Somewhat Normal...29º

Our little Christmas tree has been placed back in its bag, carried upstairs and stowed away in the closet for another year...Never thought I would be happy with anything but a real tree, but as the years move on anything that is simple is okay with me...I miss the fragrant smell of a fresh tree when it first comes into the house but I don't miss cleaning up pine needles for several months after it is gone...

Christmas trees bring back memories of Lake Fork...Mom was always very particular about our yearly tree...She seldom went with us to pick it out so as trees were plentiful Daddy would bring back at least three trees for her to pick from...Mona and I got an outing on the bob sleigh as we dressed in warm winter clothing, helped hitch the horses and with a flick of the reins away we went...Bert and Dick (our team of work horses) seemed to know the way as Daddy skillfully guided them along a snow covered road into the forest...Arriving back home, Mom would choose the best tree and Daddy would nail 2X4's on it for a base and haul it into the house...The tree skirt was a white sheet draped around the bottom, lights were strung and she alone decorated it with ornaments collected over the years, a special angel perched on top...Icicles were placed on last, one by one and we could help with that carefully placing them on the lower branches...I always loved the tree at night, lit up, with all other lights turned off....Oh the magic of Christmas....OWAV:)

Ponderosa Pine