officialbotanicalinterest

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Have to say, of late I have gained a new appreciation for the humble Douglas Fir. Asides its role as one of the most prominent species of Christmas Tree, and by extension collective Christmas memories, the tree is one of those that could live for centuries and tower among the giant Sequoias and Redwoods if given enough time, with some definite 'Deep Woods' or Eldritch potential. Furthermore it is non-toxic and has traditions of being made into various teas.

If you factor in the potential life span of the tree-getting one of the Christmas Trees you can plant afterwards is in some ways like adopting a baby Eldritch Entity at Christmas.

Imagine if while going into the forest at Christmas in order to cut down a tree you get lost and find yourself stumbling further and further in. Watching as the trees continue to slowly get bigger and bigger irregardless of which direction you walk in, all the while snow continues to fall softly. The canopies of the trees get thicker, blocking most of the natural light and making your surroundings get darker as you go. The roots trap soil between them forming natural stairways down steep slopes. Eventually you spot a small light, (is that a light?), in the distance. Still trudging forth to see a small cottage carved out of the centre of a still living Douglas fir. An old decrepit but cheerful woman comes out saying that she had missed you and invites you inside for a cup of tea. She was sweeping the steps with a broom made out of the branches of a Douglas Fir. Not knowing how else to respond you head in. She fusses over you like family and insists you take your coat off to let it dry. You sit at her table. All the furniture is made out of the carved wood of the Douglas fir with still green bows growing out in various places to act as soft furnishings. Then she hands you a steaming cup of tea that smells strongly of citrus and mint. You look down to see it is made out of Douglass fir needles and hot melted snow. As you drink it she talks to you, and you listen. Although you can't remember anything of what she says. When you are finished she hands you back your coat, now dry and warm. Her skin is rough like the bark of a tree. She tells you to take care of yourself and that you must come back to visit some time. You then leave, only to find yourself standing in the parking lot not far from your car, axe still in hand, having still not found a Christmas tree. But tucked underneath your coat you find a small Douglas Fir sapling. You then head home.

Please Note: The sudden onset of warmth can be a sign of hypothermia. Always dress warmly when going outside during winter in below zero temperatures and do not remove any articles of clothing unless they get soaked in water. Stay safe out there.

Actually as much as having insane quantities of money has been a reoccurring trope among the Addams Family, I can't help but think that you would be thinking about it wrong to assume it's the Addams defining trait.

One of the major concepts with the Addams is that it never is explicitly stated what exactly they are, with enough of a plausibly human looking appearance/outward traits, but still some decidedly "not normal human" traits to keep an audience guessing as to what their deal is. Certainly, having suspiciously large amounts of money may help emphasize this factor, but it isn't what creates the near uncanny valley/how human are these people/are they even human or just really human looking cryptids feeling that is integral to the show. Furthermore the Addams also never seem to care about exactly what they are or aren't as long as they are a part of, or otherwise friends of the family.

Another key component is that they never seem to regard the things they engage in as odd, or fully realize that most people would consider the way they live not to be normal; and while that does fit with the concept of rich elites being out of touch with society, it could also be used as a metaphor for what working class people have to do in order to survive being unthinkable to the elites. (Namely in a-the wealthy, contrary to what they say, can't handle everyday jobs like what they claim to have started out as-kind of way.)

In reality a working class version of the Addams Family might look like a family who all live in the same house/apartment/rental due to practicality as opposed to ancestral family home reasons. Who have a hard time finding the right place to live, spending alot of time trying to find the appropriately haunted, dismal, mold infested place that hasn't been condemned or had its neighbourhood gentrified yet. If needing new furniture they'd probably go shopping at dodgy back alley thrifts stores, yardsales or even picking up pieces left by the side of the road hoping that what they find might be haunted/cursed. For meals they might regularly be making use of roadkill, foraging poisonous garden weeds /snails/frogs/toadstools, or even at their local abattoir purchasing offcuts of meat (think the eyes, trotters, ears, tongue, brains, blood, bones etc). They would still regularly consume various poisons albeit slightly less exotic ones such as your bleaches, drain cleaners or rat poison. Perhaps if they lived close to a fruit canning factory they might be able to purchase/take home large quantities of cherry/peach/apricot stones for cheap and eat them similar to how we eat nuts. They may not have a family graveyard, but they would probably routinely go for walks around any local ones the way we go for walks around public parks, allowing kids to play over at cemeteries/abandoned churches while the elders might feed the local crows/ravens. The kids might still keep pet spiders albeit rescues as opposed to thoroughbred (such as the banana spiders you might sometimes hear rumours of lurking in the fruit isle) along with leeches or a large (escaped/abandoned) poisonous snake as a family pet. They may still have carnivorous houseplants, just more ones rescued on the brink of death from the local walmart/grocery store bargain section or found in a local back alley, that after some coaching, began consuming things other than flies. Even if they didn't have the money for florists or enough room to grow roses they still could pick the large thorny stems of wild roses and brambles growing in ditches. Furthermore they still could genuinely love most forms of gothic literature, even if their books might be a bit weather beaten or smelling faintly of mildew.

For bonus points they might use hostile architecture such as anti-homeless spikes the way we use park benches. (Heck, I think even the regular Addams Family might do that.)

You couldn’t do a working class version of the Addams Family without turning them into something else entirely, because the fundamental ambiguity of “okay, are these people, like, vampires or something, or are rich people just Like That” is absolutely essential to the bit.

I Just tried this tonight, and while I didn't manage much in the way of stargazing, I saw fireflies for the first time in my life. I wasn't even aware that they were present here, and yet there was flickering in the front yard at about the same time that the first stars emerged. I also got eaten alive by mosquitos, but the bites will fade, while the fact that I have seen fireflies will not change.

To Stormsaika, Thank you

tonight’s mood is stargazing in the summertime while listening to Welcome to Nightvale and having an existential crisis as the cicadas drone on in the background