O Christmas Tree

 I feel like today was the culmination of many years of preparation. From back in the '90's when I was so honoured to have a Mother Hubbard coat made for me in the Arctic to my recent acquisition of winter boots that are weather rated to -40, I had all the gear to hunt down a Christmas tree during a frigid Arctic air mass. My Mother Hubbard coat is the absolute warmest coat that I have. When you look at it you do not think it could handle extreme temperatures at all as it is not heavy or thick.  But the double layers of wool felt undercoat with the cotton overcoat somehow creates a warm air barrier that will leave you sweating unless you are wearing it in extreme cold. At a bare minimum, I need a -40 windchill to wear this coat! It was the perfect day for it today. 

So clad in snow pants, Mother Hubbard and  -40 boots and with a buck saw in hand, I trudged into the forest on my own in search of the elusive tree. Usually I am part of a group of people  in search of the tree while fulfilling my role as principle photographer and actively avoiding the job of actually cutting down the tree.  This year I was relishing the idea of a solo adventure into the woods. I was warm and it was peaceful in the forest. As the sun was setting on this solstice day, I settled on a tree that was not perfectly shaped but it was bushy enough.  Best of all  it was a tree that was going to need to be culled anyway this spring so I did not feel like I was removing a piece of the forest that should remain and grow. The buck saw and I went to work and even though I despise cutting with a hand saw and had a brief moment in which I dearly missed my chainsaw, I got that tree down. 

I love the winter solstice. For me it has always represented a turning point when the sun will start to show its face for longer and longer each day as we move toward the new growth of spring. It is intended to be a time of great stillness. A time to rest and reflect. I felt that stillness today as I sat in the snow in the forest beside my recently felled tree. Despite the cold I was toasty warm and I watched the orange glow of the setting sun as it sank beneath a wintery white horizon. Afterward I trudged home dragging the tree behind me in the snow.  This tree is not our typical stout bushy Christmas tree but I am pleased to have found it. And I imagine that it is pleased to have been found as I am sure it never dreamt that it would ever get picked to be a Christmas tree.  Tomorrow in the new light of the day that will be a teensiest bit longer than the day before, we will decorate our forest tree so that it can shine with the season and into the new year.