fajrdrako | O Tanenbaum...

I put up my Christmas tree today: that always makes it feel like an extraordinarily special day to me. I didn't put up a tree last year, but simply decorated the harp. I decorated the harp again this year, but put up a full artificial tree. I decorated it mostly with red toys and some gold balls, and put on gold and red lights. I am very pleased with the effect. No star on the top - I've lost my star somehow, but it was an ugly star anyway. Instead now I have a red bow and a white bird sitting amid holly.

A bird is a very suitable emblem for any tree in my household. There are little red and white birds scattered through the tree, too. (And then there are the five little guys in cages, more beautiful than any artificial bird, and considerably more vocal.)

I also have a small lit ceramic tree that was made for me about twenty-five years ago by Colleen Walsh. I wonder what Colleen is doing now? We've been out of touch since her husband Robert died in 1981. With this tree, I remember her every Christmas.