oh! tannenbaum.

This year we decided to try a Christmas tree farm about 45 minutes away in Ft. Osage, Missouri. It was a lovely drive, and when we got out there it didn't take us long to choose a hilariously chubby-but-yet-beautiful Scotch pine. It was bitterly cold, so we wasted no time cutting it down and dragging it back to the check-out area of the farm. Unfortunately, our tree was SO chubby, that it became stuck in the "bagging machine" - the device that tightly wraps fresh trees in a mesh bag to make them easier to transport. It was so very stuck that it could not be pulled back out or pushed forward. The family that operates the farm was at a loss, trying different things, nothing working. And in the meantime, about a dozen other families had all arrived and selected trees, but no one could leave, as our tree was literally stopping up the operation. It became quite a little party, with all these families standing around the bonfire to keep warm, throwing out suggestions, criticisms and encouragement. Finally some brute-force and a pickup truck pulled the tree through the machine. We assumed it would be a loss, as it had taken quite a beating, but it looked alright, and the tree farm family assured us that if it turned out to be damaged, they would bring us a replacement tree. So, we took our chances and brought it home, removed it from it's bag, and lo and behold, it was gorgeous. A little scraped up on some of it's lower limbs, but nothing broken. Of course, it is SO chubby that we had to move all the furniture out of our library to make room for the tree, but it looks lovely, and it makes us smile every time we pass it.

Thanks to Ft Osage Christmas for making this Christmas tree one to remember!