch because this snow is so wet and heavy. I just couldn't get it to focus through the screen on the porch. I have a Canon DSLR but it's heavy and sometimes my hands just won't co-operate so I have to use my Canon digital. Anyway, the bird down on the baffle is a Wilson's Warbler and the two birds up on the feeder ledge are Purple Finches. I don't know why they call them 'purple' because they've always looked more red to me. Well, the males do. The females are various shades of buff and brown. Maybe the person who named them was a bit color blind. Gosh...I hope it's not me, given what I do for a living!
Chickadees are so cute, and they're one of my favorite birds, but they can be so frustrating to photograph.
I took these at the beginning of November when I was on my way home from the valley that lies about a mile (5,000 feet) below, under the haze in the first photo. I wish I would have taken some photos when I was down in the valley; it's amazing how different the clouds look when viewed from below versus being directly across from them. 
My sister's husband passed on November 5th. They had been married for over 50 years. I've been staying with her since his passing. Today I had to return to my home. Well, actually she kicked me out saying "Honey, you need to get on home. Your husband's retired and a man with too much time on his hands...well there's no telling what he might get up to!" Still, leaving her today was one of the hardest things I've ever done. She's alone in a huge house in the middle of acres and acres of orange groves. I've done what I can to make her safe; had a state-of-the-art alarm system installed in the house and on the grounds, along with new security lights all over the place. She's in her very late seventies, but still REALLY feisty and can shoot a single leaf off a tree from one hundred feet away. 
I said "no" to more fish treats because I felt Opie Furgus, Chieftain of the Fuzzy Toes Clan, had eaten enough. This is the look that he gave me. Yikes! 
My husband is busily putting out the final decorations in the yard for the various creatures that will come tonight for candy, and I've finished with the interior of the house for family and friends that will come to visit on All Hallows Eve.
My husband is putting up the outside decorations, while I've been doing the same inside. That's the living room mantle in the picture above.
This is the top of a armoire next to the living room fireplace. I leave St. Francis up year round, even though he looks a little odd with the Halloween things.
And wouldn't you know, as soon as I got all the Autumn leaves in the basket and the other things put in place, half of the lights went out! Grrrrr...
What would Halloween be without a cute, cuddly little bat?
Or some darling little cats in costumes? I suggested to my feline and canine "children in fur" that they might want to dress up for Halloween, but that was met with a unanimous paws down. 
"Looking above and looking below
is outside my bedroom window. I'm always amazed at how many colors Autumn can paint on one single tree, one single leaf. To me, it's a breath-taking spectacle that never fails to delight. 
I think this Autumn is especially beautiful. I didn't expect the colors of the trees to be so vibrant because of our unusually dry summer. But the rain that we had a few days ago, combined with night time low temperatures a bit below freezing, brought the magic! And it feels like Autumn used to up here, but hasn't for quite a few years. The air, even in the daytime, feels cool, damp and smells of wet earth, pine, and acorns and leaves that have already fallen from the oaks. At night, the scent of woodsmoke from fireplaces, my own included, adds its tang to the air. I just came back inside after getting more wood for the fireplaces and I could smell the scent of the spice cake baking in my oven joining with the other delicious odors drifting on the cold currents of air that flow through this valley.
At this altitude, Autumn is fleeting. But oh, what riches she freely gives us while she is here!
I took the above photo from my back porch. That's the really big drawback about most digital cameras; they hate getting wet. It's times like these that I really miss my old 35 mm cameras. I'm going to have to look around for a not-too-expensive digital that can take getting wet.
It actually started raining while it was still sunny.
The Cedars loved it.
The Ash Leaf Maples, just starting to turn, loved it.
Then the clouds settled in, but it's still raining...and we ALL love it! The weatherman is predicting that it will continue through tomorrow and part of Wednesday. 
This was what the light looked like this afternoon when I was leaving my friend's house. She has a wonderful view of one of the lakes up here. Every time I visit, I lament the fact that my home is down in a valley and it gets dark two hours earlier at my home than at hers. If I want to see the sun set or rise over the lake near me, I have to hike up to the ridge line or down to the lake. And her home is nearly new, it's not a money pit like mine.
Our hummingbird feeders have not been visited in over a week, so I think the two species of hummingbirds that are here during the warm months have left.
