I've been living in Yorkville for 13 years and every year the sidewalk Christmas Tree stalls start going up Thanksgiving night and are open the day after. They are everywhere - there have always been 3 within two blocks from my house. This year - they aren't there. In fact, there are almost no tree stalls in Yorkville at all, only one or two, on the main streets e.g. East 86th and 2nd. Where are they?!! I asked the vendors at one and they said something about needing a permit this year and giving receipts,but they were new and didn't know for sure. So I'm wondering - did the city change the regulations and make it less worthwhile for tree vendors to come here?! Or did the Trump era border officials crack down on the trees and sellers coming from Quebec?!!! I'm so disappointed! People have said that maybe they are just late this year, but it doesn't look good to me. Of course, this is the first year in 20 that I planned to have a tree...but even so, it really bothers me. It's one of those great New York things - has it been taken away? What a giant bummer. Does anyone know what is happening?!
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I'm sure the "Caucus" Mountains should be "Caucasus".
And to the substance: I grew up in a rural area of Connecticut where my father could take me and my brothers to local tree farms to select our own tree. It's wonderful to have the scent of a living fir in one's home. But over the years I have collected a few small gold ornament trees and one that's large enough to stand on the floor; decorated with 40+ years of my own collection of ornaments and others handed down from grandparents that are almost antiques, they are splendid in their own right. I make sure to hike and snowshoe during the winter to enjoy the scent of evergreens.
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Martha - we have a similar tree for our decades of ornaments. For apartment space reasons, while not tiny, ours is luckily light enough to stand on the piano, even with the ornaments.
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Welcome Mr. Ferre- Sadurni! And bravo on a great debut column!
(If somehow I’ve missed a previous column by you please forgive this belated welcome but it’s still new to me:-)
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AMERICA THE PIONEER
Black Friday has become a phenomenon even in countries not marking a Thanksgiving holiday. --news item
Throngs crowd department stores,
Full boutique prices aweigh
For coveted electronics
On this shopping holiday.
"Thanksgiving, sure, why not?
Who ever has enough?"
Goes the cry heard round the world.
"Give thanks for more and more stuff!"
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From the In the News section: “The Trump SoHo hotel, struggling financially, is dropping the president’s name.”
A little musical send-off.
Tune of “I Got a Name”
Like an East Side tower with its big sign
We’ve got his name, we’ve got his name.
Like expensive bathrobes and pricy wine
We’ve got his name, we’ve got his name
We’d worn his name gladly on our swank hotel
But nowadays,, that name won’t sell
Time now to hit the Beltway
Time now to hit the Beltway
Business is bad here, time to say goodbye.
Brand may work near the Beltway
Brand may work near the Beltway
Time to leave here ‘cause they no longer buy.
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Finding the perfect tree. Really? It's only one day after Thanksgiving -- there's still leftover turkey in the fridge, and you're starting with 'Oh, Tannenbaum'???
Give me a break.
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In NYC, the tree stands go up the night of Thanksgiving and are open the next day. Except for this year, for some mysterious reason.
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It’s a Christmas tree. Why does it need to be “perfect”? Put your loved ones around any good ol’ Christmas tree and enjoy the more important things in life.
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Farmed trees are like any other agricultural product & are renewed. Buying a cut tree supports the small enterprises that grow & sell them.
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While living in Manhattan, I carried my little tree from a west side market back to my flat on 1st Ave. and 37th. I passed a lady walking in the opposite direction who looked at me and my tree smiled and said, "small tree" and without either of us pausing a step, I replied, "small apartment". NYC residents say happy holidays in many ways.
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All trees are perfect.
But they are decidedly more perfect while they're still alive.
A living tree with its root-ball still attached that gets replanted after, will often grow into giant magnificence.
If all, or even some of these fragrant Balsam Firs & Spruces were planted after thwe holidays, it would be a true resurrection, they'd benefit the world for a century or more.
The tree that's cut for everyone's Christmas is likely at least 7 years old, maybe 10, or more. This isn't like cut flowers that propagate seasonally, trees are the longest-lived, largest living beings the earth has ever known, they make the oxygen & they drink co2.
So ask for a potted tree, water it like a plant, & when the ground thaws, plant it!
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Sounds great, but if you're in New York City you'd better check with the Department of Parks first, because if you're caught planting a tree -- you'll spend your Christmas savings paying a fine.
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