{"id":9387,"date":"2016-12-15T12:45:31","date_gmt":"2016-12-15T16:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/?p=9387"},"modified":"2016-12-15T12:56:37","modified_gmt":"2016-12-15T16:56:37","slug":"christmas-wish-deeper-woods-and-a-real-drawbridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/?p=9387","title":{"rendered":"Christmas wish: Deeper woods and a real drawbridge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3687\" height=\"2846\" src=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-01.jpg\" alt=\"\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-01.jpg 3687w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-01-300x232.jpg 300w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-01-768x593.jpg 768w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-01-1024x790.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>Woodpiles are a symbol of security, aren&#8217;t they? [Click on photos for higher resolution]<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t know about the rest of you, but I can&#8217;t seem to get past the gloom of the election. The feeling of being surrounded by madness, by mass delusion, and by white hatred keeps intruding. The virtual drawbridge isn&#8217;t working very well. I can&#8217;t keep myself from checking the news. Here in the sticks, the residents of the abbey can get farther away from the world than most people, but it isn&#8217;t far enough. <\/p>\n<p>Yet there have been many times in history when people lived behind walls, if they could. I like to imagine (especially when going to sleep) being inside a defensive castle (such as Blarney castle, below). Comfort food helps. And maybe a little Christmas rum.<\/p>\n<p>I wonder how long it would take to grow a 10-foot hedge of holly. Still, Merry Christmas.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-02.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3465\" height=\"2843\" src=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-02.jpg\" alt=\"\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-02.jpg 3465w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-02-300x246.jpg 300w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-02-768x630.jpg 768w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-02-1024x840.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>The garden, seeded with winter cover crops that haven&#8217;t yet germinated<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-02a.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3379\" height=\"2817\" src=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-02a.jpg\" alt=\"\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-02a.jpg 3379w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-02a-300x250.jpg 300w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-02a-768x640.jpg 768w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-02a-1024x854.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>Ken spreading lime in the garden<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-03.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3084\" height=\"2642\" src=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-03.jpg\" alt=\"\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9391\" srcset=\"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-03.jpg 3084w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-03-300x257.jpg 300w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-03-768x658.jpg 768w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-03-1024x877.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>I keep fantasizing about a rock wall or a high hedge around the abbey.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-04.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2613\" height=\"2627\" src=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-04.jpg\" alt=\"\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-04.jpg 2613w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-04-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-04-298x300.jpg 298w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-04-768x772.jpg 768w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-04-1019x1024.jpg 1019w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>Fig tree, hoping for a survivable winter<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-05.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4288\" height=\"2848\" src=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-05.jpg\" alt=\"\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9393\" srcset=\"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-05.jpg 4288w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-05-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-05-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-05-1024x680.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>The gate to the chickens&#8217; summer pasture in the woods<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-06.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3156\" height=\"2516\" src=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-06.jpg\" alt=\"\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-06.jpg 3156w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-06-300x239.jpg 300w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-06-768x612.jpg 768w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-06-1024x816.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>Apple leaves reluctant to let go<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-07.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3603\" height=\"2718\" src=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-07.jpg\" alt=\"\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-07.jpg 3603w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-07-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-07-768x579.jpg 768w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-07-1024x772.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>Chickens snarfing chickweed<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-08.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4288\" height=\"2848\" src=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-08.jpg\" alt=\"\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-08.jpg 4288w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-08-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-08-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-08-1024x680.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>From the orchard<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-09.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3081\" height=\"2759\" src=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-09.jpg\" alt=\"\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-09.jpg 3081w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-09-300x269.jpg 300w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-09-768x688.jpg 768w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-09-1024x917.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-10.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"960\" src=\"http:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-10.jpg\" alt=\"\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-10.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-10-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-10-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/W-winter-10-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>Where I&#8217;d like to be<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Woodpiles are a symbol of security, aren&#8217;t they? [Click on photos for higher resolution] I don&#8217;t know about the rest of you, but I can&#8217;t seem to get past the gloom of the election. The feeling of being surrounded by madness, by mass delusion, and by white hatred keeps intruding. The virtual drawbridge isn&#8217;t working &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/?p=9387\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Christmas wish: Deeper woods and a real drawbridge&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-political-issues","category-the-house"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9387"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9407,"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9387\/revisions\/9407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acornabbey.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}