107 years ago in December while in the midst of the first great world war that would ultimately claim fifteen million lives, Pope Benedict XV called for a Christmas truce. Though the truce was rejected by the powers that be, soldiers from the trenches of war began to sing Christmas carols, buried their dead and exchanged gifts with their enemies.*
The first weeks of December have come and gone and with it our first snow here in Vernon. The students at VES had two days of sleds, snowballs and learning the rules of engagement on the winter playground. It's traditionally a steep learning curve for the younger students who to this point have not yet become accustomed to sharing the seven available sleds among them, and this has been further compounded by the pandemic which kept all of last year's students separated by grades. We spent these days pulling on mittens and boots, reminding them that throwing snow at each other is against the rules and only those who built the snowmen and forts may destroy them.
December is also the time when student leadership puts out the call to remember those in our broader community who are food insecure. Without knowing exactly for whom the food is destined, only that it will be brought to the Vernon food pantry, students and staff fill boxes in their classrooms with food and other necessities. In addition to staff assisting anonymous families in need of extra help with gifts, this year we joined in a letter writing campaign. Under the leadership of our Principal Mary Ross, we wrote letters of acknowledgement and encouragement to every Vernon student attending high school in the district. Though arguments about vaccine / no vaccine, political and religious banners, and how to live a country life remain, December is a time to rebuild our community.
Speaking of truces, with the entry of cold temperatures, comes the mice into our homes. This has been a perennial issue at our house with the nooks and crannies in our basement being packed with birdseed. At first we invested in one of those metal cans with a lids in which to store our seed and keep the mice out. We humanely removed all those that we could while locating and fixing possible points of entry. We exercised great patience until the day they moved upstairs. That was the day we bought snap traps. Two years after, with those traps still snapping, I decided that either my bad habits needed to go or I would forever be dumping seed out of boots and nagging Wayne to dispose of another victim.
I say victim because it is a balancing act when it comes to managing wildlife in a human dominated habitat. I have said it before and I will say it again, when we put out the welcome mat, we should expect wildlife to accept the invitation and that includes the ones we don't want to accept it. Take for example bird feeders. Vermont Fish and Wildlife sets the date to begin feeding birds as December first; but this year they requested that we delay doing so because the bears had yet to settle in for their winter nap. A fed bear is a dead bear after all. The same goes for mice as this is when wildlife is declared a nuisance. For this reason, this year we have decided that we will no longer hang our bird feeders from or near the house and instead they have been moved so far away that I will require binoculars to see the rodents raiding them. The neighborhood cats are delighted by the change, of this I am certain.
Of course, there are more creative means to achieving a truce. The Bangor Daily News recently ran, "Squirrelzilla proves Maine's gray squirrels are fat and fluffy this fall," the story is about how the residents of southern ME have put aside the annoyance of marauding bird feeder pirates in lieu of a competition to see who can capture an image of the fattest squirrel. Tolerance, now there is an idea worth exploring! - Norma Manning
Crow tracks on the driveway lead to my recycling bin on trash day.
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