What's on the Tree.1

This little guy came from somewhere in my childhood. He was never one of my favorites then--not enough sparkle, I suppose. But now I'm quite fond of him and his little retro wooden face. I have only a few ornaments from long ago; I'm not sure what happened to the rest of the decorations that I remember. The family trees I cherish were lush and carefully hung with exquisite treasures, the whole thing finished with real tinsel, applied strand by strand and saved every year on a piece of cardboard. When I went through everything in the attic to close down the house, there was really so very little, and nothing quite so magnificent as I remember. Now the few very old glass ornaments stay in their boxes because of The Cats, but this wood sprite is a survivor and hangs happily in the branches. I plan to zoom in on a few other ornaments in the days to come; most of them have their little stories that only get told once a year.

I am playing with a borrowed camera. This is the pinhole mode, which also inexplicably mutes the color to a faux 50s palette, but it works when my nostalgia meter is running.