Month: December 2019

She got her cast off! (She broke her back leg a couple months ago).

She almost qualifies for a new label: “attack goat”. She was so happy and excited she just dove for me a few times.

Whether we are young or old, religious or not, that Christmastime magic of ornaments in the light of a tree never grows old. Most of these gems are annually on the spectacular tree that Dennis and LeRoy have, a couple are ours (I’m sure you can guess which ones).

Gallery of Trees, 2007 – 2019

In 2016, the venue changed when we moved. We still do 13′ trees that we harvest (with $10 permit) from the national forest land 25 miles up the road from us. When lack of snow allows, we go to around 5,000 feet elevation and get what locals call a ‘silver tip’ (a cross between a red and Douglas fir). In deep snow years, we get what we can get. Not sure which of the trees above was what we called the “heart attack” tree. No, we did not get heart attacks, but we said never again will we haul a giant tree up a steep hill in deep snow through dense thicket. Now we look for proximity to road, downhill, and as little snow as possible, even if it means driving up and getting the tree right after Thanksgiving. The current home also requires trees which are less dense and smaller diameter. These are usually lighter trees, which is fine by us these days.

Photo log for 2019 tree, from forest to fully decorated (below).

The Stand

To hold a heavy, 13′ tall tree, we had to come up with a suitable stand. David saw one priced at about $500 on the Internet. It looks like a great stand! However, with materials at-hand, I made our own.

Materials:

• 1 discarded, hollywood bedframe,
• 1 piece of 13″ steel pipe,
• 4 large, long bolts with matching nuts,
• 1 piece of sheet metal,
• 1 1/4″ lag bolt 3″ long
• a can of green spray paint

With an ox-acetylene torch, cut the bedframe into 4, equal lengths. Use the torch to cut the desired length of pipe and to cut a piece of sheet metal for the base and to heat the bolts to bend their ends into something like large eye-bolts for easier hand turning. With an arc-welder, weld the pipe to the sheet metal base, ensuring solid weld for no water leaks. Weld the frame to the sheet metal base to support it. Use the torch to cut four holes near the top of the pipe (at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock) to accommodate the bolts. Weld a nut onto the pipe on the backside of each bolt-hole. Weld the lag bolt upright on the sheet metal in the center of the pipe. This bolt will help keep the tree centered in the stand while the bolts are tightened. Wire-brush after welding and paint. The bolts adjust as needed to straighten tree and hold it firmly in place. It will not tip over, probably even if we climbed the tree!