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economist suntribune ho ho ho saturday dec 14 2002 tis the season to pine for perfection by andrew hind york region newspaper group special the season is upon us everywhere you look garden centers parking lots and supermar kets offer christmas trees for sale selecting the perfect tree whether from a lot or tree farm is an event for the whole family and one of the most endearing and enduring of all holiday customs the tradition has been in north america since lady freiderike von riedesel of sorel quebec homesick for germany insisted in 1781 a christmas tree be raised inside her home and decorated in honour of her native country today north americans buy some 35 million christmas trees each year most people still purchase from a local retail operation but increasing numbers of rk region residents eager for a family outing and hoping to create a holiday tradition prefer to bundle up and head off to one of the many tree farms in the area york region tree farms drysdale tree farm in ballantrae on durham road 30 just north of aurora road horsedrawn wagons hot chocolate bonfire open weekends call 7054249719 forfar estates ballantrae located on the 9th line east of the 404 sleigh or wagon rides on weekends as well as hot chocolate a bon fire and a toboggan hill open daily 905-640- 2027 hortons tree farms on warden avenue just south of aurora road and magic hill tree farm is on ninth line in whitchurch-stouff- ville and includes hayrides hot chocolate bonfire and visit with santa call 1-800-420- 7385 for each locations hours macpherson tree farm in ballantrae hayrides and hot chocolate on weekends only but open daily through december call 905- 4736668 middleton tree farm in ballantrae at the ninth line two kilometres north of aurora roadtobogganing and trail rides open week ends or by appointment call 9054733648 tufford family tree farm in stouffville located on st johns sideroad east of hwy 48 tobogganing hot chocolate bonfire open weekends call 9056402548 growers have turned the search into an event with activities rang ing from bonfires and hot choco late to wagon rides and craft stores if you do decide to go this route however keep a few things in mind first dress for the weather even if theres no snow theres a good chance youll find mud so always wear boots most farms supply their own cutting tools but if you decide to bring your own limit it to a hand saw because growers refuse axes and chainsaws whether you go to a farm or a local lot there are some tips to both finding the perfect tree and keeping it in good condition once it arrives home the most important is to decide what kind of tree you want is there a particular look you desire how will you decorate it heavy ornaments need heavy branches to hang from and sparser tree varieties need more ornamenta tion to look full how long will the tree remain indoors the following guide will help you make the ideal choice for your particular needs scotch pine by a large mar gin the most popular tree in canada and for good reason it is extremely dense and full often so much so you have to fight your way in to find the trunk so you dont have to decorate as vigorously as you would with some of the more sparse trees the needles are blue- green and will be retained for three to four weeks balsam fir the second most common of the varieties the balsam fir has a more elegant look than the scotch pine whereas the scotch pine has rounded needles those of the balsam fir are short and flat dark green in colour but with a silvery underside that reflects the light of christmas lights beautifully douglas fir this tree is pyramidal in shape with strong upward sweeping branches ideal staff photomike barrett taking home the finest tree in all the land are collin daryille and son joshua 13 and his cousin nicole day 9 they were photographed at hortons magic hill tree farm on ninth line in rural whitchurchstouffville for hanging heavy ornaments leaves are short darkblue and last for a month it is arguably the most elegant of the varieties blue spruce with a dense nearly symmetrical form and its stunning bluegraygreen foliage the blue spruce makes a real state ment in any home but you pay for this quality the can a christmas elf aid rippedoff painter by laura nelles special you can keep my chair thats what toronto artist dan polouso said after his art supplies and chair were taken from the front lawn of a unionville home he was painting recently mr polouso was in the midst of a painting when he went inside for a moment that was all the time needed for someone to walk off with every thing his chair and a large black case with colour markers pens pencils rulers erasers and more it was mr polousos first time painting in unionville its a beauti ful place he said ihad never been there until about two weeks before i started on the painting mr polouso said that despite the theft he would return to unionville to paint again im not going to let this incident represent the whole town everyone was very friendly and said hello when they saw me working he noted i would like to give whoever did it the benefit of the doubt i dont want to accuse anyone i think someone may have thought it was garbage and picked it up by accident anyone with information on the theft can contact mr polouso at 4163985489 average tree costing two to three times that of the more common varieties norway spruce the norway spruce looks dandy with its dense branches gracefully reaching upward as if pointing towards the heavens however buyers beware needles begin to drop in as little as two weeks because of its denseness and fine shape the norway spruce requires little ornamentation to be attractive beyond selecting the variety of tree there are other considerations when going to a local tree lot keep in mind most trees have been bundled weeks before and have thus been compacted into an artifi cial shape that creates an illusion of fullness and form so bang the tree against the ground several times the result will be a close approximation of its ulti mate appearance as well look for those that still have frozen bottoms running sap means the tree is not frozen and therefore will not retain its needles very long once youve selected a tree store it outdoors or in a cool garage until ready to decorate this will help it retain moisture and keep its needles many retail stores offer a so- called fresh cut this is something of a misnomer while you do need to remove the bottom inch or so of dead wood to allow the tree to better absorb moisture the cut should be made no more than a few days before it will be placed in water if you dont bring the tree in before then youll have to make your own cut some people also recommend drilling small holes up through the base of the trunk to facilitate the absorption of water use lukewarm water with some sugar or tree preservatives available at most nurseries or home centres and make sure the stand is never dry finally place the tree well away from vents fireplaces radiators tv sets and other sources of heat eriificates available call or stop by the club to receive your freereport 90s real people real resubfs 98 main street markham total plfitness wwwwhytefitnesscom 4715433 9056665392 1501 hopkins street whitby