Christmas Chuckle

If this doesn't induce a laugh; something's wrong with you...

And Even More Holiday Spirit

For the loved one in your life that still likes to burn one on occasion there is this.....

 

Follow me at this blog for more gift-giving tips.

Merry Christmas!

More Holiday Spirit

For the woman in your life that has everything; there is this...

Follow me at this blog for more gift-giving tips.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

All of us here at The Platz extend our best wishes for a Very Merry Christmas.

Conditions are brutal out there so throw another piece of stove wood on the fire, put your feet up, snuggle with your sweetie content with the knowledge that Santa Claus is on his way.... 

Nativity Story

The Bible story of the virgin birth is at the center of much of the holiday cheer this time of year. The book of Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem because Caesar Augustus decreed a census should be taken. Mary gave birth after arriving in Bethlehem and placed baby Jesus in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.       

Some people think Mary and Joseph were mistreated by a greedy innkeeper, who only cared about profits and decided the couple was not worth his normal accommodations. This version of the story (narrative) has been repeated many times in plays, skits, and sermons. It fits an anti-capitalist mentality that paints business owners as greedy, or even evil.         

It persists even though the Bible records no complaints and there was apparently no charge for the stable. It may be the stable was the only place available. Bethlehem was over-crowded with people forced to return to their ancestral home for a census – ordered by the Romans – for the purpose of levying taxes. If there was a problem, it was due to unintended consequences of government policy. In this narrative, the government caused the problem.          

The innkeeper was generous to a fault – a hero even. He was over-booked, but he charitably offered his stable, a facility he built with unknowing foresight. The innkeeper was willing and able to offer this facility even as government officials, who ordered and administered the census, slept in their own beds with little care for the well-being of those who had to travel regardless of their difficult life circumstances.         

 If you must find "evil" in either of these narratives, remember that evil is ultimately perpetrated by individuals, not the institutions in which they operate. And this is why it's important to favor economic and political systems that limit the use and abuse of power over others. In the story of baby Jesus, a government law that requires innkeepers to always have extra rooms, or to take in anyone who asks, would "fix" the problem.    

But these laws would also have unintended consequences. Fewer investors would back hotels because the cost of the regulations would reduce returns on investment. A hotel big enough to handle the rare census would be way too big in normal times. Even a bed and breakfast would face the potential of being sued. There would be fewer hotel rooms, prices would rise, and innkeepers would once again be called greedy. And if history is our guide, government would chastise them for price-gouging and then try to regulate prices.

This does not mean free markets are perfect or create utopia; they aren't and they don't. But businesses can't force you to buy a service or product. You have a choice – even if it's not exactly what you want. And good business people try to make you happy in creative and industrious ways.         

Government doesn't always care. In fact, if you happen to live in North Korea or Cuba, and are not happy about the way things are going, you can't leave. And just in case you try, armed guards will help you think things through.         

This is why the Framers of the US Constitution made sure there were "checks and balances" in our system of government. These checks and balances don't always lead to good outcomes; we can think of many times when some wanted to ignore these safeguards. But, over time, the checks and balances help prevent the kinds of despotism we've seen develop elsewhere.         

Neither free market capitalism, nor the checks and balances of the Constitution are the equivalent of having a true Savior. But they should give us all hope that the future will be brighter than many seem to think.

Credit - First Trust Advisors

 

 

Friday Christmas Confusion

Twelve Days of Christmas Confusion

Performed by Angel City Chorale 

Artistic Director, Sue Fink Video edited by, Alex Chaloff, Annika Benitz 

Angel City Chorale Website

Consider The Tannenbaum

Tannenbaum is a German word that translates to fir tree.  It is pronounced tah-nuhn-boum. 

It is that time of year folks - two weeks ago already I was returning home from a Lions Club meeting and took note that one of my neighbors had their Christmas tree up and lit already.  We'll have to see if we do the same.  For now there is this small specimen of retro craziness on the fireplace mantel.

Quite a few families prefer a real Christmas tree over an artificial tree made from PVC plastic in China.  

The reasons are multitude; and among them are getting out and selecting one from a neighborhood or church tree lot.  Or getting out to a tree farm and picking out a tree, cutting it down and dragging it back to be bundled for the drive home.  Most trees are grown on family farms.  They're natural, completely recyclable and renewable.  They smell terrific too.

Depending where you live the supply of farm-grown trees might be tight for the 2024 Christmas season.   Best practice for this eventuality are to shop early for best selection.  

Roughly 21.6 million real Christmas trees were purchased in the US in 2023 at a median price of $75, according to the National Christmas Tree Association.  It is the period of time immediately following Thanksgiving that is peak time for real trees.  With Thanksgiving coming late this year growers face a short sales season.  Compounding the situation is the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Helene on western North Carolina, which produces more Christmas trees than any state except Oregon.  Who knew?

Delivering one of the most popular Christmas tree varieties, the Fraser fir, is a real challenge. One out of four Fraser firs sold nationally - and virtually all the Fraser firs sold on the East Coast - are sourced from western North Carolina.  

Compounding this is the impact of Hurricane Helene will persist for years.  It takes roughly a decade to grow a full-size Fraser fir.  And many of the trees damaged were several years from maturity, impacting supply for years to come.  The loss of 200,000 seedlings to flooding is staggering to a family tree farm.  And unlike soybeans and corn difficult to insure.

Labor is an additional problem and North Carolina is one of the largest users of the H-2A visa program for agricultural workers.  It's one thing to crack-down on illegal immigration; however the heated rhetoric about clamping-down on legal immigrants has made the hiring of foreign workers fraught and increasingly burdensome.

Growing Christmas trees is a lot like any other agricultural crop - only it takes longer.  When The Great Recession of 2007-09 caused many growers to plant fewer trees or go out of business as consumers curtailed spending.  That resulted in a supply problem along with price hikes a decade later.

Farmed trees are also challenged by other shifting consumer habits.  Aging baby boomers are putting-up fewer live trees.  According to the USDA trees harvested in the US has declined 30% since 2002; despite a population increase of 16% over the same period.

So maybe we'll wander out back and cut down a live spruce - not too small and not too big - and string some lights on it for the holiday.

You can learn more about the impact of Helene here...

Merry Christmas

Best wishes from all of us at The Platz for a very merry Christmas!

December Night Sky

  The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow, Gave a lustre of midday to objects below, When what to my wondering eyes did appear, But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.    

 -'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Clement Clarke Moore      

 

December's full moon, illuminating the skies on December 26, 2023, holds special significance as it aligns with Christmas Day.  This celestial event is the first full moon following the winter solstice, enhancing its allure during this special and festive season.

12-11-19 Full Cold Moon

The full moon you will observe in the heavens this evening is called the Full Cold Moon.  It is characterized by the arc of its trajectory across the sky which allows it to appear above the horizon for a longer period of time. 

Because of its close association with the winter solstice - and the shortest of daylight hours - native people called this the Long Nights Moon.   My ancient European pagan ancestors called this the Moon Before Yule in recognition of the Yuletide festivities celebrating the return of the sun heralded by the winter solstice. 

 

To the casual observer the moon will appear full both tonight and Wednesday evening as well. 

Fingers crossed for clear, cold viewing tonight.

Nativity Story

The Bible story of the virgin birth is at the center of much of the holiday cheer this time of year. The book of Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem because Caesar Augustus decreed a census should be taken. Mary gave birth after arriving in Bethlehem and placed baby Jesus in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.       

Some people think Mary and Joseph were mistreated by a greedy innkeeper, who only cared about profits and decided the couple was not worth his normal accommodations. This version of the story (narrative) has been repeated many times in plays, skits, and sermons. It fits an anti-capitalist mentality that paints business owners as greedy, or even evil.         

It persists even though the Bible records no complaints and there was apparently no charge for the stable. It may be the stable was the only place available. Bethlehem was over-crowded with people forced to return to their ancestral home for a census – ordered by the Romans – for the purpose of levying taxes. If there was a problem, it was due to unintended consequences of government policy. In this narrative, the government caused the problem.          

The innkeeper was generous to a fault – a hero even. He was over-booked, but he charitably offered his stable, a facility he built with unknowing foresight. The innkeeper was willing and able to offer this facility even as government officials, who ordered and administered the census, slept in their own beds with little care for the well-being of those who had to travel regardless of their difficult life circumstances.         

If you must find "evil" in either of these narratives, remember that evil is ultimately perpetrated by individuals, not the institutions in which they operate. And this is why it's important to favor economic and political systems that limit the use and abuse of power over others. In the story of baby Jesus, a government law that requires innkeepers to always have extra rooms, or to take in anyone who asks, would "fix" the problem.         

But these laws would also have unintended consequences. Fewer investors would back hotels because the cost of the regulations would reduce returns on investment. A hotel big enough to handle the rare census would be way too big in normal times. Even a bed and breakfast would face the potential of being sued. There would be fewer hotel rooms, prices would rise, and innkeepers would once again be called greedy. And if history is our guide, government would chastise them for price-gouging and then try to regulate prices.

This does not mean free markets are perfect or create utopia; they aren't and they don't. But businesses can't force you to buy a service or product. You have a choice – even if it's not exactly what you want. And good business people try to make you happy in creative and industrious ways.         

Government doesn't always care. In fact, if you happen to live in North Korea or Cuba, and are not happy about the way things are going, you can't leave. And just in case you try, armed guards will help you think things through.         

This is why the Framers of the US Constitution made sure there were "checks and balances" in our system of government. These checks and balances don't always lead to good outcomes; we can think of many times when some wanted to ignore these safeguards. But, over time, the checks and balances help prevent the kinds of despotism we've seen develop elsewhere.         

Neither free market capitalism, nor the checks and balances of the Constitution are the equivalent of having a true Savior. But they should give us all hope that the future will be brighter than many seem to think.

Credit - First Trust Advisors

 

Friday Music

Originally a traditional German folk song this tune had little if anything to do with Christmas - or describe a decorated Christmas tree.  The original lyrics had everything to do with a fir tree’s evergreen quality as a symbol of constancy and faithfulness.  You see, a Tannenbaum is a fir tree.  

The folk song eventually became associated with the celebration of Christmas when Ernst Anschütz added two additional verses of his own to the traditional verse in 1824.  The custom of the Christmas tree developed in the course of the 19th century and with Anschütz’s changes the song came to be seen as a Christmas carol early in the 20^th century.

You can also cut the tannenbaum and use the limbs to camouflage your German Leopard tank.

Nothing like heavy armor to get you in the holiday spirit.....

Merry Christmas

The staff here at The Platz would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas no matter what you find under your tree.....

Merry Christmas

All of us here at The Platz extend our best wishes for a Very Merry Christmas.

Conditions are brutal out there so throw another piece of stove wood on the fire, put your feet up, snuggle with your sweetie content with the knowledge that Santa Claus is on his way.... 

Christmas Is For The Birds

Even the song birds are getting into the Christmas spirit decorating their house before winging it off to a warmer location....

Friday Advertising

Likely one of the most adorable advertisements I've seen around these parts.

And who doesn't like a trampoline.......

More Holiday Spirit

From the blog archives there is this.

I originally published this photo on February 20, 2013 pitching it as a shot taken from a new location.

I cleaned it up a bit and cropped it to remove the date and time stamp.  I suggested that it might be one that will make it to the collage of pictures in the 2013 Christmas card.

I cannot recall if it made the cut for the Christmas card but it does date how long a trail cam has been at this location.   

A decade of uninterrupted and patient monitoring of who stumbles across this intersection of three trails.  It is such an excellent spot for wildlife monitoring that a Wisconsin DNR Snapshot camera was located there on October 20, 2018.

The trees that the cams are strapped-to are ash trees that are almost dead so I'm going to have to do something about that.  But it's been fun performing a longitudinal monitoring of the same location for such a long time.

Cheers!

Nativity Story

The Bible story of the virgin birth is at the center of much of the holiday cheer this time of year. The book of Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem because Caesar Augustus decreed a census should be taken. Mary gave birth after arriving in Bethlehem and placed baby Jesus in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.       

Some people think Mary and Joseph were mistreated by a greedy innkeeper, who only cared about profits and decided the couple was not worth his normal accommodations. This version of the story (narrative) has been repeated many times in plays, skits, and sermons. It fits an anti-capitalist mentality that paints business owners as greedy, or even evil.         

It persists even though the Bible records no complaints and there was apparently no charge for the stable. It may be the stable was the only place available. Bethlehem was over-crowded with people forced to return to their ancestral home for a census – ordered by the Romans – for the purpose of levying taxes. If there was a problem, it was due to unintended consequences of government policy. In this narrative, the government caused the problem.          

The innkeeper was generous to a fault – a hero even. He was over-booked, but he charitably offered his stable, a facility he built with unknowing foresight. The innkeeper was willing and able to offer this facility even as government officials, who ordered and administered the census, slept in their own beds with little care for the well-being of those who had to travel regardless of their difficult life circumstances.         

 If you must find "evil" in either of these narratives, remember that evil is ultimately perpetrated by individuals, not the institutions in which they operate. And this is why it's important to favor economic and political systems that limit the use and abuse of power over others. In the story of baby Jesus, a government law that requires innkeepers to always have extra rooms, or to take in anyone who asks, would "fix" the problem.    

But these laws would also have unintended consequences. Fewer investors would back hotels because the cost of the regulations would reduce returns on investment. A hotel big enough to handle the rare census would be way too big in normal times. Even a bed and breakfast would face the potential of being sued. There would be fewer hotel rooms, prices would rise, and innkeepers would once again be called greedy. And if history is our guide, government would chastise them for price-gouging and then try to regulate prices.

This does not mean free markets are perfect or create utopia; they aren't and they don't. But businesses can't force you to buy a service or product. You have a choice – even if it's not exactly what you want. And good business people try to make you happy in creative and industrious ways.         

Government doesn't always care. In fact, if you happen to live in North Korea or Cuba, and are not happy about the way things are going, you can't leave. And just in case you try, armed guards will help you think things through.         

This is why the Framers of the US Constitution made sure there were "checks and balances" in our system of government. These checks and balances don't always lead to good outcomes; we can think of many times when some wanted to ignore these safeguards. But, over time, the checks and balances help prevent the kinds of despotism we've seen develop elsewhere.         

Neither free market capitalism, nor the checks and balances of the Constitution are the equivalent of having a true Savior. But they should give us all hope that the future will be brighter than many seem to think.

Credit - First Trust Advisors

 

Getting Into The Holiday Spirit

In case you've been wondering if I've been naughty or nice I'm feeling just a wee bit irreverent today.  

And couldn't resist sharing this little tidbit of holiday humor set to traditional Christmas carols...

Sustainable Holiday

Why buy a Real Christmas Tree?

 

There are many environmental benefits to buying a live Christmas Tree:

• Farm-grown Christmas trees stabilize soil, protect water, and provide habitat for wildlife.
  
• Christmas tree farms often utilize soils that can't support other crops effectively.
• For every Christmas tree harvested, 2-3 seedlings are planted, making live Christmas trees a sustainable, renewable resource.
• Live trees also absorb carbon dioxide and release fresh oxygen, which helps fight climate change.
• 100% biodegradable! Artificial manufactured trees are made from man-made plastics and metals that will never decompose and add to our landfills.
• Pruned Christmas tree branches are used in wreaths and other evergreen holiday decor allowing most or all of the tree to be utilized. 
• There is nothing like the scent of a live tree infusing the household atmosphere to contribute to the holiday spirit.
  

Go to the link for the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association Member Farm Map.

Merry Christmas

From our family to yours all of us here at The Platz would like to extend our best wishes for a blessed Christmas holiday.  

And may you find a new chew toy in your stocking...