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     Every year, right after Thanksgiving, Bob and I and all the kids and grandkids pack up and drive out to a Choose & Cut Christmas tree farm. It's one of the few things we all get together to do that doesn't involve sitting down at the table for a big meal.

     The first stop is always the animal pen - goat, pig, cow, horse, and a few ducks, all willing to be patted and talked to. Then we hop on a hay wagon and head out into the fields of trees.

     Although there are people all around, it is still possible to feel like we're alone in a woods seeking the perfect tree. We scatter and call back and forth to each other.
     "Here, look at this one."
     "Too tall (short, fat, thin, dorky)!"
     "Where's that other one we saw?"

     It can go on as long as we want. Walking first this way, then that. Sizing up trees, measuring, telling stories of trees past.

     When I was growing up, we always went to a farm and cut a north Texas cedar. They were horribly prickly but wonderfully fragrant, and I always wanted one about fifty feet tall. My daddy tried to explain about ceiling heights to me, but what did I care? I wanted the biggest tree we could find.

     When my kids were growing up, we usually went to the Optimist lot and picked a tree based on both height and price tag. I still wanted the biggest tree, but now it was the biggest I could afford. The kids just wanted to get home and start decorating it - and putting presents under it.

     I still like tall trees, and luckily I have tall ceilings to accommodate them. But now, more important than the tree, there is the process of getting the tree. It is fun!

     We wander through the trees, comparing, measuring, holding our arms out to gauge whether the tree will fit in its appointed space. We debate the relative merits of this tree versus that tree. We continually lose trees.

     "Where is that first one we liked?"

     Generally, these tree farms are wonderfully safe places for kids of all ages. You can run around among the trees. You can walk very slowly or take a folding chair and just stake out your vantage place. You can holler. The only vehicles around are big, slow-moving tractors or horses pulling wagons full of hay and other seekers. You can move as slowly or as quickly as you wish.

     Many tree farms offer other fun opportunities like hot cider, wreath making, picnicking, gift shops, nature walks, and petting zoos.

     Christmas tree farms are also a great source of mulch material. They all have shakers that remove loose needles from the trees. The resulting pile of needles is sometimes free for the taking. We always take bags along and fill up with this great source of mulch material. The needles are great for roses and other plants that need acid. As a bonus, they smell good.

     This year, the trees at the Choose & Cut farms around the state will not be as tall as we'd like. They won't be as bright green. You may even see dead trees in the fields. The summer drought has been hard on everyone who farms for a living in Texas, and that includes Christmas tree farmers.

     For that reason, it is even more important that we all have the fun of choosing and cutting our own trees. We need to support these local growers who provide us with such a good time, protect the wild trees that grow in the forests, and are an important part of that vanishing breed - the family farm.

     When we buy trees from Christmas tree farms, we are buying agricultural products. When we buy trees taken from northern forests, we are taking habitat and resources that would be better off staying where they are. When we buy trees from Texas tree farmers, we are ensuring that Texas agriculture will continue into the years ahead and that our kids will have the fun of taking their kids out to pet the sheep and chop down the tree.

     You'll also get the freshest tree possible. After all, it was just cut when you put saw to trunk. Those trees at the lots were cut weeks or at least days ago, and given Texas weather, they have probably been around hot temperatures for several days before they get into water.

     So, maybe the trees won't be as tall or as green as we'd prefer, but we can still have a great outing in the country, take pride in helping out our neighbors, and have a real homegrown Christmas tree!

     If you don't know where a Choose & Cut tree farm is located in your area, check out the website at
     http://agrinet. tamu.edu/forest/x-mas.html or call me and I'll mail or fax you a list.