Christmas Tree Cutting with the Wolves
Mama Wolf learned I had never gone Christmas tree cutting before, so I was invited along to help them pick out the one for their home. The Manatees have always been strictly a tree-in-a-box kind of family, so I didn't know what to expect.
We were at their house at 8AM on Sunday and I found out we were driving roughly an hour to the farm, actually much closer to where the Manatee parents live. There were a couple of competing Christmas tree farms next to each other in the area and I found it very amusing to speculate on their rivalry.
It ended up taking quite a while to pick out the right tree. Having no experience, several of them looked fine to me, but I let them deliberate. Mr. Wolf has a record for picking out the best trees in previous years and that's what ended up happening this year too. Poor Wolfie though. The trunk was full of sharp needles and his hands ended up getting cut up a bit.
They asked me if I wanted to take a turn sawing at the trunk. I think Mama Wolf is so not used to having a girl around regularly that she assumed I wouldn't want to get dirty. But that's not really me. They had a plastic tarp to lay on and so I got on my back and started trying to move the saw. Only I couldn't get it to budge, not a millimeter. Best Man N (who is as close to being in the Wolf family as you can be without being related) tried to help me by grabbing the other side to help get it going, but the saw was old and not very sharp. In the end, I let N handle most of it. I figured that was enough to have the experience. I ended up with a small burr in my hair. I'm still a tree-in-a-box girl.
We rode back to the front on essentially a bare hay wagon. I wrapped my arms around an upright post so I could stand and look at the farm around me. Mr. Wolf stood next to me. I could tell he was a little frustrated that the decision had taken quite a while.
After they wrapped the tree up in twine, Mr. Wolf, with surprisingly little effort, hoisted it onto his shoulder and started toward the car. I'll tell you, this Manatee was pretty impressed. Sometimes I forget how strong and broad shouldered he actually is compared to average.
What do I think about cutting a Christmas tree, now that I've done it? It seemed like just an additional stress and object of contention. You gotta take care of it and clean up after it. You don't have to do that with a tree-in-a-box. I probably wouldn't want to deal with it in my own home.
We were at their house at 8AM on Sunday and I found out we were driving roughly an hour to the farm, actually much closer to where the Manatee parents live. There were a couple of competing Christmas tree farms next to each other in the area and I found it very amusing to speculate on their rivalry.
It ended up taking quite a while to pick out the right tree. Having no experience, several of them looked fine to me, but I let them deliberate. Mr. Wolf has a record for picking out the best trees in previous years and that's what ended up happening this year too. Poor Wolfie though. The trunk was full of sharp needles and his hands ended up getting cut up a bit.
They asked me if I wanted to take a turn sawing at the trunk. I think Mama Wolf is so not used to having a girl around regularly that she assumed I wouldn't want to get dirty. But that's not really me. They had a plastic tarp to lay on and so I got on my back and started trying to move the saw. Only I couldn't get it to budge, not a millimeter. Best Man N (who is as close to being in the Wolf family as you can be without being related) tried to help me by grabbing the other side to help get it going, but the saw was old and not very sharp. In the end, I let N handle most of it. I figured that was enough to have the experience. I ended up with a small burr in my hair. I'm still a tree-in-a-box girl.
We rode back to the front on essentially a bare hay wagon. I wrapped my arms around an upright post so I could stand and look at the farm around me. Mr. Wolf stood next to me. I could tell he was a little frustrated that the decision had taken quite a while.
After they wrapped the tree up in twine, Mr. Wolf, with surprisingly little effort, hoisted it onto his shoulder and started toward the car. I'll tell you, this Manatee was pretty impressed. Sometimes I forget how strong and broad shouldered he actually is compared to average.
What do I think about cutting a Christmas tree, now that I've done it? It seemed like just an additional stress and object of contention. You gotta take care of it and clean up after it. You don't have to do that with a tree-in-a-box. I probably wouldn't want to deal with it in my own home.
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