November 20, 2009 In the Pines

So, a pine tree may not be the ideal tree you think of for a Christmas tree. Fir trees are the standard these days... as they are readily available and shipped in from NC and VA. However, before the advent of the massive home store retailers and nursery/greenhouses offering trees for sale, most people had to go out and cut one down, so, it goes to reason that you cut down what was available in your local area. For instance, when Mother was growing up they always had a pine tree, not sure of the variety, but my grandfather went out into the marshy woods along side the swampy Savannah River. From what I hear, he set out with an axe and came back with a Christmas tree, home/locally grown, natural, and free. From this pics, these naturally grown pines can offer some difficult decorating challenges... few branches, long and up swept branches, extremely long needles, and often crocked trunks. All these things might give us pause these days when decorating. But, when having a tree in the house for the holidays, really does it matter if it's not perfectly shaped and grown on a picturesque snowy hillside in Virginia? No, these days, I am for "the homey-er, the better" look in a tree, and accept the decorating challenges. It makes me feel like I am being a part of the past when we go out and cut down our pine tree. It's one of the ways that Christmas has become more of a special time of the year for us. Again, I am going to post the picture from my mother's childhood home in Port Wentworth, back in 1950, one of those pine trees that Granddaddy cut down with his axe from the woods aside the Savannah River.

Days til we go get our tree............. 8!