I guess we are not one of those homes where you see the tree up right after Thanksgiving. We don’t have a set time for getting the tree and putting it up… it just sort of happens somewhere along the way. …but it always does happen.
So, this past weekend we put up a tree…
If my count is right, I believe this is the 27th Christmas tree we have cut off our land here.
We have never had to walk too far to find one. Some years were better than others. Some years trudging through knee deep snow, some years snow was not an issue. Some years the two of us with with four small children looking for just the right one, some years the two of us just going out and picking one quickly.
Many times we have ended up with what we call a “Charlie Brown” tree… something slightly less full or properly proportioned than we might like but always in the end, once the lights and decorations are on, they always look just fine.
This one was actually quite full and balanced and, despite a rather dramatic kink in the trunk, came out looking pretty straight. A little short and wide, but not bad.
We spent some time looking at artificial trees in the store this year… I think we do that every year, but this year we did it a little more… but it seems like part of the “fun” is bringing it in and setting it up and just seeing what we end up with. That’s the theory anyway.
Usually my part is done after it has been cut and dragged in and set up. My wife takes it from there and I have to confess, on this particular Saturday afternoon, I was taking a nap while she did her thing…
We have a good amount of snow for a wintery Christmas this year. Feels like more of a “normal” Christmas, as far as weather goes, than it has in a few years. It came hard and was quite a shock initially, but now it is just here. The shortest day is already behind us and spring should be just around the corner… right after January, February and March… and maybe April.. and possibly a little of May.
But right now it is winter. And Christmas.
