Thanksgiving preparations

In preparing for Thanksgiving Dinner, I put up the Christmas tree. This is a 250 pound Rusty Lyonia (Lyonia ferruginea (Walter) Nutt.) that is supported on a solid oak base. In total it weighs about 500 pounds. The tree died naturally and was harvested from our land in Deltona.



Last Christmas we had the same tree with its native bark and white lights. This year I decided to change it up by giving it a skin of aluminum and decorating it with colored LED lights.



We had to buy a tree for the office this year. We went to many stores and we found that the trees are identical. Same Chinese-made crap in different boxes and with different labels. Millions of those trees will be in homes across America this season. Not here. This lyonia is truly one-of-a-kind.

The cats are annoyed. All the crap at the base of the tree is theirs. . . their boxes and blankets. They will have to play elsewhere until after dinner tomorrow. Dell-Roy lives in the room just outside the French doors. duPree, Ramone, and Damien sit at the French doors and talk to Dell through the window. They particularly like the late afternoon sun that shines in this west-facing door.



BELOW: I stand next to the tree for scale. I had to trim the top out of it for it to fit with the 8-foot ceiling in the sun room. I also had to remove the decorative copper spirals I had installed on the ends of each branch. The branches are interchangeable, held on with rebar that I cut with a reciprocating saw. I carved holes in the branches with a large wood bit and electric drill. Once assembled the tree is held to the oak base with steel elbows. . . and tied to the wall with steel wire, just in case.