NEPA weaterman tells people to take decorations off by New Years DAY - weigh in!

[varmintblaster]

Originally Posted by sheena12

Back to the OP I would like to hear from others about this topic. Whrn do you put up your decorations, take them down and why?

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We don't go through great strides for Christmas decorations. Inside is a 4' LED Christmas Tree that slides out of the box and is plugged in, branches aligned, and amy dust removed faster than Jeff Gordon can make a NASCAR pit stop.

Outside in the front lawn, about 50 feet from our front porch is a 17' Blue Spruce that we decorate with real old fashioned 50's era power-sucking, man-made global warming causing lights and old fashioned Xmas ornaments right after we plug in the LED Tree - usually about Dec 10th.,

I won't take them down until after Russian Xmas,I don't really celebrate it, but I'm not in a hurry to defrock the outside tree - especially when it has snow accents.

This year I may have to change my plans due to extenuating circumstances.

I moved the bird feeders to the south side of my yard, right over the boundary line that separates my land from State Game Lands.
The bird feeders are inline with my view of the 17' decorated Blue Spuce - via my Lazy Boy recliner strategically placed in front of the living room bay window.

I like feeding the birds, I like watching them.I like seeing the cardinals at the first hint of daylight (they are always the first bird in at pre-dawn and the last bird out at sunset). In addition to the Cardinals, the mightly Blue Jay swoops in with outstretched wings and threatens the other bird species that sit between him and the stash of bird seed. The crows fly low and scoop the old chunks of Italian bread thrown across the frozen lawn. The finches, sparrows, and even the lowly English Starling get a free pass with an all-the seed you can eat guarantee.

For the most part, the system works - EXCEPT for the tree rats.

I hate squirrels, I get a kick out of chipmunks. But I do indeed hate squirrels.

First off, the bushy tailed critter will make every attempt to gain access to your attic and commence to chewing up your electrical wires in hopes of making you a homeless victom of a house fire on a frigid winter night.

The bushy tailed critters are not happy with picking up a few seeds dropped by the winged ones as they land/launch from the birdfeeder.

The bushy tailed critters will stop at nothing from hanging in an inverted position while robbing every last trace of suet hanging in the nice little wire suet holder - the one with w padlock on it, to try to secure it against the destructive ravages of the bushy tailed critters that do not recognize accepted limits imposed on my property.

In the spirit of the Holidays, I don't begrudge the bushy-tailed critters from pigging out on a smorgasboard of suet and bird seed.

But I can't stand the way they smile at me - in their unique bushy-tailed tree-rat kind of way - as they pilfer the bird feeders over and over again.

My saturation of Christianity usually evaporates come Jan 15th.
That is the date that I usually take down the lights and decorations from the 17' Blue Spruce Evergreen Tree located in my front yard no more than 50 feet from my porch.

Jan 16th is usually the date where my amusement threshold of the beligerent, bushy-tailed tree rats comes to an abupt halt and I abruptly change plans, and pick up the Benjamin-Sheridan 20cal pellet rifle that I received as a Xmas present 38 yrs ago when I was 12 years old.

It's funny how high quality American products manufactured on American
soil by hard working Americans seem to last a lifetime. That pellet rifle can still place a pellet right between the eyes of a beligerent bushy-tailed tree rat - just like the first kill shot I fired as a child on a cold December morning back in 1971.

Merry Christmas Sheena...

[Avoca resident]

I take mine down the first warm day after Christmas, which happens to be tomorrow (New years Eve) this year.

[Summering]

Originally Posted by MatildaLoo

I doubt it was Joe... he's definitely not heavyset. From the description it sounds like Kurt Aaron.

I agree that there are a lot of people who like to celebrate the season in its entirely, through until the Epiphany and beyond, and those people should be considered.

I doubt KA meant any harm. He's a nice guy.

Yes, the description fits Kurt.......but I hope Sheena doesn't turn him in.
Its kinda like to each his own.....
Except the fact that by spring I think we all hope it is down. It just makes the neighborhood look nicer.
Kurt appears to be a nice person. Everyone needs to keep their job......
He felt different then Sheena.....But, thats ok it really is.
One big, huge hug to Sheena....( and all you do for those children!)

[bloominscranton]

Christmas decorations usually start going up around 12/1-12/7. I like to celebrate Thanksgiving as a seperate and traditionally holiday. Our tree goes about around 12/15 and stays up until around 1/15. There is no excuse for Christmas lights to be left up till spring, if my Mom could work f/t care for a disabled husband, raise 5 kids and still manage to have decorations removed in Jan...I would find it hard to accept anyones excuse!

[MatildaLoo]

I'll be taking my decorations down next week, not because I am a Scrooge but because I've seen what happens in my yard if we don't take them down on a warm day. They end up freezing to the ground and we can't get them out until April!

[Magritte25]

And before I get accused of taking something personally, I don't decorate the outside of my home.

[toobusytoday]

Please talk about subjects like this in the off-topic chat thread.