That too-early wonderful time

When I spotted this Christmas bulb dangling from a thin maple limb, my first thought was horror, as in, "Isn't it too early for the holiday season to commence?" This wail was followed by a lament: "What am I going to get everyone for the holidays?" And then came the most appropriate question: "How did this ornament get where it is?" I'm pretty sure that no one climbed up on a large step ladder—the ornament is at least 10 feet off the ground— to put it in place, and while such a shiny object found on the ground would attract raccoon or squirrel's attention, I doubt either mammal would have put it in place. A large bird flying over the branches is unlikely to have dropped it, and even if the carrier was avian, what are the odds that it would have stuck on the twig? Maybe the ornament artist was a member of the tree-trimming crew that passed through here not so long ago, or maybe, just maybe, this is a pre-Christmas miracle—or mystery—to get us into the spirit of what's about to arrive.