Will this Christmas Tree measure up?

Will this Christmas Tree measure up?

Hunting in Vermont is done with many weapons. Some people use guns, I use a ruler! For today was our annual trip into the woods to go hunting for the perfect Christmas tree to adorn the great room of our inn at Killington. My partner, Mary, and I always try to pick a nice fall day to go out into the woods to look for the annual tree. And today was just beautiful. Temperatures were in the warm 60's, moderate sunshine, a nice breeze... just perfect to find the right tree.

After walking around a grove of trees for about an hour, we identified this years candidate. It stands 23 feet, beside a corn field, in a town to the north west of Killington, on property owned by casual acquaintances who let us take a tree each year. When it is trimmed out, we expect the tree will stand 16 to 17 feet. Of course we will not really know how big it is until we cut it and bring it back to the inn after Thanksgiving.

The tree this year will be decorated in a silver and white motif with crystal ornaments. For those reading this who do not know us, each year we alternate between a crystal tree and a traditional colored ornament tree. This practice dates back to when we first purchased the property to convert it into the Birch Ridge Inn in 1997. Prior to that, we had 2 christmas trees in our home; the crystal tree in our foyer, and the colored ornament tree in our family room. In moving to the inn, we decided to have one large tree in our great room, and alternate styles on different years. If all goes well, this years Christmas tree will be at the inn and decorated the first weekend in December.