Opinion

Winter is the season of the deer. No matter where you go, the elegant cervids decorate everything from seasonal cards to front yards as illuminated statues made of lights. And it makes sense. The scarce winter months drive deer out of their dense forest thickets in search of food. The animals band together into herds and venture close to human homes. So, naturally, we associate them with this time of the year. I personally do not care for a deer if it isn't on my plate. 'Hooved rats' is what I call them and - to my mind, at least - for good reason. They pilfer my vegetable garden; they throw themselves in front of innocent motorists minding their own business. And, yes, I am aware that if you live that close to the woods, you are the one on the deer's territory. You are the one invading the deer's space. However, it is quite hard to consider these things when you're staring down a deer-sized dent in your car's hood or when you see the tops nipped off of your Brussels sprouts you've been hoeing out all autumn. As things stand, I get along well enough with 'our deer,' that is the deer that live in the woods around our house, so long as they stay in the forest and let me mind my own business while they mind theirs!

75 YEARS AGO JANUARY 6, 1950

This holiday season, you can, as you can every year, keep your pumpkin spice and wintermint drinks. My favorite drink of the Christmas season is eggnog! But, really, eggnog is my favorite drink of any season winter or summer. When I was a very little girl, growing up in the Tennessee Valley, eggnog was actually a summertime refreshment. This was a tradition, according to my Mema Mote, going back to the frontier days of Alabama's early statehood. In those days, said Mema, summer generally gave an overabundance of eggs from laying hens and creamy milk from the cow. And farm laborers required a frosty treat to cool down during the scalding Alabama summers. Solution? Whip up a beverage rich with eggs and cream and sweet with sugar and spices. And there you have it - eggnog!

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us with many people enjoying a few days with family and friends to give thanks for our many blessings, we are immediately turning to the Christmas season. With Thanksgiving falling on the last week in November, there’s not much time between the two celebrations.