Mystic — Jack Steel, owner of The Company of Craftsmen on West Main Street in Mystic, was decorating a pair of driftwood "trees" with hearts and U.S. flags Thursday outside his shop.

Steel, who has been in business in the same location for 39 years, originally erected the trees for the Christmas holiday season and decorated them with stars, but they had been bare since then. So, he decided on a theme complimentary to other decor sprouting up around the region.

"I'm just trying to brighten things up a little bit," he said.