A White Corgyncombe Christmas!

Flying Reindeer, Doves, Sparkling Snow, Icicles, Feathery Frost, and Moonlight!

The other day the sparkly snow covered everything with a fresh layer of fluffy, white snow. In the Corg'ery, the area where the Corgyn run and play Diane always hangs a kissing ball. Beyond the kissing ball you can see the smokehouse where the birds gather at the feeder. The squirrels also gather at the feeder. They hop along the limbs of the trees to the roof of the smokehouse, where they slide down the roof and jump over to the feeder.




Gingerbread cookie dough made into Reindeer and Evergreen tree cookies.


In the morning when Diane gets up the first thing she does is feed the birds. There are usually seven or more doves waiting on the fence for her to come out. They are very hard to photograph because with the first noise they take wing but Diane caught three that hadn't flown away. The Corgyncombe Courant hopes their readers are feeding the birds this winter and if you start feeding them remember to continue feeding them as they wait for you to replenish their feeder.
Mourning doves make such a lovely sound when they take wing...


Frost on the window that looks like feathers or fern.


The deer, stars, and trees on the cookie sheet tell a true story of one recent twilight when Diane stepped outside. Seven deer came winding through Diane's snow covered lawn by the creek looking amazingly like reindeer, all in a line, flying over the creek, curving as they ran following each other in the cornfield. Really it was much like the reindeer pulling Saint Nicholas' sleigh.

Four pages in the 1975 version illustrated by Tasha Tudor of "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clarke Moore, illustrate so beautifully what we mean when we say winding and curving. It was just amazing, like magic! The pages in the book to look for accompany the text:

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled and shouted and called them by name: "Now, Dasher! Now Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen! On Comet! On Cupid! On Donder and Blitzen! To the top ofthe porch to the top of the wall! Now Dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

The selecting and felling of the Christmas tree.

A December Corgyncombe Moon!

Corgyncombe Dairy Goat Carmella Lucille recently returned home after a visit to see her husband, who she calls Romeo. Unfortunately, the lingering scent of Romeo's cologne makes it necessary for a refreshing stop into Corgyncombe's "Emily & Ethlyn's Potions & Perfumery", where lavender, rose, and clove oranges are favored fragrances. According to the "American Dictionary of The English Language" by Noah Webster, 1828, a potion is: a draught; usually, a liquid medicine; a dose.

Making clove oranges, also called pomanders, especially near Christmastide, is a tradition at Corgyncombe Cottage. After the cloves have been put in all round the fruit, it is rolled in an orris root and cinnamon mixture. Orris root is a ground powder from the rhizomatous roots of Iris Florentina.

Iris Florentina

In the old days people used herbs, tussie mussies, and pomanders to cover up unpleasant odors.

Winter's outdoor wear.


Gingerbread cookies baking makes the old farmhouse kitchen smell so pleasant!

When we arrived home with Carmella Lucille and led her down the ramp, Diane's husband led Carmella Lucille in the beautiful blue moonlight through the snow to the barn. It was a lovely moment in the moonlight, it reminded one of Saint Nicholas or a Laplander leading their Reindeer through the winter's night.




Carmella Lucille's Romeo


The candle in the window glowing against the winter's chill.


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