Picking the perfect Christmas tree

My sons wanted to choose their own Christmas tree this year, and not from a lot in town. They wanted to visit a farm, pick their tree, and chop it down.

Before moving here, I thought most Christmas trees were grown in the western part of the United States. Imagine my surprise to discover that North Carolina is number two in Christmas tree production. Our farmers grow over 16 million trees. And one of those was perfect for us.

We traveled to the western part of the state, which gets cold enough to grow Fraser Fir and other Christmas tree species. Our destination was Twin Pines Nursery, a family-owned farm that has been letting people choose their own tree for more than 40 years.

I met Olivia and Dustin Haigler when I judged the North Carolina Farm Bureau Excellence in Agriculture award, which they won. The couple moved to Olivia's family farm after graduating college. They are agriculture teachers and FFA advisors by day and help oversee the tree nursery, including planning and pruning and harvesting trees.

When we pulled up to the farm, the boys were ready to find the perfect tree. There were four fields to choose from and they looked at every tree in those fields. Of course, they didn't all agree on the same tree. The oldest had his eye on one tree and his younger brothers wanted another one. I left them to negotiate and guess who won?

If you said the younger two, you're right. The oldest may have given in because he was cold and wanted to stand beside the fire pit. Either way, we had a tree that someone else chopped down, although I think the youngest would have taken over the chainsaw if given the chance.

They are already asking to go back next year. Until then, they will sleep by the tree with visions of sugarplums dancing in their head.