Month of Gratitude Day 21: Nature's Mysteries

I just love the flowers that bloom at Christmas.  There is something amazing about a plant that knows what season of the year it is and sends out glorious blooms in celebration.  I know that it is just the change in daylight and temperature, but I like to think that they are helping us celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through their blooms.  I have had Christmas cactus for several years now and some years are better than others, but I can usually depend on a few gorgeous displays.  My yellow Zygo started blooming last week.

Poinsettias, on the other hand, have been a complete mystery to me.  They are almost always dead by mid-January and if they do make it through the year, I've never been able to get them to turn red again.  Last Christmas' flowers were a different story.  I was astounded that they made it through January, and continued to thrive and look beautiful into the summer.  They finally dropped their red bracts and, under instruction from my Aunt Marianne, who has worked in greenhouses, I cut them way back.  They then began sending forth pretty new leaves.  In October I decided to see if I could coax them to change color again and put them under timed lights in my furnace room.  Guess what I saw today?