today was the shortest day of the year, still four days ahead of christmas, perfect timing to go outside and cut the traditional tree!
given that, we turned into the field heading toward pam's snowshoe loop, as opposed to up town hill way, where we got the last couple years' trees. during fall trail work, pam had spotted some possibilities along the stone wall at the far end of the field, a ways into the woods. we ruled out a few as we went along, "...too tall, ...too thin, ...too many bare spots." finally, sure enough, right at the old barb wire over the stone wall, there were a couple trees that were, "just right". or at least only 20' up, they seemed like they would be.
cut close to length and the centering hole drilled, i took it inside and stuck it into the stand. there was one low branch that if the clippers had been in hand, would have felt the cut. instead, i just jammed it down, held it plumb as my eye could see, and tightened the stays. a quick check by pam and a minor adjustment was all it needed before the water was poured. i strung the lights and pam hung the ornaments.
pam and i, sans enfants this year, went out in our annual search for the christmas tree. with fewer people looking, that meant less discussion as to the relative merits of various possible trees. when the section you will be using is 30, 40, or more feet above your head, real aesthetic evaluation is subjective at best. "what about this, that, or the other one?" is the phrase for the day.
given that, we turned into the field heading toward pam's snowshoe loop, as opposed to up town hill way, where we got the last couple years' trees. during fall trail work, pam had spotted some possibilities along the stone wall at the far end of the field, a ways into the woods. we ruled out a few as we went along, "...too tall, ...too thin, ...too many bare spots." finally, sure enough, right at the old barb wire over the stone wall, there were a couple trees that were, "just right". or at least only 20' up, they seemed like they would be.
with not too much debate, i chose the her original, chopped off the lower dead branches in the way, notched the trunk where i wanted it to fall, and sawed the back side. 'timber'--it went right where i wanted it to.
i cut up the trunk some and moved it off the wall, to stay with the logger's rule--nothing left off the ground higher than 3'. a last cut gave us about 10-11' off the top to take back to the house for final trimming. it looked a step above the usual 'charlie browner' we have been known to get, and felt good up on my shoulder.
good on the shoulder was welcome, as the walk back to the house was much longer than last year. i wasn't in any pain though, and only had to switch sides once, that mainly because my control hand got a bit cold up above the heart steadying the load.
back at the kitchen porch, a couple of quick measurements suggested the final trimming would not be as contentious as it can sometimes get. with the stand and ceiling height, we have just under 8' to work with. the branches also seemed more tame this year, not so over grown. i can be a bit ruthless with the clippers which always brings out pam's "nooo, nooo--stop!"
the full effect is definitely christmas-y. pam's instagram post already has several likes. even with no presents below, it puts me in the spirit--sort of. i am thankful that pam took her christmas music out to the kitchen. and even though i can still hear it, i am smiling. it was a great day to 'go outside and play!'
No comments:
Post a Comment