The Great Christmas Tree Hunt

 We've had a very dry November, which means that we can still drive high into the mountains. With that thought in mind, we decided to get a white fir Christmas tree this year. They grow at higher elevations than the pinyon trees we usually get, but with the snow level above 9,000 feet, it wouldn't be  hard to reach them.

It was a really windy day, but we didn't have the rain (or snow) that California and western Nevada were getting. So we kept going up, up, up in the mountains till we saw lots and lots of white firs (Abies concolor). White firs often crowd out aspen trees, so cutting them down can help the health of aspen stands. Probably our one tree didn't do that much good, but it's nice to know that we're potentially providing a little ecosystem service. 

 We conveniently found our white fir along the side of the road. No--Henry isn't peeing on it, he's peeing on the next little white fir!

 Desert Boy agreed to pose next to it before he and his Dad cut it down.

 Meanwhile I walked up the road and saw a few ominous clouds. We would really like some moisture-- it's kind of dry around here, even for a desert!

 Desert Girl was not enjoying all the wind.

 But a few words and she was smiling.

 Timber!!!

 My husband was very happy that we found an easy tree to get. I told him I was okay with going up the road and checking out every single tree, but he said he was fine with this one.

The Christmas tree I remember most as a kid was when we went out to the tree farm close to Christmas. All the normal trees had been cut, so we wandered around until we found one of the strangest, most unloved trees. We declared it ours, and took our Charlie Brown Christmas tree home. It looked weird, but we all liked it.

 Desert Girl helped me tag it. We paid $4 for the Christmas tree tag.

 Ready to take it home!

 Fortunately we have a truck now, so we don't have to cram it into the van like last year. I'm still finding needles from last year's tree!

Then it was time to decorate, which the kids loved. One of the benefits of a white fir is that it is not as pokey as pinyon pines, so it's a lot kinder to the hands for decorating. The ornaments are spaced in clumps right now, but we all think it's the perfect tree!