From the country...As of last year, we collectively decided that given the fact that we have 40 acres in bush we should harvest our own Xmas tree from the property. After our local tree farm closed down, we decided to venture out, saw in hand and cut our own farm tree. Last year the weather was on our side, the kids in a fine mood and the tree was cut and standing in the living room within a few hours.
Different story this year. Here we are minutes before dark, a guy just recovering from the flu(Mark), a crusty, 7 month pregnant girl (yours truly...), a 3 year old needing a nap desperately and a 5 year old in pretty good spirits but having to go pee and a pretty cold day with a stinging wind chill. Enter the tree. A monstrous sky scraper and a simple man's bow saw.
The tree was cut and painstakingly dragged to the road, attached to the car towed to the house, and forced into the house were we found out it was way to large (think National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation...). So as the tree defrosted in our living room rendering everything wet, sticky and full of needles, Mark sawed the sucker twice so it cleared our ceiling (the measuring tape nowhere to be found).
After hours of mopping floors, vacuuming needles, and collecting branches, we had managed to take a pretty beautiful 15 + foot tree, shave 50lbs off it and end up with a X Mas tree that Charlie Brown would be proud of.
It's against the spirit of the self-harvested Christmas tree experience to measure it! It has to be cut and re-cut to fit the room, then turned to show its best side, which of course slumps one side or the other in the stand (we shored ours up with house bricks). I like the added fun of thawing it out in situ.
ReplyDeleteIt looks beautiful.
It makes for a great story and an adventure the kids won't forget! Happy holidays!
ReplyDeleteI love it! Hopefully I'll have more land someday and will be able to do this too, until then I'll just support a local tree farmer...
ReplyDeleteWhen we picked ours this year, I resisted the urge to get the "not so pretty one" as I knew nobody else would either. (Think Phoebe from Friends)
FYI, silly as it is, I LOVE lampoons Christmas Vacation, a favorite Christmas movie, not quite Christmas without it. That and The Christmas Card.