I'm dreaming of a brown Xmas

(Letter to the editor in local Morning Fishwrapper the other day. Woman was complaining about a commercial sign, offering people a "Merry Xmas" whether they wanted one or not ... obviously a nefarious atheistic plot to take Christ out of Christmas. Hey, people, if you are going to jump on causes and rant in public, check your history first. "X" is the Greek "Chi", part of the "Chi-Rho" used since ancient times as a symbol for Christ, and substituted to avoid taking the Lord's name in vain...)

Sun pillar before sunrise this morning, rays of light poking straight up from the horizon and refracted from ice crystals in the atmosphere, all pink and orange and apocalyptic. But the sun _did_ rise, so I guess I haven't doomed the world to darkness by omitting that pagan sacrifice.

Predicted rain tomorrow, probably starting as freezing rain, but we'll still end up with bare ground for the holidays. No snow to be seen, here in the Great North Woods.