O Tannenbaum

We got a jump start on the holiday season today and drove somewhere east of North Bend to pay an absurd amount of money to cut down a Christmas tree ourselves. Being the true PNW outdoor types that we are, we thoroughly enjoyed the ruggedness and natural beauty of the..... Christmas tree farm with ample parking and perfectly spaced rows of Douglas and Noble Furs. Did I mention the hot apple cider and Christmas cookies? It was the only way to soothe Theo after he fell in the mud three consecutive times. These falls were perhaps a bit startling but certainly not painful. We think he was most upset with the mud on his hands. So we're a little soft. But I can’t imagine hiking into the National Forrest on snow shoes with a little kid to cut down our own despite the bargain basement price of the $10 permit required to do so. Who would place our tree on a mechanical shaker to remove the loose needles? Who would provide the saw? And most importantly, who would operate the mechanical bailer that condensed our puffy Noble Fur into an aerodynamic green missile that can be easily mounted to our front wheel drive station wagon. Does the Forrest Service provide rope?

Ok, the real reason for my post. Theo told us when we were preparing for this big adventure today that he wanted an orange Christmas tree. Naturally. Not sure what planted that seed in his head but we assured him that we wouldn’t be able to find an orange one and that he should be prepared to get a green one. Well not less than 10 yards from where we parked our car we stumbled upon this little gem. And while we didn’t take it home, I am pretty sure Theo enjoyed an “I told you so” moment at our expense.