That’s So 2020 – Making Spirits Bright

Like many in this town and on this street, we have put Christmas lights up on our house, a process I am happy to say I did in the warmth of September. This year, I suspended them under the eaves rather than on the gutter, so they would be less visible when not lit. The plan being to leave them up year round to avoid having to climb ladders and roofs, I hoped this would work.

All that being said, once we started lighting them up in December, we realized that while we were providing bright spot for neighbours and passers by, we could not really view them, unless we went outside.

I had a brain wave to install some lights on our back deck and Patty had a better idea to install them on the Schubert chokecherry. Off to Lowes we went to buy a couple of strings. I installed them that day and realized that (2) 20 foot strings would be somewhat underwhelming on a tree that was 35′ tall and 35′ in diameter. So, off to Lowes again for another 4 strings. This time, the desired effect was achieved. We could see the lights from our kitchen and family room and our neighbours could also see them Yay.

Making Spirits Bright ©

Schubert Chokecherry,

all decked out for the Season.

Making spirits bright.

These shots show that even during the day, the bulbs provide a pop of colour, especially in sunshine.

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The photos below were taken on time exposure from a camera mounted on tripod. I experimented with several different exposure lengths. There was a small breeze blowing so the longer exposures may not be as sharp as I wished. Also, focusing on light presents challenges.

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The following are hand held close ups. Even though I moved on one of them, I kind of like the light trail effect.

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Our view from inside the family room

Happy Christmas Eve, everyone. Wishing all your Christmas dreams come true.