Tidings of the Season

Haven't had much time to write this past week.  Been on vacation all week getting ready for the holidays.  The tree farm has kept us busy, it is fun and very demanding all at the same time.  People always ask how long it takes the trees to grow tall enough to be an average size Christmas tree; they are always surprised when they learn it takes a minimum of seven years from seedling to harvest.  Pictured is the cross section of a con color fir that was between 5 and 6 feet.  You can see the growth rings, but sadly you can't smell the sharp wood-sy scent.  I save these little tree biscuits and plop them in a stove top pot of water; the fragrance is heart warming and I often carry one in my coat pocket.  Every now and then I'll pull it out, put it to my nose, close my eyes and inhale deeply.  Oh how I love that smell.  These trees can grow 12 to 18 inches per season, but they require a lot of water.  People seem to have it in their heads that Christmas tree farms are huge money makers.  We will make enough to pay the property taxes and the expenses with maybe a little bit left over; for us it's more of a hobby and a way to keep the trees growing on this land.

 

We spent Monday and Tuesday in Spokane and the drive was spectacular.  Hundreds of miles of wheat farms lie between the city and my home, with only a handful of small towns between.   It is beautiful any time of the year, but especially at this time when the wheat fields are blanketed in snow.  The pictures say it all.

 

 

A wheat farm in contrast.  The first, taken in August; the latter, in December.

As always, lots of blue, blue skies.  :)  Gotta love those blue skies.