The Lumberjacks

For Christmas this year I booked a session with a professional photographer who does pictures of special needs kids, and the only time she could come was on Saturday, 6 December, at noon. So, I HAD to get the tree up and decorated before she got here. The only way to do that was for Avery & I to venture out for a tree ourselves.

On Friday we went to a local tree farm to find the perfect tree. "Perfect" being the operative word, here. I'm more of a "Charlie Brown tree" person, and would have loved nothing more than to drive up into the forest for an hour and chop down one not-so-perfect tree. But time, and frankly energy, were not on my side, so this year it was girls only to the tree farm (where they strive for unbelievable perfection in their trees). The weather was crisp & clear & gorgeous, so Avery and I wandered around for ~2 hours before we found our "perfect" tree -- a Balsam pine. One of the workers said he would come cut it down for me when I found it, but I couldn't be bothered*, and frankly, their saws were sharp & the cutting was like butter. Then I packed it back to shake it and pay for it -- Avery scolded me every time the tip hit the ground, so it must have been a site to see me & my 36-week pregnant belly packing this 7 foot tree on my back, with an almost-5-year-old scolding me for letting the top touch the ground. Good thing it was nice & light and we weren't too far away from the barn!

Devon helped me unload it and get it in the stand when we got home, then Avery & I decorated it before the day was done. We were ready for the photographer the next day, phew! And we have a great tree to enjoy for the rest of the holiday season.

Acres of "perfect" trees. . . .

In the shadow of Mt. Hood -- we could see Mt. St. Helens & Mt. Adams from the tree farm as well, but I didn't get any shots because the trees were always in the way in those directions (north & northeast).

Avery on the hayride (a covered, tractor-pulled wagon with plexiglass at the front). When we went on it we were the only passengers.

A few favorite shots

For the first hour Avery was OBSESSED with sawing through a stump all by herself. I let her try & try, but she never made it all the way through. I guess she gets this trait from her mother. . . (do I see a summer job with the Forest Service in her future?)

Oops, muddy knees. . . .

She only wanted her picture taken if she was balancing on old tree stumps, but once I got her up on this stump she thought it was too high to be safe -- can't you see it in her face?!

Avery was psyched to find a burro at the tree farm. She ran up to him yelling "Tonopah, Tonopah" and I had to drag her away to continue the tree hunt. When we were back out in the trees she asked me "Mom, why are all donkeys named Tonopah?" Well, Avery, because you name all the donkeys you see Tonopah. . . . Ahhhh, circular reasoning with an almost 5-yr-old!

Right next to our tree -- it looks like fall instead of winter!Avery posing with "our" tree, all natural!

Ready to head home (the tree farm worker actually placed the tree on the roof for me, but didn't stay to help strap it down, so I had to do that myself, too). Exactly the right height!!

Avery & I almost done decoratingAll done decorating -- ready for pictures with the photographer on Saturday (with the daylight through the french doors -- much better!)

*I spent 5 (college) summers on a US Forest Service fire crew, and when I wasn't putting out fires in the woods, I was thinning (culling sick & damaged trees) old logging units, getting them ready to burn in the spring & fall. So, this was about the 60,000th tree I have cut down, although perhaps only the 5th or so with a hand saw instead of a chainsaw.