Decorating the Christmas tree, our latest and largest harvest, is more a marathon in our house than a sprint. Spruces (Picea) tend to have a lot more open spaces than do firs (Abies) within their branches making room for a great number of decorations to hang from the tree.
The first order of business is to put up the lights. And with the newer technology of LEDs, it takes a lot more lights to brighten up a tree. Round and round I go, getting pricked with the sharp needles of the spruce, which is a big negative when compared to firs.
After lights and strings of garland, we place a few inherited and found bird nests inside the tree to emulate a more natural setting. In the U.S., with few exceptions, this is prohibited by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, but I am hopeful that the Feds will show mercy and not come after us.
We cradle them toward the trunk of the tree and place a variety of birds in and around each one. A wide variety of decorations, some over 60 years old, are placed on the tree and by evening’s end we are finished . . .with the tree. The nativity is yet to come. . . .
