Picking out the family Christmas tree is a big deal. One wrong move and it could be coal in your stocking – and you’ll be the family pariah around the holidays, and nobody wants that.
If you want to make sure you don’t end up in the Christmas dog house, go to Rossview Farm and cut down your own tree.
When you buy a pre-cut tree, there are some advantages, like not having to cut it down, for one. But you also don’t know much about the tree – maybe this one was buried under a snowbank in northern Canada for the last four years, or maybe it has an active bird’s nest inside it.
When you cut down your own tree, you know exactly where it came from and how it got to your house. You also can leave with the satisfaction of knowing that you’re a real woodsman (or woman) now, a burly lumberjack capable of felling entire forests. Or you can just go home knowing that you finally got a Christmas tree.
I had never cut down my own Christmas tree before, so I was excited to give it a try at Rossview (after my colleague wrote up a beautiful description of the operation last week).
I brought the family along so we could make a group decision on the tree, of which there were hundreds to choose from. Aimee carried the bow saw (provided) while I carried the baby.
After a good 20 minutes of very chilly browsing (19-month-old Julia said “It’s cold” on more than one occasion), we settled on a nice tree, about 7 feet tall.
Tree selected, I got down on the ground and started cutting. The blade went through the first half like a hot knife in butter, but then it got a little tougher as the sap accumulated.
After about 6 or 7 minutes of cutting, the tree was down. Right as it fell, the tractor came by to pick it up and bring it up front for us – a nice amenity, considering it would have been about 300 yards of dragging otherwise.
At checkout, I took advantage of a free cup of cocoa, sorely needed after the nippy ordeal. Then, I grabbed some string and tied it to the roof, homeward bound.
It was a great time overall, and you should go try it!
