Festive parasites, Christmas Spiders, and the glory days of Trego’s Christmas Tree industry. Happy Holidays!
Festive Parasites
Mistletoe is a classic Christmas decoration, which has always struck me as rather odd, considering that all varieties of mistletoe are parasitic plants. Depending on how bad the infestation is, mistletoe is quite capable of killing its host plants. There are many types of mistletoe (117 species globally, 5 species of dwarf mistletoe are common…
The Christmas Spider, an Eastern European Legend
Many cultures have their own unique Christmas ornaments… When I was little, my folks had a straw goat ornament from Finland, a “Joulupukki”, or “Jule Goat”, a representation of the harvest season’s spirit – something that made an appearance when folks celebrated the return of the light.
Remnants of an Industry
Walking the place in November’s fresh snow, I notice the remnants of an industry – stumps that were left to grow a second, third or fourth Christmas tree. The phrase was “stump culture” and the practice fit in with production of wild Douglas Fir Christmas trees. By cutting high and leaving branches on the stump,…
Trego's Mountain Ear 