We went to get our Christmas tree yesterday. Yes, it's a real one. And no, it is not from our back 40.
We don't have a back 40. Because we don't have that much land. Sad.
ANYWAY.
We go to someone else's back 40. And by that I don't mean one of those spiffy tree farms where they have carolers and horse-drawn sleigh rides and cocoa for the kiddies, in addition to trees. No, I mean someone's house surrounded by firs and spruces, where they leave a hacksaw hanging on their barn door and you can wander around their property, cut your tree, and drop ten bucks into a bird feeder.
I'm not joking about the hacksaw on the barn door. Or the bird feeder. They don't even have a sign. But they do have some pre-cut trees that they leave in their front yard, in case you don't want to cut your own. We ended up paying the extra five dollars for a pre-cut one. But we still walked around their property for awhile, because Mia was with us and it was nice to let her run around without fear of her getting shot by a hunter.
I also got to view some massive pine logs that A. scored. His sister is caretaker on a property where the owner wanted to cut down a bunch of trees and didn't care what happened to the trees after they were cut. These trees were hundred-year-old Ponderosa pines and English walnuts. And he didn't care about the wood. Then again, he lives in Florida, so what's he going to do with a dozen felled trees?
ANYWAY AGAIN.
The owner may not have cared about the trees, but A. did. Deeply. He went over there while the tree service guys were working and managed to get them to haul the cut trees up to his friend's property to await the arrival of a guy with a portable sawmill. The pine logs, which are about a foot and half in diameter, are going to be cut into huge pine boards. Eat your heart out, Dad.
I don't have pictures of any of this stuff because the batteries in the camera I brought with me were dead. Because I am cursed when it comes to cameras. So just imagine a large collie frolicking amidst the evergreens and many enormous pine logs, and you've got my day yesterday.
The end.
We are preparing to thin our forest in Colorado next year. Our friend also has a portable saw mill and Mr. Mom is salivating at the thought of "tongue and groove" pine boards.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what we will do with it. Given that we live in Oklahoma and all.
I'm sure it's the hippie in me, but whenever I hear about old growth like that being cut down it just breaks my heart. I can't believe some people just don't care about the history of such amazing trees - and then to not even care about what happens to the wood!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad A. was able to get his hands on it. I'm sure he'll turn it into something useful, worthy of a tree that was 100 years old - not just let it rot like that other guy would have done.
I feel like such a sell-out, because yesterday we bought an artificial tree. I have always had a real tree for each and every one of my 32 Christmases, but the expense (like, $60! Ridonkulous!)and the damn mess and the fact that it always dies when we go out of town for three days finally swayed me. And lo, there was much sadness in the land.
ReplyDelete(I love my word verification today: "squic." It's the sound wet shoes make on linoleum.)
Speaking of Christmas trees. I helped a guy load one in his pickup truck this morning. It was a fir and they sold them in front of the local grocery store. I knew it was gonna be trouble when , from inside the truck I heard a giant 'ugghhh' when he went to pick it up. So , I quick jumped out and offered a hand...he was kinda takin' aback that a woman would do that, I think. But, hey, we country girls are a pretty strong bunch (I also handle a lot of firewood , hence a few more muscles than most guys). He said , as we got it in the truck, 'thanks , I don't think I could've gotten it in the truck by myself.' So, one random act of kindness done for this day. More to come.
ReplyDeleteSounds idyllic. I am away from home until the 21st, so I didn't get to participate in out tree-getting and -decorating this year. Sad.
ReplyDeleteHow fantastic that A was able to score the wood! I am drooling over the thought of the beautiful things you can make with the old pine and walnut.
ReplyDeleteI bet the owner would have changed his mind if he knew the value of WALNUT. Some people just don't deserve to own trees. Good for A. I'm glad he appreciates the wood. Bonnie
ReplyDeleteOh, the pine logs sound incredible. Does A know what he'll build with them? Floor? A new addition to the house, a warmer addition to the house for baby?
ReplyDeleteI like your day yesterday - that sounds lovely. Bird feeder and all.
ReplyDeleteSo, what will happen to these felled trees of A's?
Log cabin dog house for Mia?