oregon christmas requirement

When I first moved to Oregon 12 years ago, I was on a "limited income" so to speak. Anyway, as Christmas approached and the 4 of us who lived together were discussing Christmas decorating plans for our apartment, I made the comment,"Well, we don't need to get a Christmas tree." To which they all promptly replied, "What?!" in a mix of shock and bewilderment. My next line was even better: "Well, they're really expensive." We sorted out a little bit of what I expected a tree to cost ($80 or so for a real one), and then they said, "Shelly, this is OREGON. Trees don't cost $80." I conceded in the matter and actually picked up a tree for us from school -- $15.

I do enjoy the whole real Christmas tree thing, but I'm still pretty clueless about tree details that Oregonians have distinct opinions about. I think native northwesterners who move to other parts of the country or world must experience more than a little shock when they discover how unique their tree experience is. Other people just don't drive past Christmas tree farms on a daily basis.

In our 4 christmas tree seasons since getting married, we have yet to actually purchase a tree. We won free trees in drawings the first two, didn't bother because we'd be out of town last year, and were kindly invited to help ourselves to one off someone's property this year. I have to say, they've all been beautiful trees - lush, fragrant, dark green. It is a pretty fantastic treat.

I'm adding some pictures of the farm we got ours from for those of you who don't know the experience. We cut ours down last Sunday. Nia joined us in the truck (small space, two people, big dog - it's pretty comical), and it was pouring rain. Sadly, while we happily collected a tree in the pouring rain, the same storm was flooding the Oregon Coast. (FYI the last picture features a silhouette of Nia's head - John thinks she was pretty excited to check out the tree)