Christmas Trees being loaded into a friends pickup truck

Christmas Trees being loaded into a friends pickup truck

It was supposed to be Christmas Tree Monday but Mother Nature intervened. So it turned into Christmas Tree Tuesday!

Yesterday, Mary and I, with a group of friends, traveled to Danby Vermont to harvest Christmas Trees. All told, we fresh cut 5 trees at the Smokey House Center in Danby Vermont. 3 of the trees, including the one for the inn, stood almost 20 feet tall at the farm. The others were a demure 8 feet.

The Smokey House Center in Danby is an interesting organization. It is designed as a 5000 acre outdoor classroom to teach farming, forestry and ecological research to middle and high school students. Farm products are raised under the auspices of the Smokey House Youthwork Program... a hands-on, work based learning program for area teenagers. Year-round, Smokey House teaches farming and forestry activities. In the process, they grow vegetables, blueberries, and Christmas trees, make charcoal and maple syrup, raise livestock and market these products to the community.

The Christmas Tree we cut down for the inn trimmed out at just under 14 feet when we raised it in the Great Room at the inn. Mary will be working all this week to decorate it. This years decor will be traditional featuring multicolored lights and heirloom ornaments.

The Christmas Tree at the Birch Ridge Inn will be on display in the inn's Great Room through the early New Year.....let it snow!