12/13/2006

It takes a family
By Jack Barnes

This Christmas tree adventure all began with Andrea's desire to have a fresh cut tree for the holidays. Fresh cut to Andrea means driving to a tree farm and traipsing out into the fields to locate that ideal tree, something we had done with our two sons as a holiday tradition in Pittsburgh. It also means having that nice fresh pine smell in the home that she said was missing from trees which are often sprayed with preservative prior to shipping. 

Of course western Pennsylvania, with abundant Christmas tree farms, is not the Eastern Shore and my first problem was to find a place where we could cut our own. I put that question to my friends on the OceanPinesforum.com, still secretly hoping that this whole "cut your own fantasy" would go away, and we could just pick one up at a local lot close to the Pines. Susan Schwarten squashed that idea when she put up an Internet site listing all the places where people could cut their own trees. Unfortunately there were none listed close to us in Maryland, the nearest location being Georgetown, DE.   Not a problem to Andrea who was prepared to make an overnight trip if necessary. On top of that she thought it would be a great outing for our son Jim, wife Kathleen and our two grandsons, Michael (5) and Carson (3), to join us. What last year was a simple "pick a tree and head home," was slowly turning into a major vacation.

Of course, attempting to maintain their respectful place in our will, just ahead of brother Jack in Pittsburgh, Jim and Kathleen agreed with Mom and thought this was a great idea. Since they live in nearby Ocean View, DE Andrea suggested we meet at the Royal Farms Service Station on Rte. 113 the following Saturday at about noon. It was such a nice day Andrea thought that Michael and Carson would enjoy a picnic.  After selecting our lunch from the convenience store we had a tailgate party in the parking lot.

In short time we were back on the road, continuing along Rte. 113 following the telephone directions provided by the owner of the tree farm. Located several miles off the main road in Georgetown it was easy to find although as we drove into the driveway of a small home the word "farm" took on a slightly different meaning. It was more like a big backyard although the very-nice-woman-with-the-barking-dog who came to the door in her walker assured us that there were several acres of trees. As I picked up the loaner saw from the porch I duly noted that we seemed to be the only people there on a Saturday afternoon. The nice woman advised us to be careful when driving past the penned sheep because the recent rains had made portions of the dirt road muddy.

Prices were $25 for any five foot tree and $5 for each foot over that height.  I pondered why, if we were supplying the labor to cut the tree, the price was about the same as the pick-and-load trees back at the Pines. 

As we drove the muddy road ahead Andrea and I began to muse, "Where are the Christmas trees?" Oh, there were plenty of trees. There were completely dead trees, 30 foot trees, one foot trees and trees that had their branches cut completely off almost to the top.

Someone else had already tagged the only suitable tree on the farm.  It was almost impossible to find that nicely shaped nine-footer, the types that were in abundance back at the Pines. 

Frankly, if it were just Andrea and me, we would have turned around and headed to another place, except for one problem. Michael and Carson were having a great time. They were climbing up those trees where the branches had been trimmed away leaving great steps for little feet to climb.  The boys were playing hide and seek among the trees.  They were running around checking out different trees and calling, "How about this one Grandma?"  I could see no matter how ill advised the location, our Christmas tree was going to be coming from this place.

How to pick the best tree from among the few poor choices was the dilemma. Suddenly trees that had looked unsuitable just a few minutes before started looking pretty good. Kind of like in the early years out on the town when, after a few drinks, the ugly girl seated a few stools down at the bar starts looking really cute. 

Finally the six of us selected a tree that we all agreed would work just fine. Of course four of those votes would not have the tree in their home. I, being somewhat frugal, was also hesitant about paying an extra $10 for what looked like a two foot stick at the top, destined for removal the minute I got home.  A quick glance at the other trees however brought me to my senses.  My son Jim and I applied the loaner saw, which was about as sharp as a goose feather, to the base of the tree. To the accompaniment of cheering from the family the tree was felled, dragged to the roadside and loaded on the top of the jeep.

Before leaving the tree farm, we stopped at the sheep pen so the boys could visit the animals. Michael got up close and personal but Carson decided staying in the vehicle was a better way to view these strange creatures making the loud baaaaaing sounds.

The nice woman had left a plastic container on the back porch for payment-on-the-honor-system method. Andrea put in $45 as I mentally cringed at that two foot stick or $10 that I was immediately going to snip off and throw away. 

We said our goodbyes and Jim's family headed to Delaware as Andrea and I made for Ocean Pines with our "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree.  On the way home Andrea commented that this was probably one of the best days she has ever had and after hesitating for a second, I had to agree. 

Send an Email Letter to Courier Editor - be sure to include your telephone number.