Today we drove north to Bob's Hardware in Preston, Idaho to buy a $10 Christmas tree cutting permit. On the way there Brandon and I rationalized the heinous act we were about to perpetrate. The forest
needs thinning, right? And by carefully selecting and removing a young subalpine fir for our Christmas tree we would be reducing the fire hazard and helping the critter-friendly undergrowth of the forest to flourish (wait a minute - aren't those two ideas in conflict with one another? Yeah, probably. So they cancel each other out, right? Yeah, probably.). In the end we immersed ourselves in a head-in-the-sand sense of giddy excitement and pressed on into
Cub River Canyon. We ended up at a campground, where we parked and then hiked ~1 mile into the forest. We forgot to grab the baby-hauler (backpack) on our way out the door, so Brandon and I took turns carrying our happy 24-pound sack of potatoes, aka Gavin. Gavin seemed to really love being outside and surrounded by snow and he had a huge smile on his face for the whole hike in. Joie and Brody were ecstatic to be in the mountains and able to freely romp and play. Eventually we found "the one". I choked back my moral fortitude, fired up the camera, and documented the butchery as Brandon sawed our beloved tree down. I set Gavin down in the snow while Brandon was sawing. He was curious and happy at first, but then realized that his hands were freezing cold. Once he was wrapped back up in the blanket and headed back down the trail in Mommy's arms he regained his happy disposition. We are home now and our tree is sitting outside in a bucket of water. I hope it likes its new home in Hyrum. In a month or two it'll be hauled off and sunk into a local body of water to provide vital fish habitat. Right? Yeah, probably.
Today we drove north to Bob's Hardware in Preston, Idaho to buy a $10 Christmas tree cutting permit. On the way there Brandon and I rationalized the heinous act we were about to perpetrate. The forest needs thinning, right? And by carefully selecting and removing a young subalpine fir for our Christmas tree we would be reducing the fire hazard and helping the critter-friendly undergrowth of the forest to flourish (wait a minute - aren't those two ideas in conflict with one another? Yeah, probably. So they cancel each other out, right? Yeah, probably.). In the end we immersed ourselves in a head-in-the-sand sense of giddy excitement and pressed on into Cub River Canyon. We ended up at a campground, where we parked and then hiked ~1 mile into the forest. We forgot to grab the baby-hauler (backpack) on our way out the door, so Brandon and I took turns carrying our happy 24-pound sack of potatoes, aka Gavin. Gavin seemed to really love being outside and surrounded by snow and he had a huge smile on his face for the whole hike in. Joie and Brody were ecstatic to be in the mountains and able to freely romp and play. Eventually we found "the one". I choked back my moral fortitude, fired up the camera, and documented the butchery as Brandon sawed our beloved tree down. I set Gavin down in the snow while Brandon was sawing. He was curious and happy at first, but then realized that his hands were freezing cold. Once he was wrapped back up in the blanket and headed back down the trail in Mommy's arms he regained his happy disposition. We are home now and our tree is sitting outside in a bucket of water. I hope it likes its new home in Hyrum. In a month or two it'll be hauled off and sunk into a local body of water to provide vital fish habitat. Right? Yeah, probably. 
1 comment:
So glad you were able to get a permit this year!
next year i'll remember to grab you guys one when we get ours!
:)
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