the 12 birds of Christmas

 

I found these wonderful hand-painted wooden bird ornaments at a local craft sale recently.

I decided to decorate our little tree with 12 birds of Christmas.

All of the birds are birds that we see (or hear) 

in our backyard at one point or another throughout the year:

 

Eastern Screen Owl, Barn owl, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker,

Scarlet Tanager, Baltimore Oriole, Goldfinch, Indigo Bunting,

Cardinal, House Finch, TreeSparrow, Black-capped Chickadee.



We got a little potted tree this year for the first time.

It makes such intuitive sense to me,

 rather than having a tree

made in China from petroleum byproducts,

or cutting down a perfectly vital tree...

 

This feels really good. 

 

No need for a big to-do for us at the holidays.

Just a quiet, small celebration

of light and love and life.

 

We'll plant our tree as soon as the ground thaws in the spring.

 

It makes me smile to see our bird friends on the tree.

Along with some glass pinecones and acorns and

other tree-things,

and our angel topper, which is

a felted wool angel, holding a bird.

 



 

And I never forget to hang the peace sign,

because peace is what it's all about.

 

 Plus some of my favorite ornaments from childhood.

This birdfeeder, filled with seed,

made by an elderly client of my mother's

when I was about 8. 

 

And last, and least in size,

is this delicate little glass tree.

 

So tiny!

 

I always loved putting it on the tree, each year as a girl,

unwrapping it from all of it's protective tissue...

 I loved having something precious that I had to be so careful with.

And the lights really make it shine.