Spring is not here yet, but in my corner of the world birds are returning. I hope they haven’t jumped the gun, but it’s nice to hear them as I run each morning.

When it comes to migration, birds are the masters. Here are some mind-blowing numbers about how far and how fast birds go. The farthest run I’ve done this year is 5 miles. I guess I’m not a very good bird.

Bird Migrating Facts: 

• Around 4,000 species of birds migrate, or about 40% of all the birds in the world
• Bar-headed geese can reach an altitude of five and a half miles while flying over the Himalayas
• In 1975, a Ruppel’s griffon vulture once collided with a plane at 37,000 feet
• Arctic terns hold the record for the longest bird migration. They fly more than 49,700 roundtrip miles in a year going from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back
• The northern wheatear only weighs an ounce but travels 18,000 roundtrip miles between the Arctic and Africa
• The great snipe flies over 4,200 miles while traveling up to 60 mph
• The bar-tailed godwit has the longest recorded non-stop flight, 7,000 miles without stopping

At first, this seemed odd to me, but then I remembered that George Washington may or may not have cut down a cherry tree, and his birthday is Saturday, so it makes sense that Cherry Pie Day would be in February.

I’m not a huge pie fan and prefer the cherry cobbler my grandma used to make, but I wouldn’t turn a slice of cherry pie if someone baked one. I do like to eat cherries, so I thought I would include some fun cherry facts instead of cherry pie facts (I’ll let you google that one.)

Fun Cherry Facts

• A cherry tree has about 7,000 cherries (that is enough for 28 pies!)
• Thanks to mechanical tree shakers (check out this video), a cherry tree can be harvested in seven seconds
• Most cherries are either sweet or tart
• Sweet cherries are grown in California, Washington, and Oregon and are usually eaten fresh
• Tart cherries are grown in Michigan and Wisconsin and are used for baking
• Cherries are a healthy snack with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals (plus they are low in calories)

Let me know if you like cherries and/or cherry pie. Do you make your own or buy it from the store?

Micropachycephalosaurus is the longest dinosaur name. It means “small, thick-headed lizard.” This dinosaur:

• ate plants
• lived during the Upper Cretaceous (70.6-68.5 mya)
• was found in China
• measured about a meter long

It might have the longest name, but to date, it’s the smallest dinosaur found. Cute!

I like to eat clams, so I only complained a little (well, maybe more than a little.) To get out of the kitchen, I hid in my office and researched clams. That is where I learned about the giant clam. I’m happy my hubby is not cleaning one of these bad boys, but they are remarkable.

Fun Facts about Giant Clams:

• Giant clams can live 100 years or more
• They can grow to four feet in diameter and weigh more than 500 pounds
• Giant clams do not move. Once they fasten to the reef, they sit there for the rest of their life
• They live in the warm waters of the South Pacific and Indian Oceans
• Giant clams may be huge, but they survive thanks to algae. The algae live in their tissues and produce sugars and proteins that the clam consumes. In exchange, the algae get a safe home and access to sunlight when the clams open its shell
• The giant clams also have a siphon so they can filter plankton from the water
• Even though they are almost as tall as a human, they are not man-eaters. Rumors, aside, their shells close too slow to catch a swimmer

I listened to a different Christmas CD every day of December. Some I already owned and some I got from the library. Most years, I get my Christmas music from the radio or listen to the same two or three Christmas CDs over and over again. I wanted to broaden my listening experience, so I gave myself this challenge.

What I learned is when it comes to Christmas albums, there is good, bad, and really bad. I thought I would share my favorites. Perhaps you can check them out from the library and see if you like them too.

Six Christmas Albums Worth Listening to:

Let’s Sing a Song of Christmas* by Spike Jones. I’ve been listening to this album since I was a kid. It has great traditional carols and all the fun ones too. It’s hard to find the CD nowadays, but you can download it for only five dollars, so that’s a better deal.

Christmas Party by The Monkees. This was a CD I checked out of the library. I don’t mind music by the Monkees, but this album really surprised me. It’s great. The songs are familiar, yet have that Monkees vibe. It was a happy CD to listen to, and it’s my new favorite.

Any Bing Crosby Christmas CD. Bing Crosby’s rendition of “Silver Bells” is my favorite, and let’s not forget “White Christmas” (both the song and the movie.) If you are looking for traditional songs sung without any modifications, any Bing Crosby Christmas CD would be perfect. (I included a link for the one I own, but there are many to chose from.)

Christmas with the Rat Pack. I’m not a huge Frank Sinatra fan, but I do like Dean Martin. However, this Christmas album is fun. It has songs that aren’t found on a lot of albums, and they’re outstanding. “Christmas Time All Over the World” by Sammy Davis Jr. is my favorite.

Christmas SPEC-TAC-YULE-AR by 3 Redneck Tenors. I saw these guys perform in Branson, Missouri, several years ago. They were hilarious, and their music was fantastic. These three tenors are Julliard-trained and spread great music through humor. Their Christmas album is awesome.

Next year, try some new Christmas music. You might discover your new favorite song. Merry Christmas!

*The links are Amazon affiliate links.

While I think this is a good idea, I don’t know why I didn’t suggest something for today instead of tomorrow. Even though I always like to go bed early on Christmas Eve so Christmas Day can arrive sooner, there are a lot of things to do on the night before Christmas. (Check out these three websites if you want even more ideas.)

Christmas Eve Activities

• Track Santa’s journey with the help of NORAD
• Set up a craft table to keep the kids occupied
• Set out cookies and milk for Santa
• Exchange one small gift
• Play Christmas music and sing along
• Bring cookies to a neighbor
• Read Luke, Chapter 2 about the birth of Jesus
• Wear matching pajamas
• Watch a Christmas movie
• Go to a Christmas Eve service
• Volunteer at a soup kitchen
• Set up a hot cocoa bar
• Do a random act of kindness
• Take a picture of the family in front of the tree
• Go to bed so Santa can arrive

Every nativity scene I’ve ever seen has animals in it. This makes sense since it takes place in a stable where the animals live. Plus, there are all those sheep that the shepherds wouldn’t have left behind.

I have two nativities. My smaller one that was a gift from my husband has only seven pieces. They left out the shepherd but included a sheep. That is how important animals are.

If you think about it, Jesus was already born when the shepherds arrived. Therefore, the first ones to see the baby, after Mary and Joseph, would have been the animals that lived in the stable (and probably ate from the manger where Jesus was sleeping) and the donkey that brought them to Bethlehem.

If you like to cry, watch “The Small One,” a Disney featurette about the donkey that carried Mary to Bethlehem. I only saw this movie once and remember bawling uncontrollably, so I’ll skip it, but it’s sweet to watch a familiar story from a different point of view. Remarkably, you can see this on Amazon Prime but not Disney+.

Rather than watching a sob story, you can do something nice for the animals in your life. Buy them a new toy. Give an outdoor cat a warm bed. Buy your fur babies a special treat. Christmastime can be stressful for pets so make sure you take good care of them.

By the way, I never see dogs and cats in nativity scenes, but I assume they were there. Shepherds use herding dogs and cats hunt mice in areas where there is hay, so I think they should be represented too.

It’s the Saturday before Christmas, and I imagine a lot of people are going to shop today. Dealing with crowded parking lots, harried retail employees, and long lines can fray anyone’s patience.

Instead of feeling justified in letting out your frustration, remember that everyone is in the same situation, and they all want to be doing something different. Long lines don’t have to be frustrating if you smile at people around you and remember that it will eventually be your turn. Cashiers will still be harried, but they will be nicer to you if you acknowledge their efforts. Everyone responds well to a complement.

So have patience today with everyone you meet. You’ll find that you feel better and the people around you will feel better too. Patience is a gift to everyone that we should give every day.

“Patience is not simply the ability to wait – it’s how we behave while we’re waiting.”

Joyce Meyer

Yesterday, I wrote about the history of Christmas tree lights, and on my second podcast episode, I talked about the science of Christmas trees. (Have you heard the Footle and Grok podcast? You can listen and subscribe here. Thanks!) So today, I want to give you instructions to make a fun, easy, and festive Scandinavian Fabric Stars. (Click here for instructions.)

If you’re having a Christmas party, these ornaments would make a lovely party favor. Or you could cut the strips ahead of time and have everyone make their own. They look complicated but are simple and fast. Below are the ones I made with leftover Christmas fabric. You could use any fabric you have in your stash, and it would look great.

If you want to combine this idea with today’s activity, make the ornaments with your family before dinner and then place them on the tree with all the house lights off. As you eat, you can admire your new and old ornaments.

I love putting lights on my house, and I love seeing other decorated homes. It’s such a happy sight. I also love learning cool history, and the history of Christmas lights is both surprising and totally expected.

In a round-about way, we can thank Thomas Edison for Christmas lights. (I found a great article on Smithsonian.com that shared this story.) Edward Hibbert Johnson helped get Edison’s inventions in front of the public. He toured with the phonograph, charging people to hear this modern marvel. In 1880, Johnson invested heavily to form a company with Edison to sell light bulbs because they knew it would be the next big thing.

The Christmas tree came to England thanks to Prince Albert in 1841. The idea soon spread to the United States. President Franklin Pierce had one in the White House in 1856, and by the 1870s, they were common in stores and homes. Ornaments were plentiful, but the lights on the trees were candles, and that was a real fire hazard.

Back to Edward Johnson. In 1882, he set up a Christmas tree in the window over Edison’s shop at 136 East 36th Street in New York City. He strung 80 hand-wired red, white, and blue light bulbs on the tree. To add to the electrical magic, he put the tree on a rotating pedestal. To make sure everyone knew about his lighted spectacle, he invited a reporter to see it.

People gathered at 136th Street to see this remarkable tree. Johnson continued the tradition, adding more bulbs each year. While he put electric lights on his tree above Edison’s shop, electricity was not widely available, and the lights were expensive. (really expensive.)  In 1900, a strand of 16 lights sold for $12 ($350 today.) However, people wanted these lights, and more and more were sold. By 1914, a 16-foot string cost $1.75. As electricity spread, so did Christmas lights.

About 150 million boxes of lights are sold in America each year. These lights decorate about 80 million homes. Take some time to wander around your neighborhood and town and admire a tradition that started with American ingenuity. Don’t forget the hot chocolate.