By Mike Isbell
University of Georgia
I guess everyone has a favorite Christmas memory. The hike
through the woods to get a tree was mine.
We lived on a farm in north Georgia in Jackson County. Our
nearest neighbors were about a half-mile away on an adjoining
farm. I could look in any direction and see nothing but fields
and trees. And if I got in just the right spot I could look north
and see the mountains.
It was a perfect place to grow up.
My dad had planted about an acre of eastern red cedars on a hill
on the north side of our farm. Each Christmas, my mom and dad, my
two sisters and I and whatever old dogs we had at the time made
the long hike through the woods and across a couple of creeks to
where the red cedars grew.
Thrill of the hunt
Just getting there was fun. Our old dogs, always sniffing the
ground and chasing something, scouted our route in front of us.
If they ever started barking, I just had to go see what they’d
found. Most of the time, what they found was of interest just to
them.
Eventually we’d arrive at the hillside, which overlooked a small,
rocky stream lined with native rhododendrons and mountain laurel,
and we all split up to find the perfect tree. There was hardly
ever a perfect tree. But it really didn’t matter. Just getting
there was what was fun.
Once we could all agree on the tree to cut, Dad would take a
small hatchet, which I still have, and cut down the tree.
Now, getting to the hillside where the trees were planted was
fun. But getting the tree back through the woods and across the
creeks was not fun.
Drudging trudging
I always got stuck carrying the cut end of the tree, which was
terribly sticky with sap. Needles, little pieces of bark, dirt
and all kinds of things stuck to my hands. It was also the heavy
end.
And I could no longer run and see what the dogs were after.
Once we got home, Dad would saw the bottom of the tree off
straight and stand the tree in a bucket of water outside until we
brought it into the house.
Our tree stand was the bucket. And it was always my job to keep
the cut end of the tree in water in the bucket. It was many years
before we had a real, honest-to-goodness tree stand.
The fresh-tree trick
Dad knew back then — and it’s still important today — to keep
the Christmas tree as fresh as possible. The way to do that is to
always make a fresh cut on the bottom of the tree trunk just
before you place it in the tree stand and then never let it run
out of water.
If the tree stand runs out of water, the trunk bottom will begin
to seal. Then the tree will take up less water or stop taking up
water at all.
If the tree isn’t taking up water, it will dry out. And a dry
tree is a fire hazard. If something ignites it, it can be a huge
torch within seconds.
A well-cared-for Christmas tree should last the entire holiday
season. And with it should come lasting memories of loved ones
and family.
(Mike Isbell is the Heard County Extension Coordinator with
the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.)
