Christmas Trees, Where Do They Come From? revisited 11/22/08

Earlier this week we were driving to see our daughter who lives "out in the country" about 15 miles west of us. I heard a helicopter as we travelled Highway 26 towards Manning. I slowed down and we saw it in the distance carrying a load from a cable suspended beneath it.

As we got closer we could see that it was ferrying bundles of Christmas trees.

They were being transported from a remote area of a tree farm where the trees were being cut, down to a work station where they were unloaded and put through a machine which enclosed them in a netting.

They were then being bundled for shipment.

We drove up a small country road to get closer and could see the tree farm.

We hoped to get a closer look but it was 3:00 and the workers shut down the operation on the dot. Typically it takes 8-10 years for this type of tree to reach harvesting size. So, if you buy a tree this year, you now have an idea of where it may have come from. In the Saturday Oregonian newspaper they had an article with these pictures describing the Christmas tree being placed in Pioneer Square, a public gathering place in downtown Portland.

That tree is 75 feet tall, weighs 7,500 pounds, and took 34 years to reach that size. Someone rightfully commented that they should plant a tree there and stop cutting one of these giants every year to put there, decorate, and watch it dry up.

pictures from The Oregonian website

We went to town a few days later and saw the tree still "under construction"

They are attaching braces and mounting brackets on additional branches.

These are then bolted onto the trunk to make the tree appear fuller.

As soon as the "construction" is competed they will add the lights and ornaments to the tree. Hope to get some more pictures then.

A Walk in the Neighborhood

We live in Aloha, Oregon - or maybe it's Beaverton, Oregon. The house address on the deed is Beaverton but the post office is Aloha. Aloha is a "census-designated unincorporated community" in Washington County http://www.alohaoregon.com/ . Beaverton is the closest "city". As you can guess, it got the name from that dam-building animal.

We haven't actually seen any but we have seen their work. We live near a watershed and park with a stream that is continually being dammed up by the critters.

That doesn't affect us but their sourcing of their dam materials does. The road behind our house was nicely landscaped with maple and oak trees about 6" in diameter. One day we went out and about 2/3 of the trees were gone and just pointed stumps left.

When we walked down to the creek area we saw that a large number of similar-sized trees had also been harvested for their dam project.

A few days later, one neighbor noted that a large tree just behind their property had been dropped and another was partially gnawed through.

The county came and cleared it out and cut other trees that might have fallen on their house if dropped by the beavers. I think the beavers were intimidated by the chain saws because they stopped work.

There are many easy to walk trails around our house, most are paved and maintained by the parks department.

Neighbors walk their dogs regularly and are encouraged to "pick-up" after the dogs; they even supply plastic bags for "waste removal".

They are very friendly and whenever they pass they pull in the dog or call it to them so as not to bother anyone. People who live along the walking trails even put out water dishes for "man's best friend".

There are playgrounds along the way for children to use

And picnic areas with tables and grills for public use

The houses lining the walk all have large decks overlooking the wooded area. You usually can see someone sunning themselves or preparing a BBQ supper

There are fruit trees all along the path; apples, pears, and a lot of blackberries

There are public tennis courts also maintained by the parks department

We try to remember to take along some stale bread to feed the ducks that are in residence at a pond along the way. They have gotten so smart that they post lookouts on a nearby fence to watch for anyone approaching

If they see any food being distributed they call the others to come, no need to waste that trip out of the water if there's nothing to eat.

They aren't scared of people and will gather around you as you are feeding them

After you've finished feeding them thay follow along for a while to be sure you don't have anything else for them

Sometimes they are joined by other feathered friends.


One day we even saw a gaggle of geese taking a rest on the local elementary school softball field during their migration

Sometimes the things observed are inanimate, like this "iron cowboy" silhouette leaning against a tree

There's obviously some meaning here that I've yet to discover

We observe all types of flowers and other growing things along the way.

A camellia that can't decide which side of the fence to grow on

Oregon Grapes that you can't eat

and Concord Grapes that you can eat - except they are in a neighbor's yard and they picked them later.

Sometimes the air takes on a yellow tinge as the pine pollen blows through the neighborhood

But later there are pine cones of all sizes and shapes to pick up for decorations and craft work

There are colorful crab apples, that taste surprisingly sweet

And "ordinary" apples, so plentiful that no one stops to pick them up

A single chestnut tree that doesn't get pollinated so the seed pods are beautiful but empty

And hazelnuts that never get a chance to mature before the squirrels eat them

Spiders of all shapes and colors await their prey

And I hope you are awaiting the next chapter in our introduction to our neighborhood.

Cookies to Share With Special Friends

Julie and Fremon will be coming to Portland to celebrate their third wedding anniversary this weekend. We met them several years ago at our daughter Stephaine's home when they were visiting her. Their combined family includes five children, Julie's three daughters and Fremon's daughter and son. Julie is a massage therapist and Fremon manages a TaeKwonDo dojo; he was formerly a semi-pro wrestler like you see on RAW. They are living in a pole barn on a 40-acre plot near Yelm, Washington while they are building a house. We got to know them a lot better this past March.

We were returning to Oregon from a trip to Taiwan. We arrived in Seattle and Stephanie met us at the airport to drive us home. After stopping for dinner along the way we stopped again near Yelm to fill up with "cheap" Washington gas. When we started to leave the station the car wouldn't start; it's an older Suburban. Stephanie tried several times but to no avail. She realized that we were within a 20 minute drive of Julie's mom's place where Julie and the girls were staying. She called them to see if we could stay there overnight, it was already 10PM. Her mom said OK, come on so Stephanie called road service to tow the car to their place. There wasn't enough room in the tow truck for three of us so Sandra and I rode with the car and Julie came to pick up Stephanie. Julie's mom Jane met us at the door and made us feel like part of the family. They had re-arranged sleeping areas so we had one of the girl's bedroom and Stephanie shared another. After a late night hot meal we went off to bed.

The next morning Stephanie went to the garage to see about having the car fixed. Long story made short, it took three days to get it running. An ordered replacement part didn't work and had to be reordered then another problem was discovered. We spent three nights there and were treated wonderfully. Our concern was the cost of the repair of the car; they had already worked on it over 15 hours. When Stephanie went to get the car, the bill was less than $200. Jane lives near Ft. Lewis and the mechanic noticed the "Disabled Veteran" tag on the car; Stephanie took a medical disability discharge from the Navy after a ship-board accident. He said, "I never charge a disabled vet more than one hour labor and parts". We were most grateful and started our journey home with uplifted hearts.

While we were staying with Julie we found out that her daughters love to eat, especially baked goods. Every time Stephanie is going to visit them we send some cake or cookies along. So, this is a report on the production of a batch of "Monster Cookies" that Sandra made for the girls. The recipe was given me by a friend and former TAS colleague Cabby Tennis. They are called Monster Cookies beause they are about 5" in diameter and one is all you can (should) eat at a time.

These are healthy cookies with only natural ingredients; a lot of fiber and heart-healthy oatmeal. OK, there is some sugar and butter too.
Raisins, walnuts, brown sugar, butter, coconut, corn flakes, rolled oats, spices, flour, chocolate chips - that's about it Remember, MONSTER cookies are BIG
The whole house smells like FAMILY
Who wants to wait for them to cool???
Patience is a virtue, or so I've been told
Now, we've learned that Julie and the whole family have the flu or something with fever and other not-so-nice symptoms and won't be coming this weekend.

Not to let good cookies go to waste we will put them in the freezer and use them for refreshments after church next week - doubt if any of the kids have seen cookies this big before.