Av and I decided that this was the perfect time to make our bottle tree. We figured that right after Christmas, when our neighbors were putting their trees on the curb, we would take one and use it (after all, Christmas trees are manageable-size trees, with many limbs – perfect for bottle-hanging!) for our project.
We laughed when we wondered what on earth our friends would think if they saw Av picking up a Christmas tree in early January and bringing it back to our house! Now, that would be hard to explain! 🙂
(above:) Av brought the tree over to the yard….
(above:) we went to K-Mart and bought this tree stand at 50% off (hoping we wouldn’t run into anybody! No, really – this is for a bottle tree! Sure… hahahaha!!)
(above:) We took pruners and chopped the branches down to a few inches each. This took no time at all…
(above:) here’s the tree about 75% done…
(above:) We just placed the tree in the holder (later we’ll make the base more secure with a concrete, but for now, this was perfect)…
(above:) Av topped the tree with a bottle of Abita Restoration Ale…
(above:) Here’s the bottle tree, almost finished! The blue and red bottles look the prettiest.
We’re really wild about the bottle tree – it’s in the side yard, where we plant the garden each year, and we can see it from the dining room window, which is a plus too. I know they’re not for everyone, but they’re a big part of traditional Southern folklore, and I love it when we’re driving around and see them in other people’s yards. BTW, Eudora Welty took pictures of them when she was doing WPA work, and mentioned them in her short story, Livvie.