Day 84 - Lessons Learned at the Tree Farm

Me in a tree

Christmas will dawn one month from today.  Everyone is scurrying around this weekend, either shopping for bargains or traveling home from visiting relatives or decorating the house.  Many families are out walking among the trees at the local tree farms, looking for the perfect tree.

Tree Shaker

I walked at Gavers today, which I last did on September 21, when it was in full "pumpkin patch" mode.  Today it is in full Christmas decorating mode.  The big barn has hundreds of fresh made wreaths, door swags, table decorations, and pine garlands.

Outside, people are lined up waiting to get their trees shaken for loose needles and bird nests and such, and then having them netted up for the trip home.

Tree netter

While walking the entire perimeter of the property, which is quite large, I observed and learned a few things.

1. The colder the weather is, the quicker you will find a tree.
2. The more people you have with you on your tree hunt, the harder it is to make a decision.
3. If you forgot to bring a saw with you out to the fields, send the whiniest child back to get it.
4. Hauling fresh cut Christmas trees uphill back to the barn a half a mile away is harder if you have three children riding on the cart, dragging their feet.
5. The most beautiful trees are the ones that are the farthest away from the barn.
6. The farther you get from the barn, the more likely it is that one of the children will need to use the bathroom.



Bringing in the tree

7. Everyone in the family finds a perfect tree.  However, rarely is everyone's perfect tree the same tree.

Rows of Perfect Trees

And, perhaps the lesson I already knew before I ever got there, is that the real beauty of a live, fresh cut tree is that it often is not perfect -- just like us.










Hurricane Sandy Relief:  Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross.  Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address.  The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient.  Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

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Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so