Plants Beautiful Christmas Trees

Well the storm is coming and according to what I’ve heard we’re suppose to get between 9-13″ of snow today!  Then more tonight besides.  Sadly, due to the weather Santa and the sleigh aren’t going to make it today.  This would have been their last day here anyways, but the weather is just to menacing to send someone out on a sleigh ride.

I hope you got your chance to come out and get your ride and visit with Santa.  We will still be open today if anyone wants to come out, and if you do, drive safe.  Hwy 29 has been plowed but as of about 15 minutes ago county road 42 hadn’t and there is about 2″ on the ground.  So be safe and stay warm!

This year has been an awesome one for snow!  Seems like something has been coming out of the sky for nearly a week.  It’s been nice because there is so little at a time the roads aren’t to bad, but it’s accumulating in the field and on the ground.  I’m pretty sure we’ll have sleigh rides this weekend.

And that’s why I’m posting too.  This is our last weekend for the sleigh rides and Santa.  He’s got to get going back to the North pole to have everything read by Christmas.:)  So come out and enjoy.  I hear that the weather is suppose to continue this little bit of snow until Saturday night and then Sunday the weather will be getting a bit nastier.  But we’ll be here!  Come out and have yourself some fun and enjoy the snow!

Because the weekends are so busy this time of year, the employees usually take days off in the middle of the week.  So this week when Forest, my husband, had Wednesday and Thursday off we decided it was time to get our Christmas tree.  That and the weather was getting colder and we didn’t really want to wait until it was really cold to get a tree.  So Wednesday morning we got the house ready and then, figuring we would kill two birds with one stone, got the dogs on their leashes and started for the fields.  now it’s not really that long of a walk from our house to the Blue Spruce field, but because it was so cold (probably about -10°F with windchill) it wasn’t all that enjoyable (now I see why people drive out to the fields).  Thankfully though the sun was out and really (save for the wind) it was a beautiful day to be out walking.

We decided to get a Colorado Blue Spruce this year because our son, Michael, is one and a half and really loves the tree.  We figured that this tree is the prickliest that we grow and so would probably detour him from trying to climb the tree (or yank it down) once we set it up in the house.  We found the perfect one for the corner of the house we planned to put it in.  It’s somewhere between 8-9′ a bit thin, but I like that.  That way you can actually see the decorations.  Last year we had a White Pine (that was about the same size) and massively fat and it seemed like it swallowed up our decorations a bit.  But both are lovely.

Forest cut the tree down once we found it and our daughter, Aurora, helped to drag the tree to the road so we could come back with the car in a little while and pick it up.  We hoofed it back to the house (because of the cold).  Michael and I went inside to warm up and find decorations and Forest and Aurora drove out to the fields to collect the tree.

When they came back we got the tree stand in place and then brought the tree in.  It didn’t take long at all to get it set up and fill the stand with water.  Then came the fun part of putting on lights and putting on the ornaments.  The top third has the breakable ones and the bottom two thirds is kid friendly.:)

It’s so nice to have the tree up.  Blue Spruce aren’t as fragrant as a Frasure Fir.  But really I don’t mind.  Michael seems to stay away from the tree so we don’t have to worry about it falling on top of him.

Hurray!  Christmas is finally here!

Alrighty folks!

We’ve got snow!!  Yay!  What a fabulous time for it to snow.  According the the weather we’re not really suppose to have snow until this evening, but it’s snowing big beautiful flakes right now.  The ground a nice little blanket on it.  It’s not enough for sleigh rides yet, but in some ways that may make it more pleasant for cutting a tree.  You don’t have to tramp through to much.  Obviously it’s overcast but it still seems quite light out.  And the snow is just gorgeous!

Today and tomorrow we’re doing wagon rides (maybe sleigh rides tomorrow if this keeps up) and our photographers are there to have your pictures taken.  And Santa is there today and tomorrow from noon til 5.

I hope this snow holds out for everyone and just keeps drifting down.  It sure is beautiful and really adds to the christmas spirit.

We’ve been buzzing around here. Everyone has been getting the shop ready for the last two days. We had to fill up the greenhouse and the yard with the pre-cut trees and label them all. The wreaths were getting finished up and hung around the shop outside for display. The decorations are all up on the outside, garland and lights, so the whole thing is just bursting with the Christmas spirit! Inside everyone is bustling to get organized and ready for our first customers. Opening day is tomorrow!! (Nov. 22)

I tried to get in there to take some pictures, but it’s so busy right now. Fortunately for you though I have been getting some of our best pictures from last year in order so we can set up a gallery for you. We’re not quite there yet, but I thought I would give you a sneak peek with a few of my favorites.

The shop looking beautiful in the snow.

Mr. & Mrs. Claus having a good laugh.

Another happy family. Look at those great helpers!

She is so cute!

A nice day for a sleigh ride.

There are more to come (hopefully soon). I have just been having so much fun looking through and finding these gems that I figured you would too. Now you know what to look forward to. But remember, Santa and the sleigh rides start after Thanksgiving. Just to make sure you get in on that part of the fun. Not that coming out now wont be fun, but then you can have me take a picture of you with Santa.;) Yet, I’ll be out there for a short time to help out taking pictures. I hope to see you there!

NOTE: Thanks you to all of last years photographers and the fabulous, happy models in these pictures.:)

During the summer we get shipments of seedling trees from other nurseries so we can plant and raise them into the beautiful trees you see out in the fields. They were all so cute! And I was slightly shocked when I was told we’d be selling live christmas trees this year! “What! Who’s going to want to buy a ball & burlap (B&B) tree for christmas (though I do love the idea of a live tree)!?” I was then told that some of the little potted trees we received in our shipment we’re going to be decorated and available for people to buy. “Ohh…I get it now.” The image in my brain went from this:

to this:

“Ah yes. That’s better.”

I have been thinking about them for a while now. People have been mentioning pictures and decorations for sometime now and but I haven’t seen anything. But today when I got on the main site, there they were! Thanks Honey for getting the pictures up.:) (That’s him btw in the picture above)

As I said before I love the idea of a live tree. There is a children’s book by Eve Bunting called “Night Tree” that I have loved since I was a kid. It’s about a family that goes out into the woods on Christmas Eve and finds the perfect tree. Then instead of cutting it down they decorate it with a bunch of edible things for the local wildlife. It just gives me that warm fuzzy feeling and makes me want to do it too. We’re lucky though and happen to have…well, a tree farm out our back door (and the front for that matter) and can do it anytime we like. But people living in town might not have the same opportunity. So this is a great idea for them. Small and alive and mobile for now and can be planted when it starts getting a bit bigger. And the tradition can continue over the years as children grow and the tree grows. I love the living tree idea!

So if your interested you can check out our online shop for these trees or come and visit us in two weeks when we open.:)

It seems to me like this time of year always catches us by surprise.  There is always so much to do and so little time to do it in.  Today there is a gaggle of people working in the wreathroom, making and decorating wreaths, and making garland.  I’m sure they are pretty happy to be working inside today due to the wet and sticky snow that is building up outside.  There are a select few that are out starting to harvest trees.  Though we are a choose and cut operation mainly, we like to have some cut trees in the yard and greenhouse for those who would rather not venture into the fields.  We also have to farms and the farm that the shop is located on doesn’t have certain varieties of trees growing there, so we bring them over.  It’s quite a process to get them there as they have to be cut, bailed, loaded and then unloaded, unbailed and set up.  But it is all a part of the process.

Last weekend our fliers were in the local papers and I’ve heard people are already starting to come looking for their Christmas decorations.  I’ve been working on the mailing we send out every year.  Sticking on the labels and getting them all stamped.  It’s quite a job.  Hopefully I’ll have it done by the end of the week.

There is still work going on in the shop as well.  Trying to get everything labeled and into our new computer check out system, (it’s a nice upgrade for the elf’s I think) and then organize everything and get ready for opening.

We’re all busy as usual, but now there it’s starting to smell like Christmas with everyone working with the trees and boughs.