I crave light this time of year.  We are in the time of the least amount of daylight so I create extra light everywhere I can.   I put up what I call a sparkle tree in the beginning of December.  I got the idea from my sisters Pam and Amy who make these with horizontal branches.  Mine is vertical.  Apple or crabapple branches make the best trees but any branch will do.  This year I am using stargazer lights… they are light weight and have thin wire so the branch is not so weighed down. I need to buy some more though.   I put only glass, white, silver, copper or gold ornaments and icicles on the tree.  It stays up until mid-January.

I also like to make milkweed lanterns.  These are made by placing milkweed in a mason jar and lighting it from the top with a “tap” or “puck” light.  They are even prettier in the snow.

I also like to light the garden.  Last year we replaced the low voltage lights with LED.  They give off more light and I love the shadows they create too.

I love to use my old timey giant colored lights on a few shrubs at Christmas time.  I decided to add more lights in the garden this Christmas.  I made some trees out of upside down tomato cages wrapped with lights.  Its a dark world.. time for more light.