By Mike Isbell
University of Georgia

I guess everyone has a favorite Christmas memory. The hike through the woods to get a tree was mine.

We lived on a farm in north Georgia in Jackson County. Our nearest neighbors were about a half-mile away on an adjoining farm. I could look in any direction and see nothing but fields and trees. And if I got in just the right spot I could look north and see the mountains.

It was a perfect place to grow up.

My dad had planted about an acre of eastern red cedars on a hill on the north side of our farm. Each Christmas, my mom and dad, my two sisters and I and whatever old dogs we had at the time made the long hike through the woods and across a couple of creeks to where the red cedars grew.

Thrill of the hunt

Just getting there was fun. Our old dogs, always sniffing the ground and chasing something, scouted our route in front of us. If they ever started barking, I just had to go see what they'd found. Most of the time, what they found was of interest just to them.

Eventually we'd arrive at the hillside, which overlooked a small, rocky stream lined with native rhododendrons and mountain laurel, and we all split up to find the perfect tree. There was hardly ever a perfect tree. But it really didn't matter. Just getting there was what was fun.

Once we could all agree on the tree to cut, Dad would take a small hatchet, which I still have, and cut down the tree.

Now, getting to the hillside where the trees were planted was fun. But getting the tree back through the woods and across the creeks was not fun.

Drudging trudging

I always got stuck carrying the cut end of the tree, which was terribly sticky with sap. Needles, little pieces of bark, dirt and all kinds of things stuck to my hands. It was also the heavy end.

And I could no longer run and see what the dogs were after.

Once we got home, Dad would saw the bottom of the tree off straight and stand the tree in a bucket of water outside until we brought it into the house.

Our tree stand was the bucket. And it was always my job to keep the cut end of the tree in water in the bucket. It was many years before we had a real, honest-to-goodness tree stand.

The fresh-tree trick

Dad knew back then -- and it's still important today -- to keep the Christmas tree as fresh as possible. The way to do that is to always make a fresh cut on the bottom of the tree trunk just before you place it in the tree stand and then never let it run out of water.

If the tree stand runs out of water, the trunk bottom will begin to seal. Then the tree will take up less water or stop taking up water at all.

If the tree isn't taking up water, it will dry out. And a dry tree is a fire hazard. If something ignites it, it can be a huge torch within seconds.

A well-cared-for Christmas tree should last the entire holiday season. And with it should come lasting memories of loved ones and family.

(Mike Isbell is the Heard County Extension Coordinator with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)