TWO REASONS WHY OUR CHRISTMAS TREE IS OUTDOORS THIS YEAR

We have a beautiful Norfolk Island Pine Christmas tree that can't come inside the house.

Here's why:

Reason Number 1: Our adorable Flame Point Siamese * mix kitten. This is BINKY. Can you see the look in her eyes? She's saying, "Yes, please bring me a tree filled with shiny moving objects." 

And most of us remember that cute little song from a children's movie:

"We are Siamese if you please...dut dut dut"

I'm just glad Binky hasn't watched the movie! LOL

Reason 2: This is our other kitten, Bear. As you can see, Bear still holds the latest evidence of his escapades. This Santa was on a shelf and then mysteriously found on the kitchen floor. Bear loves Christmas!

 Imagine an entire tree for Bear to enjoy!

So here's our Christmas tree on the front porch. It's almost 6 feet tall.

Our Christmas tree is really 4 smaller trees in one container. 

This is our third year to decorate our Norfolk Island pine. 

We mostly decorate with simple red decorations since it combines well with the glossy green foliage.

So now we have it all figured out; the kittens stay INSIDE while the tree stays OUTSIDE.

There's just one problem and that's where to put the gifts!

Well that's it for today. Since I'm finally out of school, I plan to visit a lot of your gardening blogs this holiday and catch up on what's been happening in your gardens. 

Until then, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

David at Tropical Texana

/:0)

*Footnote: FLAME POINT SIAMESE  

Here's a Flame Point Siamese photo for comparison. It's almost a perfect match. Reddish ear hairs,  very light blue eyes, dirty reddish face, and reddish orange ringtail. Ours even has a reddish orange tint on the paws. 

Technically, these cats should be called Red Point Siamese, but Flame Point is a term with more pizzazz and will probably become the standard term in future years.

They are quite talkative and love attention and affection. They are very playful and excited to be around people.

NORFOLK ISLAND PINE CHRISTMAS TREE ~ THIS YEAR'S TREE

We finished decorating our Norfolk Island Pine for Christmas and we've finally put away our artificial tree forever. We had to use very lightweight decorations. But other than that, it's very nice to have a living tree in the house. David/ :-)

2011 Tree

One of our pet chickens, Marco, takes a look at our Norfolk Island Pine Christmas tree.

No pecking the ornaments, Marco! :-)

2010 TREE

DECEMBER 2010 ~Since everyone in our extended family knows about my gardening interests, I am often given plants as gifts. I got a small Norfolk Island Pine last year and I told everyone this small plant was going to be our Christmas tree by next year. Everyone seemed to think I was joking. Well, 3 pot sizes later and about double the size later, here's the picture. It stays outside in the garden all year long until Christmas. If you are going to have a Norfolk Island Pine as a Christmas tree, buy very light ornaments. I use paper ornaments and small ribbons and bells. Wishing you the Happiest of Holidays
 David at Tropical Texana/ Houston :0)
Be sure and visit Alicia at http://weloveiowa.blogspot.com/ to see her beautiful photography and WW group. Thanks, Alicia, for hosting all the year long.

RUBY TUESDAY ~ CHRISTMAS EDITION

Ruby Tuesday celebrates all things red. You can visit all sorts of crimson and rubies at http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/   This week: What's RED on our Christmas tree.

                                 Traditional Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus

               I am from a Danish town in Texas where we put the Danish flag on the Christmas tree.

                  I couldn't have said it better!   Shhhh..He's sleeping.

                       We can only hope, can't we?  Maybe next year.

                      I learned to make these from a wonderful Danish friend here in the U.S.
                                   Merry Christmas from Tropical Texana.  I know this is a garden blog, so I will add that one of  our Christmas trees is alive. It is a Norfolk Island Pine and I'll show the entire tree soon. It usually stays outside in the garden until this time of year. It grows all year long. David :0)