The Bird Tree

Day 54: It's St. Nicholas' Day, and that means it was time to put up the Christmas tree. This has become my tradition, although it was not one which carried over from my childhood. The decorations have gone through several iterations, but when I no longer had a life-partner with whom to share the holidays, birds began to dominate the boughs. Nowaways, at least 90% of my ornaments are birds, the remainder largely dedicated to other creatures from nature such as frogs, a caterpillar on a leaf, a beehive and a few sheep. To be sure, there are snowflakes and icicles as well, presented as backdrops for my avian horde. One might notice a preponderance of cockatoos and to a lesser extent parrots, nods to feathered family members long gone but no less dear for the passage of time. I do not celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense, but rather as a somewhat tardy acknowledgement of the Solstice, a festival of light and renewal, and of remembrance.