Day 7: Deck the Halls
On the Seventh Day of Christmas, mrGreen317 hid for me, a bison in an ornament in an evergreen tree!
Welcome to the Twelve Songs of Christmas (12 SoC). Each cache is a simple traditional cache within the SGL lands of the Glendale Valley and surrounding areas.
For the series final to be published in mid-January 2022, be sure to note (and record somewhere in your records) the green bold text under the GC code included in each cache 'ornament' with this series. For the ornament-type caches, this will be located on the back-side of the printed/laminated circle that features the picture that goes with that Day of Christmas.
While the retailers have pretty much packed away the Christmas wares for 2021, the traditional Christmas season actually runs from December 25 through January 5, the "Twelve Days of Christmas". (After today, you still have five more days of Christmas left to enjoy!) Here are some geocache-style 'ornaments' hidden for the "Twelve Songs of Christmas" to grab this Christmas season or any other time of the year when geocaching is on the day's agenda.
Song of Day 7
Deck the Halls
The melody of this well-known and popular carol dates back to the sixteenth century Welsh, from a winter carol "Nos Galan" that means "New Year's Eve". (This carol resource shows welsh lyrics with the familiar "fa la la la la".) The commonly-known English lyrics are from a Scottish musician, Thomas Oliphant, and they date to 1862. In the first verse, his use of "Tis the season" ("to be jolly"), has become quite synonymous with Christmas and the holiday season. "'tis" is an archaic contraction of "it is".
Deck the Halls is sometimes listed as "Deck the Hall", which seems to be the original text, and "hall" was pluralized to "halls" possibly as early as 1892. The original "Fill the meadcup, drain the barrel" was changed to "Don we now our gay apparel". Other similar changes as seen in the December 1877 issue of the Pennsylvania School Journal seem to remove references in the original to drinking, and this is the common version normally sung and heard today.
The tune "Nos Galan" is an old Welsh air, first found in a manuscript dating back to the 1700s, although likely much older. The tune spread widely in the 1700s, and it is claimed that Mozart used it in his 18th violin sonata of 1778. (Most information was gathered from this Wikipedia article.)
Be sure to note some helpful cache information in the section below before you head out.
This cache is a bison inside an ornament host, so please bring a pen or pencil along to sign the log. The log slip is "Rite in the Rain" paper, so it should resist getting wet, however, a pencil will work best if the slip is wet when you go to sign it. If the slip is dry, a standard ball point pen will do fine. Water-based inks may not write on the paper very well and should be avoided if possible.
The outer host should easily separate to access the bison, which will contain the log inside once screwed open. Please be careful with the outer clear plastic container to help this 'ornament' last as long as possible out in the wild. When closing up the cache, the two halves of the outer ornament should stay closed mostly, as there is a notch made near the top to allow the bison attachment wire to go through the outer ornament shell without disrupting the ornament's ability to seal closed.
This cache is located in state game lands, so PLEASE observe all state game land rules and wear orange during hunting seasons. During the primary hunting season, finding this cache is recommended on Sunday only.
During the winter, GZ is not hard to reach along a grassy side path off of the SGL road. The tree with the cache is near the path and does not appear to have a lot of growth around it. However, in the late spring, summer, and early fall growing seasons, the grass may be taller along parts of your hike from the gate, and some higher growth might be possible near GZ. The area from gate to GZ is a spacious open field with little overhead tree cover.
Warmer weather could mean ticks are present, so please be watchful. Ticks pose a potential health risk, so please be sure to check that any ticks are removed from one's person after seeking the geocache.
FTF Gifts: This cache will have an FTF gift hanging next to it outside of the cache container. FTF, please detach the FTF gift with its baggie and take with you. Merry Christmas!
BOOM!! A congratulations on FTF goes to 74vwBus . Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Merry Christmas from the 3 "E"s!
(mrGreen317, Sage-Hippo, and littleEEE)