I am so deeply grateful for the five European mountain ash that we planted five years ago.

This property had nary a tree, and therefore not a leaf to blow in the wind or a berry to feed a single bird. Woe.

The trees are three different ages and the overall plan is for them to reach maturity at staggered intervals, giving the look of a grove of mountain ash.

They fit the description of "Canadian Royal" given in the book "Landscape Plants for Alaska" published by Alaska Cooperative Extension.

They have bright red berries, an upright growth habit and the fall foliage was yellow turning to red. These trees reach 20 to 40 feet and spread 15 to 35 feet. Lovely. Excellent.

Mixed in with them are two of our native spruce (with at least one more in their future), a mayday, one scotch pine and an amur chokecherry. These trees have an understory of red-twig dogwoods, lilacs, the odd rose (that will run ...) honeysuckles, amur maples and pink spirea.

We actually had leaves on the ground this fall. Excellent. And I left them there. They can turn themselves into food for the trees and shrubs and keep the weeds down at the base of them come spring. The goal is to stop mowing between each of these in a few more years. The overall vision is to have them all grow together as though they have always and forever been right here.

I have every intention of cutting berry clusters from the mountain ash and branches from the red-twig dogwood for decorating this Thanksgiving.

We have been in this house for five years this month and it finally looks like we actually live here and are not just perched, waiting for something to happen. Trees are a wonderful thing.

In the spirit of the holidays I have every intention of starting the process of forcing bulbs. I did not want to plant bulbs outside this year because I know I am going to do a huge amount of digging up and rearranging of the perennial beds next spring and I didn't want the presence of gorgeous bulbs to throw me off my course of action.

So I marched into the Wagon Wheel, our local feed and seed emporium on Ocean Drive, and made straight for the paperwhite narcissus (OK, so I was waylaid by the Angelique tulips ...).

I choose paperwhite narcissus each and every year not from a lack of imagination but because they do not require a chilling period like all other bulbs.

This makes the whole process move along. I have neither the room, time or patience to plant up other bulbs and chill them for three months. The narcissus will bloom in about three to four weeks and last about three weeks. They work and are wonderfully satisfying for a minimal amount of effort.

Be warned, though, they have an odd scent. One that you either love or hate. I have learned to live with it. I have also learned not to plant too many of them at one time or the scent will be overpowering whether you like it or not.

The plan is to get these beautiful bulbs started so they are in full bloom when our daughter, Andrea, comes home on Dec. 20. She will be here for only one week and I want these bulbs to be at their peak. Plan A is to get them going this week.

I have two vases that are 12 inches tall by eight inches wide. I love the height because they hold all of the foliage together, effectively eliminating the floppy foliage syndrome that I do so loathe. They also have a weighty base that prevents the whole show from falling over. I like to use the clear glass because you can see the root system of the bulbs as they grow and the foliage that is inside the vase adds green to the overall look.

I have collected enough white rocks off the beach to add to the bottom of the vases to act as a bed to nestle the bulbs. You can use whatever comes in handy, marbles for example. But, really, how much handier are rocks from the beach? They come in all colors. Keep the size uniform and be mindful that their purpose is to offer support to the bulb.

Now you are ready, you have your container, rocks and bulbs. Snuggle the bulbs down into the rocks with about one-third sticking up. I just pour filtered water up to the top of the rocks and wait for the bulbs to do their magic.

Filtered water eliminates anything nasty from growing in the vase. If you have a lot of iron in your water, which is so often the case here in Homer, filtered water makes even more sense.

As the bulbs grow you will need to check the water level daily. No need to feed, just keep watering and you will be rewarded with gorgeous blooms in the darkest part of winter.