Dear Friend,
How did you welcome in the new year? Did you give it a polite nod across the horizon, or maybe you ran with open arms across the remaining hours of 2024 and hugged 2025 with all of your might, showering it with great expectations… and a friendly kiss on its cheek?!
Of course, we have abundant gratitude for everything 2024 taught and took, brought and revealed. And here we are, stepping into a new year knowing, (because we’re old and we’ve been through this so many times), we can wish and plan all we want, but we have no idea what this year is going to bring; we have no idea what’s around the next corner.
How exciting!?!
But for now, today, the fifth day of the year, we’re very grateful that you are here, reading Tracks by the Post. Today’s blog/letter is about kissing and mistletoe… What? You ask, But isn’t that for the holidays? Well, no. It’s a winter thing. And we’re still in winter here in America.
One sad truth that I learned while reading all about mistletoe is that even plants are subject to scrutiny, prejudice and misinformation.
Poor little plants way up high in the tree… minding their own business… their berries gobbled by hungry birds, their leaves eaten for protein by deer… their festive greenery collected by human beings and hung overhead and in doorways as a symbol of good luck, fertility, and protection against evil - and so - replaced in wintery decorations by a plant called ‘holly’ when mistletoe, the mild-mannered clump of tender leaves, was ultimately labeled as pagan and poisonous and unholy. Good heavens, all of that?
Yes, well, I’ve always heard that too much mistletoe in any tree isn’t good for the tree. Mistletoe seeds, spread by birds and animals, can grow in tree bark. The mistletoe will act as if it is part of the tree, leaching water and nutrients.
Whenever I have seen a tree full of mistletoe, I’ve felt sorry for the tree.
So, it is interesting to read that having some mistletoe actually benefits the ecosystem. Birds, bees and other insects are attracted to the nutrients of the flowers, berries and shelter of the mistletoe. In the forest, mistletoe makes for a merrier wintertime!
If your tree has mistletoe, it isn't always an emergency... (but if you have mistletoe, well, that's different).
: )
American mistletoe (pictured in this blog/letter) is called Phoradendron serotinum. European mistletoe is Viscum Album. But there are well over one-thousand kinds of mistletoe, and it can be found growing happily on just about every sort of woody tree on every continent except for Antarctica. And, another thing I learned, not all mistletoe is poisonous! Quite the contrary, the right kind of desert mistletoe can be a super food! (Wait! When visiting a new place, always consult a local expert before eating weird stuff).
As I searched for specific information about mistletoe, I weeded through (too) many pages of myths and opinions and came across an actual concise, helpful, reference to share with you. This is (I think) an interesting, 10 min YouTube Video quickly covering the world of mistletoe, from explaining how it grows and the myths surrounding it, to how and why it is being used today in cancer treatment. The Mythical Mistletoe – The toxins could save your life!
So, Leslie, why write about mistletoe in the first place?
Well, it has to do with priorities and good communication. Frank and I get along very well. Over time we have learned how to balance what matters most: peace and understanding. Have you heard of the sweet tradition wherein couples hang bunches of mistletoe in their home so if they pass beneath the mistletoe, they have to give each other a friendly kiss… even if the couple is in a tiff, even if things are tough, feelings are hurt, they have to be friendly enough to drop the drama for a peaceful moment. So… what does that have to do with living full time in a small trailer with Frank Bevans? (Insert giggle here).
No, there’s no mistletoe hanging in our trailer, but, (and, for this, we are both grateful) - there also isn’t much extra room for anything other than love.
We are grateful to know that you are there and we appreciate your thoughtful thinks and caring prayers!
As always, we welcome you to write to us if you wish to comment on-or-off-topic and / or just to let us know how you are doing! We do enjoy hearing from you!
With Happy & Healthy New Week wishes to you and yours from both of us,
Gently Be,
Leslie and Frank
Thanks to Frank and Izzie, our brave little dronette, for these very pretty mistletoe pics!