Christmas tree poll

[Black wallnut]

As the Mrs. said ever since we became married we have gone out to a local US forest and cut our own. Some years we bring home a nice tree; some years the inlaws make fun of it. Every year we enjoy at least an afternoon cruising the woods seeking out perfection. Most years there is too much snow to cover much ground. Plus with a heavy snow the snowless properties are obscured so that we have, or I rather have to shake a bunch of trees free of snow to get a better look. Some years Melissa has had to work and has been unable to attend the event. Most years I find some near perfect trees while seeking Wapiti, never find the Wapiti and then when it comes to tree cutting time the snow is too deep to reach the areas where the Wapiti live. So far this year we've not had any heavy snow so hopefully we will be able to get to the better area. We'll be posting our annual family pic with our find.

Besides the wonderful family time we spend seeking the perfect tree we enjoy the fragrance filling our home. Although one year we cut a variety of spruce that had such a pungent odor it was difficult to handle. We've never cut a pine as they just are too sparsely branched. We try to find a fir or hemlock. One year in college I cut a Tamarack (western larch) and watched it leaf out right before Christmas. One of these years we will dig up a dormant Tamarack and use it but it will have to be a mostly snowless year and these trees are sparse; the beauty of the needles blooming right before Christmas is worth it.

[LCHIEN]

As the Mrs. said ever since we became married we have gone out to a local US forest and cut our own. Some years we bring home a nice tree; some years the inlaws make fun of it. Every year we enjoy at least an afternoon cruising the woods seeking out perfection. Most years there is too much snow to cover much ground. Plus with a heavy snow the snowless properties are obscured so that we have, or I rather have to shake a bunch of trees free of snow to get a better look. Some years Melissa has had to work and has been unable to attend the event. Most years I find some near perfect trees while seeking Wapiti, never find the Wapiti and then when it comes to tree cutting time the snow is too deep to reach the areas where the Wapiti live. So far this year we've not had any heavy snow so hopefully we will be able to get to the better area. We'll be posting our annual family pic with our find.

Besides the wonderful family time we spend seeking the perfect tree we enjoy the fragrance filling our home. Although one year we cut a variety of spruce that had such a pungent odor it was difficult to handle. We've never cut a pine as they just are too sparsely branched. We try to find a fir or hemlock. One year in college I cut a Tamarack (western larch) and watched it leaf out right before Christmas. One of these years we will dig up a dormant Tamarack and use it but it will have to be a mostly snowless year and these trees are sparse; the beauty of the needles blooming right before Christmas is worth it.

Cutting down the perfect specimens will not help Darwin's law and evolution make better trees for the future.

I'm reminded of my undergraduate years at Cornell University, we had famous horticultural and agricultural schools and they maintained a tract of land with a great deal of specimens. Someone one December apparently in search of a perfect yule tree cut down a tree in this preserve. In the papers the next morning the misdeed was reported... apparently it was some rare handsome Norwegian tree and the only known specimen of it growing in North America. I don't think they ever caught whoever, but I wondered what they thought as they enjoyed their Christmas in front of this poor tree. I wonder if they had pangs of regret or if they even read the news. Probably neither.

Not, implying, BW, that you would ever cut down a poor unique endagered specimen of a tree, mind you, just reminiscing.

[Popeye]

We used to go to a tree farm and cut our own, sometime or another that went away and a fake one came in. I've used the fake one since the wife went away.... until today. My fake tree won't fit in the family room where I hid out at so I bought a nice 5' fir. I think I'll still put the fake one up in the picture window in the living room though. Pat

[Ed62]

There was a time when I cut my own tree, but those days are over. We no longer have little kids, and that made it all fun. We'll just go to a lot and buy a small tree. Although there are some very nice artificial trees, I just don't think they can match a real one.

Ed

[RmeDad]

Xmas tree

I put up man made tree......Pine is for my BT3100!!!!!

[KenBurris]

Bubble, Bubble

..... bubble lights,


Bill

Always artificial - and had to have my miniature (3") bubble lights. I've been down to 1 1/2 strings of bubble lights for 5 years - have 1 string of giant ones (5"?) in reserve - can't find the small ones anymore, and few of the large. Since my daughter married and moved out, I just use a small fiber optic on a stool

I was amazed by several of my daughter's friends that had never seen bubble lights (she's 27)