On the other side of the trail a big mixed feeding flock of migratory songbirds thronged a mountain ash hanging from an outcrop. A female warbler on a rowan bough spread her softly yellowed wing, reaching past the brighter yellow leaflets for a fly on a bunch of fire-engine berries; beyond, the blue spire of a young noble fir was decked with juncos and warblers. We take trees and berried greenery indoors once a year and hang dead ornaments on them in honor of the season. Each season honors us the better, if we attend, with living decorations such as these.
