"We use all kinds of greens, said Bill Mineo as he and his wife Lorraine prepare to help people make swags and wreaths built on grape-vine bases at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center on Dec. 6.

A new evergreen Mineo particularly likes is the Hanoki Cypress, a Japanese tree that is a form of redwood.

The needles are short and blue. He has quite a world-wide collection of evergreens and grape-vines on his farm and collects the prunings to make wreaths and swags, a retirement career after they quit the farm market circuit.

"Let your imagination go wild," Mineo said as people wandered among the piles of branches clipping pieces they want to use.

If the finished product is to be placed between a door and screen or storm door it has to be flat, but for indoors or on a free-standing door they can be fuller, he explained.

Swags begin with long branches as a base. Differences in color and texture of branches that are shorter are added to the front to add interest. A branch that will not stay where it should be can be tied in place.

Ribbons and bows along with pinecones complete the swag, but here is where the imagination comes in again because anything Christmasy can be added to make it more colorful and appealing.

While evergreens were being made into Christmas decorations outdoors on a cold and rainy day, indoors people were folding origami passenger pigeons.

The Nature Center wanted to have 100 on its tree in the lobby honoring the 100th anniversary of the death of the last passenger pigeon among the billions that once filled the skies.

It is a country-wide project with the hope of having a million created.

Bird cookies were being created at another station with hands and cookie cutters sprayed with cooking spray because the dough is sticky until it has time to set.

The dough was pressed into deep cookie cutters or molds. When they were half filled, a string is added to tie it out for the birds. Then it is filled and carefully removed from the cookie cutter.

Owl decorations were made from felt and real feathers. Kathie Romano and Donna Gasser made a quilt, called a Coneflower Garden, to raffle off.