Day 54: Seein' as how I already broke with tradition and made the St. Nicholas' Day cookies several days ahead of time, I chose to celebrate by putting up the Solstice Shrub today instead of on the 10th. The world could use more Light right now, both literally and metaphorically. I wasn't sure I'd get beyond erecting the tree, but by noon, all the birds were in their roosts, nestled among the boughs alongside snowflakes, icicles, a few frogs, a cat or two and the occasional sheep. Easily 80% of my ornaments are avian, probably closer to 85%. There are jays and nuthatches, goldfinches, parrots and penguins, cardinals galore, as well as dozens of purely whimsical, stylized birds but front and center is a Cockatoo representing the love of my life, gone now some twenty years though always close in my heart. His is always the first ornament to go on the tree and last to come down (unless there's a stray hiding somewhere). So many memories hang on my Solstice Shrub in caricature! Today, it shines in anticipation of the returning Light, illuminated by warm recollections of seasons past.
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