A New Tradition...

DH loves Christmas Trees. Who doesn't, right? I mean, I love them and all too but more in theory than in practice. They smell great, look great and are surely festive but man, are they messy. Plus, there's the whole fire hazard element but we won't go there. That's exactly enough of the Bah Humbug spirit!

Since we decided to stay local this year, I insisted we take advantage of the local trade and chop down our own from one of the many Christmas tree farms in Sonoma County. 

There's more Christmas tree farms than you'd know what to do with out in West County. How DH landed on Frosty Mountain Farms was beyond me. All the same, we arrived an hour before sunset and were directed to grab a saw and dolly and be on our way.

With over 12 acres of trees, most of which are Douglas Firs, there was a lot of ground to cover before the sun dropped completely. While walking up and down the field of trees, DH declared, "Wherever we are, let's make this a yearly tradition". I concurred.

There were loads of winning trees but we set our hearts on a smaller tree with several pine cones near the top because really, who can resist a Christmas tree with its own pine cones in it!? 

(No one is the answer)

DH set to sawing it down, a task we both reconciled would be extremely difficult but in reality was surprisingly effortless. At $7.50 a foot, our hand-sawed Douglas Fir was just under $40. 

To the first of many family traditions to come!