Welcome to Wiser Now’s weekly email blast which reflects my eclectic interests and, I hope, yours. This week, my focus is on trees because it’s Evergreen Month, and I am personally fond of them. I strive to avoid religious subjects in Wiser Now Wednesday because I have family and friends of many religions or no religion, and I want to respect them all. I am aware that while the first three topics this month – peppermint, reindeer, and now evergreen trees – are non-secular, they are all (illogically) associated with Christmas. I intend no bias. There’s just lots to say about them.

I hope you find these offerings fun, and perhaps even useful, and welcome your feedback. (Kathy@WiserNow.com) And if you haven’t yet pressed the subscribe button so this newsletter doesn’t go to spam, please do so now.

The Quirky Quote

Paper cut: A tree’s final moment of revenge. ~ Author unknown, but clever!

The Quirky Facts

As always, when I decided on my topic, there was a “forestful” of information.

1. Why are we drawn to the scent of pine trees?
2. How can it be that trees as varied as giant sequoias and Japanese Yews belong to the same group, i.e., conifers (cone-bearing)?
3. Why are nearly all Christmas trees pine, fir, or spruces, and what’s the difference?
4. Is there a way to bring the Oaxaca Night of the Radishes into the discussion?

To make this issue a reasonable length, I am using teasers and embedding links.

1. The Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, which translates as “forest bathing” is based on the idea that time spent in Nature is good for body and mind. Walking through a pine forest, or sitting on soft needles beneath a tree is especially refreshing, because as this article from ScienceABC explains, the chemicals released by pine trees have the same health benefits as are found in CBD (cannabidiol) oil. But the “high” from breathing in the smell is purely emotional.
2. The short answer: Because there are over 600 species of conifers, which are categorized into different groups including not only yews and sequoias, but also cedar, cypress, firs, hemlock, juniper, larches, pine, and spruce trees. Learn more here: https://www.coniferousforest.com/plants-trees
3. As this article from The Gardener’s Path explains, the differences are in the needles, branches, pine cones, bark, and growth patterns. Bottom line: Choose whatever tree that pleases you most.
4. Not logically, but I can justify anything. See below.

The Quirky Observations

According to the History Channel, evergreen boughs have been used as decorations with symbolic meanings for thousands of years. For some, they were intended to ward off evil spirits, for others, they were meant to bring good luck in the coming year. There is a sweet story of how evergreen trees became always green that involves a bird with a broken wing that needed shelter for the winter, some crabby trees that refused it, and a spruce that provided warm branches, a pine tree that blocked the wind, and a juniper that offered its berries. The Frost King, seeing their kindness, protected them, and they have been ever green ever since.

It is the stories about trees, that delight me more than the science. One of my favorites is about the (definitely nonevergreen) Baobab tree, found in Africa, Madagascar, and northwest Australia. According to African folklore, when the gods gave every animal a tree, the hyena, having arrived late, received the Baobab. He was so disgusted, he planted it upside down.

And storytelling is my convoluted rationalization for adding to this issue, Oaxaca’s Night of the Radishes, celebrated every year on December 23^rd. Radishes had been carved for decades by farmers trying to attract customers to their produce at the central

market, and in 1897 the mayor of the city created a formal competition that now has more than 100 contestants of all ages and thousands of visitors for its brief, hours-long display. (Radishes wilt quickly.) Originally grown by the farmers who carved them, they are now cultivated in a special area of the city where they are left in the ground long after normal harvesting time to give them time to grow into large, odd shapes – sometimes more than a foot long and weighing six+ pounds.

In the beginning, encouraged by the local priests, nativity scenes and other religious themes were the sole focus. Now the stories depicted by radishes include snowmen, monsters, animals, everyday life, and festivals including the Day of the Dead – whatever the radish’s shape suggests to the carver.

You can learn more about this charming festival from Wikipedia and Atlas Obscura, and view a video here. Images shown are from Atlas Obscura; Google “Images - Night of the Radishes Festival – Oaxaca” for many more delights.

Just two weeks until our new name. Spread the word, please

Wiser Now Wednesday is a 4-time award-winning publication used by activity professionals, teachers, aging adults and their grandkids, and lots of people in between. Hoping you have been enjoying it, I would love to have you A) spread the word and B) sign up for a paid subscription to Wait Lifters – Uplifting content for every kind of downtime, the new name with new bonuses that WNW will become on January 4, 2023. You can learn more here and sign up there or here. It makes a great last- minute gift that will keep on giving all year.

If you have any difficulties signing up, please send me an email at Kathy@WiserNow.com, and my assistant Katie and I will sign you up manually. For those of you who work in senior settings and need more time to obtain purchase approval, please also send me a note, and I will work with you to avoid interruption of your subscription. Checks are also welcome, and we can send invoices to those who need them. The content will be as quirky as ever, with more bonuses.

The Questions

Barbara Walters was known for asking her interview subjects a question similar to, “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?” How would you answer for yourself? Think about whether you would be evergreen or deciduous, whether you would bear fruit, nuts, or flowers, the climate you would grow in, and the creatures (birds, squirrels, koalas) you would house or protect. What characteristics of your chosen tree do you share? Can you answer the same question for family members or friends?

Trivia quiz – Tree Idioms

In addition to Evergreen Month, December is Idiom Month. An idiom is a phrase or expression that usually has a non-literal meaning, such as ”It’s raining cats and dogs.” It makes English highly colorful, and often confusing for non-native speakers. At least a dozen are related to trees, some of which do have literal meanings, too, like ”branching out.”

Can you fill in the blanks below with a tree idiom?

Choices are below the questions.

1. They aren’t enthusiastic yet, but give them time to let his ideas ___________. 
2. She has just been ____________ since her boyfriend left for college.
3. Why not go _____________? That’s where the fruit is!
4. He may think I’ll help him out, but he is ____________.
5. Can you figure out the answer to this problem? I’m ____________.
6. Wow! You look great! Who have you gotten ____________ to see?
7. She was ill for a long time, but she seems to be ____________ now.
8. He managed a temporary fix, but I wanted to ____________ of the problem.