Wind Swept Farm…

For years I’ve been trying to get myself together enough to go pick out a tree at one of those “you pick” places. It’s not quite the same as trudging through the mountains back home, but it’s close enough. Today, it was Kaitlyn’s plan to choose two trees and mine to find just the right tall skinny tree to sit in the corner of my great room.
They picked me up after church and we drove about 20 minutes toward New Hampshire to a farm that lived up to its name. As we closed the doors to Kaitlyn’s Jeep, the wind caught my breath and my church coat. After scoping out the Elf Nook, putting our names in the book, and a quick tutorial in how it works. We set out with a highlighted map into the mid-autumn sunshine. The farm sits on the top of a hill looking out over a stunning vista.
We missed the tractor-pulled cart, we walked to the top of the hill in the blustery sun. I gasped for air and wondering what would happen if I twisted my ankle, while they sauntered to the top ahead of me. Beautiful blue/gray spruces and lush green fir trees dotted the landscape. The clear blue sky was stunning, the faint moon could be seen overhead even in the middle of the day. An amazing view awaited us at the top of the hill. The world seemed to unfold at our feet with red, orange, and yellow as far as I could see.
The wind whipped all around, blowing stray leaves like confetti around us. We searched high and low for just the right trees. They were picking out the first trees for their new house, their first Christmas together. My goal was to find the perfect tree to form the centerpiece for our New England Family Christmas. This will be the first time the West Coast family has shared our traditions. I couldn’t be more excited to welcome my first grand baby and my whole family in for a celebration.
We ended our journey where we started it. This time, sipping hot cocoa in the Elf’s Nook and beginning to get in the spirit. It will be another month, or so, until we return to pick up our tree. By then there might be snow and ice as well as a fierce wind. On this day, the weather was blustery but mild in comparison. In fact, we found that the hot cocoa was better outside than in the small store. My favorite part of the whole day was Kaitlyn’s face as they dropped me off. She grinned and said… let’s do this again next year!
I think we have a tradition.
  I hope you are enjoying this exploration of simple things that make life special. This is part of the Write 31 Days challenge. Click here to follow along.