O Tannenbaum
Early Friday morning we got our first real freeze, and another light freeze is expected tonight. Then it should warm up for the rest of the week, so I plan to uncover the tender potted plants tomorrow and maybe prune back the frost-nipped basil, yellow bells, and Salvia leucantha.
The weather this past weekend was wonderfully cool, even cold at times. We were invited to a caroling party tonight, which we attended wrapped up—what a thrill!—in scarves, mittens, and hats. On Saturday, we drove to a Christmas tree farm in nearby Elgin to cut down our annual Virginia pine. Many a time we’ve wielded our saw there with sweat dripping into our eyes, wearing shorts and T-shirts. This year, to our delight, the weather was cool enough to require sweaters and jackets. It felt the way all those New England Christmas carols impress upon you from childhood that it should be. Never mind the green grass and all those autumnal brown leaves still clinging to the trees.
We brought our little tree home on the roof of our car and pulled out all the ornaments to get it decorated. Now it glows in the corner of our living room. Another chore done. But also, a pretty, pine-fragrant reminder of the beauty of the season.
It brings to mind e. e. cummings’ tender poem “little tree”:
little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower
who found you in the green forest
and were you very sorry to come away?
see i will comfort you
because you smell so sweetly
i will kiss your cool bark
and hug you safe and tight
just as your mother would,
only don’t be afraid
look the spangles
that sleep all the year in a dark box
dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,
the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,
put up your little arms
and i’ll give them all to you to hold
every finger shall have its ring
and there won’t be a single place dark or unhappy
then when you’re quite dressed
you’ll stand in the window for everyone to see
and how they’ll stare!
oh but you’ll be very proud
and my little sister and i will take hands
and looking up at our beautiful tree
we’ll dance and sing
“Noel Noel”
We have an artificial tree now, but your post reminded me times we’d cut down our own tree, making an excursion of it with kids inside the station wagon, and the tree tied on top. Your laden tree looks lovely, Pam.
Like you, we had a wide variety of weather in IL, could be sweatshirts in 55 degrees, or ski pants, knee-high boots and scarves tied over faces. I always loved the smell of a Christmas tree in the house. I’m not exactly sure where Elgin is, but some year we might like to have a live tree, and now know a place to go, thanks to you.
That poem is a lot sweeter than the story I remember from childhood – Hans Christian Anderson’s Fir Tree story, which is rather gruesome in a way!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Yes, I remember that story too. It is about as happy as “The Little Match Girl.” I much prefer e. e. cummings’ take on Xmas trees. 🙂
There are several cut-your-own tree farms in Elgin (about 30 minutes east of Austin on Hwy. 290). We’ve always gone to Nature’s Way, located on the east side of town ; you can stop for Elgin sausage at one of several restaurants on the way through town. Yum. —Pam
Lovely, all lovely.
Beautiful tree, worthy of a decorating magazine cover! And happy to hear you are enjoying the colder weather. Around here, we expect the cold weather, so it is the first snow that really brings the Christmas spirit out in everyone (as long as the snow is before Dec. 25th). After that, snow is just something to get through as best we can until spring.
Gorgeous tree and I love the poem!
What a beautiful tree!