Oh Christmas tree!

I confess ...
We've never had a real Christmas tree.
At least not recently.
The last time I remember having a real tree was probably about 40 years ago!
Then my parents discovered the pleasures of the artificial.
Mom liked that it never shed needles, didn't need watering, and always looked good (?). Dad liked going to get a tree from the basement instead of shopping for one in town, and paying for a tree only once rather than every year.
Us kids liked that we could set up the tree early in the season and it would last & last ...


Lorie & I have continued the family tradition.
Our first Christmas tree came in a box, purchased with wedding money. Most of the decorations were wedding gifts (that's what happens when you marry in
mid-November).
The tradition continued for 25 years.
Then it ended!
Set up & decorated in our living room right now is a real, living, great smelling, needle shedding (not much), water sucking, genuine Christmas tree.
And it was cut on our own farm!

Here's how it happened ...
Living on a fruit farm, we grow lots of trees, thousands of trees, fruit bearing trees - but not evergreen trees.
I like growing trees. We've planted lots of shade trees around the yard, added nut trees & paw paws in the orchards, transplanted & nurtured volunteer seedlings that have sprouted in the garden, and even gathered throw-aways from a nearby nursery.

Quite a few years ago I bought some tiny little evergreen trees - cedars & spruce. They came in the mail and were only 3-4 inches tall with just a few roots. The plan was to enjoy growing them and then someday use them for a windbreak. The plan worked well and so I bought some more. As they have grown I've moved them around - to get them out of the way, and to slow them down until they were needed. Some have died, others were set out to their permanent spots, and some were left to keep growing - unwanted, unweeded, uncared for - squeezed between the greenhouse that's never been finished (don't ask), and a compost pile. Their purpose seemed only to provide shade for the chickens in the heat of the summer.

Until now!

Despite being crowded & therefore somewhat misshapen, someone saw potential, even beauty in their greenness.
We examined them from every angle, used our imaginations, then chose & chopped. Dragged into the house and set up, we again examined it from every angle, used our imaginations, and finally decorated it.
Perfectly shaped it is not. But we think it's beautiful - our very own, grown at home Christmas tree.

May your own Christmas traditions - new & old -  bring you pleasure and happiness as you celebrate the holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6