The Christmas Tree

Every year we head out to the tree farm to cut our own Christmas tree. And it seems that every year the weekend we select is the absolute coldest weekend possible. This year was no different. Still, the kids look forward to it, it is a family tradition (I am big on those, and I recognize the importance of them to children), so we went.



I love evergreens. Maybe it is because I live in an area with short summers. The deep green of the spruce and fir and pine trees is beautiful against the snow here. Even before the snow comes, the green provides some contrast in the otherwise brown landscape. The snow isn't deep this year, which is good. We went to a different farm than in years past because our past farm no longer had any fir trees. I like fir trees. I don't like spruce trees. I break out if I touch a spruce tree. That makes decorating a bit tricky. It is interesting to go to different farms and see the difference in their trees. The previous farm made their trees look quite cone-shaped in their trimming. Unnaturally so. They also seem to color at least some of their trees--to make them more green (aren't evergreens green in the first place?) This year's farm trimmed their trees some, but they looked much more natural. And none of them seemed an unnatural green.

We walked out in the freezing cold. We searched through all the trees. Kiddo kept finding a new one that was the right one. One of the pleasures of cutting your own tree is that you get to see what it looks like before it was all squashed on a truck. I grew up with an artificial tree. Hubby grew up with real, but not cut your own. We finally settled on one that I deemed "good enough!" That is usually what happens. I get so cold I'll say yes to any tree! The kids love to watch Daddy cut it down, and then we dragged it back to the stand and the car. Another Christmas tree down.