Blog Schedule

I post on Monday with an occasional random blog thrown in for good measure. I do my best to answer all comments via email and visit around on the days I post.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Christmas Trees -The Century Plant Blossom - Part Two

In the islands we have our own traditional Christmas trees. A dried century plant blossom has long been a favorite.

You can see pictures of it here, including one that has been decorated.

Some people spray paint the blossom white or silver or gold. I remember one year at our guest house at Lille Maho my grandmother cut down paper cups and attached them to a century plant blossom she set up at one end of the large porch of the main house. She filled the cups with sugar, attracting a small bird called the bananaquit. Bananaquits LOVE sugar.

They came by the hundreds (or seemed to) bringing with them their noisy, gregarious natures. Never before or since have I seen a Christmas tree with living ornaments.

If you scroll down here, you can see a large number of them clustered around a bird feeder, which will give you an idea of how pretty they looked as Christmas tree ornaments.

10 comments:

  1. Oh, my! Your grandmother created the most exciting Christmas tree ever. I can see those little yellow birds flashing all around. Thanks again for a beautiful word-picture of the islands.

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  2. Wow! Very interesting!! I would love to see a tree with live birds buzzing around it!

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  3. What a beautiful idea. And what a lovely sound and light show it must have been to see all of those bananaquits at the century plant blossom.


    As always I've had a lovely visit.

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  4. I would have loved to see the bananaquit Christmas tree!

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  5. That sounds like a lovely Christmas tree - alive with sounds and sights.

    Plus, it looks better than lots of trees we've gotten up on the mountain. :)

    We're behind the times this year, haven't even gotten our tree(s) yet. Usually we get them the day after thanksgiving but with the kids having college finals they couldn't go - they really were studying - and it's no fun without the kids. Maybe this weekend. I've got my fingers X'd

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  6. I just showed my 5th graders your bananaquit birds and told them about the Christmas tree. They love it!

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  7. What a great idea! I imagine that was a wonderful tree to see and hear...Hugs..

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  8. Tricia, it was a wonderful sight. Grammy decided to leave it up and we had the birds year round.

    Thanks Berrie, Lee, and Rena.

    Kim, I wish we could do a real tree with live birds. But our little artificial one will have to do. I got it set up yesterday.

    Wow Nora! I'm honored, thanks. I'm glad the kids got a kick out of it.

    Hugs to you Brenda. It was a wonderful tree. One of a kind.

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  9. Bish, oh Bish! You've been tagged on my blog.

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Your Random Thoughts are most welcome!