Saturday Pics and Decs

While it was hard to get focused yesterday after the whole "GOAL" event happened, I did manage to execute a portion of my to do list.  I was able to take a few pix on my walk, which was satisfying to say the least.  I am hoping that I can walk again today with my camera in the snow- seems like it will be a good photo opportunity.  But that is a Sunday thing, so let's not get ahead of ourselves.

The walk resulted in some Stone House photos from the other side of the house- I am sort of running out of view points, as I can't go into the house. Floor is a bit dicey and that would be bad to end up unexpectedly in the basement!  So I went for the north side and I won't be taking pix there for a while..... unless I can get a "BIG SNOW" pic, which I am still sort of lacking.  At any rate, it was a gorgeous, cold day and I got a great walk in.

Stone house, hidden

Blinded by the light

North side

View of the northside of the house- look how tall that is!

After grocery shopping, and sending the MA off to the feed store to get poor old Jac some dinner, I started looking for, finding, and decorating my wreaths and roping!  I love having my deck zhushed up with lights and ribbons and such, so it is a delight to do this.  I have had the lights up for a week, but it really needed the finishing touches.  When I finally found my ribbon, which was basically hidden in plain sight, I found a lot of roll ends.  I decided to be a little different this year and deliberately use several different designs on the roping.  The wreaths match, but the rest is eclectic.  I like the way it looks, actually. It appeals to the pointedly asymmetrical, random side of me.   I am quite sure this is going to bother the more organized, linear people in my family **coughFredandJon** but they will get used to it.  *grin*

I didn't quite get the entire deck cleaned and swept, but I have a feeling the snow will  take care of that!

I like to add some sort of decoration to my wreaths, but I am not one to overdo it.  So this year, I had cut some sort of conifer branches when the MA cut down dead trees in the yard, and saved them for this purpose.  To go with, we got some red twig dogwood from the sheep ranchers and I cut some of my perennial grasses from the flower garden.  Bundle these all together, tie on a generous, colorful bow and you have a northwoods wreath!

Bundle of branches

Applying the decorations- I am looking pretty stylish, eh?  

Almost done

I love the way this turned out.

Rawr

In other news, I was able to get out part of my rocking horse collection and get some put up here and there, and begin decorating my mini tree.....  more Christmas things will come out today and most importantly all those boxes MUST be removed from my hall way!  So it is up to me to finish this job today!!

I've been collecting rocking horses/carousel horse ornaments for a long time, now, I like reacquainting myself with them each year.

So while I am waiting to see what Caesar* will bring today, I am going to be finding my joy in the holidays.  Happy Hanukah to my friends who celebrate that, and may you all find and give joy today.

Frost on the foliage

Fresh eggs

My beautiful buddy

*The weather channel has decided it has to name winter storms!  HAHAHAHA- we northerners make fun of people like that.  For us it is just a slow trip into town

Wreaths and roping and Christmas trees

You may remember the Sheep Ranch that I visit occasionally- it is certainly one of my favorite places to take pictures.  Those sheep are so dang adorable.

I am king of the WOOOOORLD

The Sheep Ranch has another business associated with it, one that Paul and Judy have been doing a long, long time, and that is the Christmas evergreen business that they run.  These sheep ranchers also grow Christmas trees and make wreaths and roping and a bunch of other similar things.  It is something the MA has helped them out with for several years.  He does a variety of things including helping to bundle the Christmas trees.  I don't have a lot of in action pictures of him or anyone else, as most of the workers were doing other things.  But I thought that my non-northern friends might enjoy seeing this.  It is an industry that seems to be unique to the Northwoods of Wisconsin, and I should imagine other northern tier states as well. If you are from the south  or the east,  or where have you, don't yell at me because I don't know that your area makes wreaths, too.  How am I to know?  Lol.  I know I was unaware of this when I moved up here 30 years ago and I was just from southern Wisconsin!

The Christmas trees shown here are sold in the Chicago area, I believe.  They will get loaded onto a semi trailer sometime soon and be hauled down to where they will be sold by a retailer.  There are people here who plant and harvest Christmas trees every year from their property.  Lots of work occurs in the spring and summer, with the planting of new trees, sizing the ones ready for harvest, pruning them all, etc.  I think that from the planting time to harvest is in the neighborhood of  7 - 10 years.  I could be estimating that a little low.

The roped bundles are the cut boughs.

Wreaths of various sizes

Roping on the left made with white pine and wreaths of various sorts

Another view of wreaths, bough bundles in front, young Christmas trees way behind

There is similar transportation for the wreaths and roping and the pinetips that are bundled for florists to use in holiday arrangements.  It is amazing to see the stacks and stacks of yuletide decorations laying around the yard.  Any type of evergreen decoration starts it's life as boughs- branches- and a secondary cottage industry here is bough cutting.  People go on their own land and also public lands to cut the branches of the balsam and other evergreens.  A good wreath will have about 5 pounds or more of boughs in it... that is a lot of cutting!  Not every Christmas tree farmer makes wreaths and not every wreath maker has trees- but Paul and Judy do it all and then some.

Here is some of the interior of the little building in which they do the wreath construction- Most important for everyone is the wood stove that keeps everyone toasty.

Next are the stations for making the wreaths, roping and some of the raw materials that go into it.

Wreath rings- what the boughs are attached to

The important parts of the process.  Except the wreath wire is gone

Stacked, finished wreaths and trimmings in front of them

Judy makes HUGE wreaths as well as smaller ones

One of the wreath work stations- the board nailed up on the right hand side holds the wire in place as they work

Boxes of wreath wire

The roping is made on these wrapping machines with boughs and plastic string.  

This is where the MA hangs out on occasion- where he cuts and bundles pine tips for the operation.

Stacking pine tips

Pine tip bundles

And this is how certain odd people keep track of their bundle numbers....  oy

Red twig dogwood and other raw materials

Amazing to think that this will be all done and over with in only a few weeks.

 SHEEP!

Shep stretching to come and see me- obviously the Christmas tree people still are decorated from Halloween!

And just in time for the joy of the Christmas season!