The Demo Site

Every December I struggle with the age-old Christmas tree question, but this year I think I finally answered it!. Artificial? Live? Cut? Fake trees emit toxic phthalates into your Yule-tide-cheer-filled home but can be reused forever. Live trees can be transplanted, but they often dry out in a warm living room and if they don't die, you'll still need a place to plant it. Cut trees around Santa Fe often benefit a local charity, but they are trucked in from an unorganic farm in Oregon. Even when we walk the thing home, the carbon footprint associated with this tannenbaum is gargantuan. Fortunately, cut trees let you compost their acid-laden needles, and that’s good news for our alkaline soils.

When we didn’t have kids, a sprig of rosemary worked great for a tree, but two little boys later the question becomes, “What’s a non-Grinchy daddy to do?”

This year we carpooled with some friends, paid $10 for a permit, and drove up the eastern slope of the Pecos River. Their front-wheel-drive minivan needed chains for the last half-hour of the climb, but pretty soon three grown-ups and four kids all piled out, suited up, and headed upslope armed with a short bow saw and some hand pruners. Not only did we have an awesome time communing with nature, we found two fabulous trees --not “perfect” but packed with the kind of character that towers over perfection every time.

Sometimes we have “Eureka” moments. I suppose this one was more of a “Hallelujah!”