The Great White Tree Hunt

Last week, it snowed. Not a lot. Really just a dusting. But there is something about snow that really puts me in the holiday spirit, especially since where I live, there is no guarantee we’ll have snow in December.

So when that dusting hit, hubby and I grabbed the hand saw and some rope, and we were off, headed to a couple you-cut Christmas tree farms about five miles away. The first farm had prices that were a little too rich for our taste, so we hopped on over to another farm, less than a mile away.

We usually spend a lot of time and cover a lot of ground looking for the perfect tree. Christmas tree farms in Oregon are often small family affairs, where a patch of land or a few acres are set aside to grow, maintain (gotta trim those branches for the perfect Christmas tree shape) and sell trees.

The second farm sits up in the hills, and was just beautiful under the snow. Before we could get down to the business of tromping across several acres looking for our tree, we noticed the pre-cut trees. Probably harvested that week, leaning on the stands, snow-tipped and ready to go.

We literally picked the first one we saw, paid our money in the little gift shop they’d set up, and tossed the tree on the roof of our car. In and out in under three minutes! Fastest Christmas tree hunt, ever! Oh, and in case you’re wondering, that is a 7′ (2.1 meter) Noble Fir tree, with sturdy branches and really soft needles.