Nature as Neighbors Is Great, But Trees Don't Always Cooperate
We love our home in the country, especially the towering evergreens around us that provide lush greenery and privacy. One in particular, a 40-foot Douglas fir, stands out in the front yard and can be seen from the deck and every front window in the house. It was our prime candidate for decorating this season. It has a natural "Christmas Tree" shape, and we knew that festooned with lights, it would be a dramatic beacon of hope and joy for our first season here. The challenge: how to get lights to the very top without losing life or limb (human or tree).
We put our collective heads together and came up with, what we thought, was an ingenious invention - a telescoping pole attached to the "light hanger" we had used in our previous house. I use quotes because that tool was merely a broom handle with two nails on the end - our last house wasn't that high, and it had worked fine. But we needed more height, hence the telescoping pole, stretched out to full height. We thought that, plus our 22' extension ladder would be enough.
It wasn't. Several times I stood precariously atop a ladder, with extension pole in hand, and realized I had little leverage due to canopy of the branches. Debb, using her childhood skills, decided to climb the tree causing all of great anxiety until she climbed back down to safety. ( Why didn't I get a photo?) Some of the branches were too weak for her to climb out to the ends and secure lights. Hence we moved on to plan B, or a second tree.
The second tree is more accessible in terms of height ( about 25 feet) and it has an open branch formation. Debb once again climbed the tree to secure several of the light strands and extension cords ( we think she just wants any excuse to climb trees) providing us a base of operation. The remaining light strands were placed in the branches using our extension pole. While not the first tree of choice, we think the end result is quite acceptable.
( Written by Bernie Stea - Clever Title Credit to Debb)
Show us your home for the holidays - here you go Debbie, with the story behind the lighted front yard tree.
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