Ho, Ho, Oh No!

Photo by Jill

Our Christmas lasted about 3 hours before Grandma got run over by a reindeer. Well, technically, reindeer weren't to blame. But Grandma's Christmas plans were stampeded by Covid. Bah humbug!

Jill, Eric and the girls arrived, as planned, just in time for supper on December 22. The girls got in a little snuggle time with the kitties that Grandpa's been working hard to tame. Brooke & I read some books.

They were still working their way through a series of possible names for the kitties.

And then Jill got an email that changed everything. She had tested positive for Covid. We let the girls open their presents.

I snapped a couple of photos.

And about 3 hours after they'd arrived, they loaded up and left for home. 

Since Randy and I had been exposed, Brent and Susan didn't make the trip. (They had planned to arrive by noon on December 23.)

At least the sunrise was pretty on December 24.

Mom's birthday sunrise - December 24, 2021

But, just like last Christmas, our immediate family did the Christmas Eve/Grandma's birthday celebration via Zoom. (Photo at the top of the page.) Darci & Andrew were also stuck in Chicago, thanks to Covid. 

(FYI: Every eligible family member had received their vaccines and most had gotten their boosters. We are guessing that the Omicron variant is the culprit. Those who succumbed have had mild symptoms and feel like they have a cold.)

Those at the Pratt County farm gathering still did the annual requisite photos of the Great Grands with Grandma and Grandpa Moore. I borrowed them from Snapchat.

The great-grand photo was missing a couple of girls. 

And the annual grandchild photo with Grandma Moore was also down 2.

Instead of being at the celebration, Randy did his best impression of the Christmas song, "Up on the Housetop." 

 But it was actually up on the roof of a shed repairing wind damage to the tin.

I was there to call 9-1-1 if he fell off the roof. Thankfully, that was one Christmas miracle. 

Another Christmas miracle? Getting close enough to juvenile bald eagles to get a decent photograph. These two were hanging out at the kids' fishing pond at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.

 

Maybe they were looking for Christmas dinner from their treetop perch.

We saw a slightly older bald eagle pair at another location, though only one stuck around for any photos (and they aren't great). It was just too far away for my little zoom.

We're fairly close to the Little Salt Marsh at Quivira, so we visit there on occasion.

We're about 15 miles from the Big Salt Marsh. But we made that drive on Christmas morning.

When life is disappointing, look for the beauty, I guess.

Thankfully, there was plenty of that.

Some creatures were stirring, unlike the Clement Clarke Moore poem ...

 

 

... though not a mouse (at least, not that we saw.) But we did see trumpeter swans.

And a great heron, who didn't seem to care that we were visiting for Christmas.

We hope to get together sometime in January to finish the Christmas celebration.  It will be just as sweet. ... Well, maybe not. The snack mixes will be long gone by then. I did send some home with Jill's family. I mailed some to Brent & Susan. And I met my niece Abby's family at Zenith to send a laundry basket full of snacks to the Moore family Christmas. Kinley and Eric gladly took Oreo cheesecake back with them. But Brent & Susan missed out. I didn't figure it would mail too well.