The Tree Is Up

My holiday tree is actually a tree that I keep outside during the warmer days, and then bring inside for the cold ones. It's a Norfolk Island Pine tree, and I've had it for about 4 years. I bought it at Lowes Hardware in Philadelphia and of course it made the trip up here to Maine with me. I suspect it will have far more indoor days in Orono than it did in Philly, but as long as it's living, it will always be my holiday tree.

You're probably asking, "Hey TFKoP, if you live in Maine, why don't you just go cut down a tree for the holidays? Aren't there a lot of trees in Maine you could chop down?" And the answer is 'yes', I could go chop one down. But why would I? This one is great, and it continues to remain healthy. I do need to get some kind of skirt to cover up the plant pot. Any suggestions?

Once this winter season is over, I am going to move the tree to a bigger pot, and that will be the last transplant it will go through. Once it's in its new pot, I will then have to keep the top of the tree trimmed so that it will stop its upward growth. I figure I'll let it get to about a 5 foot height (it's currently just over 3 feet tall) and then I'll trim the top to keep it at that height.

Of course a holiday tree cannot stand alone, so I went ahead and treated myself to an early present to keep under it and bought myself a complete set of Ryobi powertools. The combo purchase will add to my previously purchased Ryobi drill (12Volt). Included in this tool purchase:

1. reciprocating saw

2. finish sander

3. circular saw

4. 2-speed drill

5. shop vacuum

6. radio

7. 2 18-Volt batteries

8. the battery charger

9. tool bag

The whole purchase was worth it just for the radio! haha!

My tree's up, and I've got tools. Hmmm...that gives me an idea: maybe I'll just build everybody something for the holiday this year. Of course, I have no idea how to really use any of them, so the gifts might be end up being fireplace fuel. So, in a sense,I guess that would make my gifts "house WARMING gifts"! haha! Oh, I sleigh me! haha! Get it? Sleigh = slay!

Yeah...I love this holiday...and I'm an atheist!

Check Out The Size of My....

...front-yard tree! Wait...what did you think I was going to say? OMG! You pervert.....

This tree was planted by my dad and his brothers and sisters...my aunts and uncles...when they were teenagers. So right around the time that mankind was making the switch to paper from stone tablets. hahaha! I kill me.

Actually, I guess it might've been closer to the early 1960s. They dug the tree up from the bank of the Penobscot River right across the street from the house they were living in, which I now own. Look at how huge it is!

And comparatively, that's one small house right below it. **gulp**

There's a Tree

There's a tree growing in my backyard that is a fir tree. It's a nice piece of nature's work, standing about 7 feet tall and very full. Nothing too odd about that, right, since Maine is very wooded, eh?

I also have a pine tree growing in my backyard. This is not odd since Maine is full of pine trees, thus giving Maine its "Pine Tree State" nickname.

Here's what IS odd: the pine tree is growing OUT OF the fir tree! Yeah, you heard me: the pine tree is growing out of the fir tree.




How did this happen? I can only imagine that a seed from a nearby pine tree must've somehow found its way into a crack in the fir's bark a bunch of years ago, and was actually able to take root in the fir trees' trunk. And now, oh I don't know, 6 years later or so, the pine tree is the uppermost part of the fir/pine combo. Even more wacky thing is that the pine tree part is actually mature enough that it is producing cones!!!

So I'm not sure what to do. Do I let this oddity of nature continue to grow as it is with the fir and pine as one unit? Or do I chop down the pine tree portion so the fir can thrive as a single unit? There are certainly plenty of pine trees around, but is there a fir/pine? I think I'll keep it. We'll see what happens.

For now, however, I'm waiting to see what The Churning has to say about my post dealing with wood, cracks, seeds and fir....