I have long wanted to get my hands on some tallow berries. I don't think I have ever even seen them in person. But I have loved them from afar. They are so beautifully decorative, and I really enjoy using natural decorations year 'round.
I know you can buy them online. And there are faux versions too. But I was a little excited to find these berry bushes on one of my recent local walks. It's called rabbitbrush, or chamisa. It's native here, but I have never seen it with berries on it. And it grows in my own back yard! Makes me strongly suspect that not each plant gets them.
I know that spare and quiet decorating doesn't appeal to everyone. I swear that I will eventually get to a few touches of red. You can look forward to that! Haha! But for now, I am enjoying neutrals and whites in my small rooms that will soon be filled with lots of people. Here is a sprig of dried eucalyptus, for instance. I will soon be getting a few sprays of fresh ones.
I have also dropped a few cholla cactus skeletons into the mix. (Pronounced choy-ah.) A bit of red ribbon would set them off. I have searched for folk tales or symbolism associated with cholla, and found none. But I have started my own tradition of burning a few on the hearth at the new year. Maybe you have seen cholla skeletons made into art or souvenirs. They lie around all over the mesas here.
The bunch of twigs will make a nice winter display even after the holidays. And if I get tired of them I can just toss them out! Another good reason to go natural when you have limited storage space! But I tend to hold onto weeds for a long time.
Maybe these will end up on a new year's fire as well.
I have also added a few greens, and picked up a small evergreen tree for elsewhere. Can't do without that lovely smell!
This is me imagining a woodsy setting full of wildlife in the brambles. My little birds at the feeder outside the window help out with that too. Juncos, doves, sparrows and finches. I even had a little nuthatch, curve-billed thrasher, and a towhee visit the other day! Gotta take time for the small things.
Wishing you a lovely weekend ahead!
Jacqueline
