What a busy Holiday month! We had so many opportunities to come together and celebrate, including a cookie exchange hosted by Lee, our Holiday Luncheon, arranged by Lynda and her Herb Committee, Betsy’s famous (or is it infamous?) Swap Shop Yankee Swap, and Susan’s festive and bounteous Holiday Brunch. We hope every member had the chance to participate in at least one of these fun activities.
Thanks to Ann H, we have lots of great photos from those December events — shown here to remind us of what fun we had (and, as always, what wonderful food we enjoyed!)
First, the Luncheon:
There was no lack of laughter or food at Betsy’s Yankee Swap. And Betsy showed her usual impeccable taste in gift selection:
Max swapped for this treasure (and happily took it home!)
So which of these lovely gifts remained unloved at the Swap’s end?
Members actually did more than party in December. Early in the month, members of Civic Beautification, led by chair Donna W., gathered at the Exeter Historical Society to decorate the building for the holidays. Wreaths and topiaries were assembled, including a wreath for the front door of the Folsom Tavern.
Linda V. has put together an unusual and interesting Horticulture Tip for January. To be sure you don’t miss it, click here.
Backyard Birds” will be the topic of our speaker, Dr. Stephen Hale, at the January 16 general meeting. His presentation will feature common and likely resident and migrant visitors to any backyard in New England. This presentation offers ID tips on some challenging birds that live among us like … for example, Hairy vs. Downy Woodpecker and Purple vs. House Finch. Tips on feeding birds to attract the most diversity will also be provided.
Remember to bring a specimen (or more) from your winter garden for display at the general meeting. We’ve had intriguing and surprisingly beautiful fall & winter stems at the past few meetings — it will be interesting to see what January produces.
Lee has shared with us a photo of her self-pollinating winterberry. A perfectly bright and cheerful image of winter in New England.
And as a postscript, do you ever wonder who looks at this website and learns a little about our club? Maybe not — but as Web Manager, I do. This is what I learned about the past month:
- 414 people clicked on our website. 21% were return visitors, 79% were new to the website.
- 279 of them were from the U.S.
- India, Canada, and the UK accounted for 17, 16, and 13 clicks, respectively.
- Folks from countries as diverse as Bangladesh, Finland and Nigeria also accessed our website.
- The most clicked on post on our website was The Language of Roses, from February, 2012.
- The most clicked on page on our website was our Home Page.
- The next most popular page was Horticulture Tips.
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