the great christmas tree hunt 2012

 

We have made the pilgrimage into our nearby mountain ranges to find our past Christmas trees more often than not.  

Not 2011 though, to our great regret.  

 

No, last year as things piled up, we succumbed to the convenience of the big box stores, bringing our picture perfect pageant tree home duly trussed up in that plastic netting much like your frozen butterball turkey. 

 

 

 And paying the $50 for the underwhelming experience to boot.

 Come to think of it, 2010 was much the same. Sigh.  

 

I know what you're thinking- we cut first, measure second.  Cause that's how we roll.

Not so this year, we vowed.

No, this year I staged our great Christmas tree hunt to coincide with that storm that howled into the Jemez range Sunday.   Figuring if we can't bring the snow to our place in town, well, we'll just go visit it at its house instead.

Hmmm.....heading into the high country in the teeth of the first storm of the season....what could possibly go wrong?  ;-)

Worked out on all fronts, we had a blast we four tramping around the hills, debating the relative merits of  mangy hardy mountain ponderosas, firs, spruces. 

We found ours, alright.  Standing tall amidst a grove of Plan B's.

A mountain tree by all respects.

Outshining its box store plastic cousins by way of the laughter, experience, memories, earned in the hunt.

A lesson I hope I remember in 2013.

 

As the boy said- A Merry Christmas to us all!