Photograph info: This photograph was taken on Saturday afternoon when we made our annual pilgrimmage to cut a fresh Christmas tree. Beck's tree farm is in Slatington, Pennsylvania, about 30 minutes from Durham Township.

'Twas no easy feat this year -- a solid inch of ice coated the branches and made sawing (and thawing!) a challenge.

Camera settings and post-processing: Shot with the Canon EOS 5D and the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L lens at 24mm, ISO 400, f/8, 1/250s. Basic curves adjustments.

Thank you for visiting Durham Township!

--Kathleen

Hey! We got our tree there as well. We try to cut down our tree every year.

Last year, when we got there, they had already closed for the season. We did, however, snag a $40 tree that we are enjoying now.

I'm in Forks Twp (Easton)

How pleasant to note the Surgeon General's Generic Christmas Tree Farm Hazards Warning Poster prominently posted to remind us we have ventured beyond the mall.......but where do I swipe the card?...and why would anyone require a larger version, this farm looks big enough?...and how about way off in the middle of this stand of living greenery, there stands a motionless human, bound from head to toe in colored, blinking lights and brightly colored do-dads.....if you squint, you can just see the lone figure....way over on the Far Side.........

.......oh, and thank you, Kathleen, for dragging us all along like one big collective frozen tree!

Wonderful! It looks like the perfect place to cut a fresh Christmas tree. I love the curve of the horizon and the people on the path.

A great visual story! The silhouettes of the adult and child draw me right to the path and the red writing on the sign adds just enough contrast in color. Great use of a wide-angle perspective. Always enjoyable - thanks.

Into the field they happily go
Examining the trees, row upon row.
While feet and noses grow cold, much time it does take
Is it this one? No, maybe that one. A decision hard to make.
The perfect tree found, a saw cuts it down.
Hosted onto the Touareq, a green Christmas tree crown.
The ice and snow of the hillside, for the warm corner of a room traded,
Bedecked with the trimmings of Christmas, now properly paraded.

Seems that the owner has had some not so happy experiences with abundant lawyers trying to squeeze money out of nothing...
thanks for making me chuckle!

The much larger version makes it look like there are
enough trees for every one in Pennsylvania. I'll
take the one right next to the sign. It is so
beautiful with the snow covered branches.

Great shot. Love the hill that makes the tree farm look like the whole world. I hate the sign - makes me mad that someone would actually have to put that up. What a great shot and a great commentary on where we are as a country...

Looks, so cold ! Caution, ...with all, je, je !

Thanks for your photos
Merry X'mas & Happy New Year

Really like the two figures walking the path to find the perfect tree. Hope all have a Merry Little Christmas.

Looks like that warning sign basically covers everything.. :-)

maybe I'm being naive... but I prefer to see the sign as a gesture of courtesy from the Beck's.

Rather than a preemptive strike against litigation (and it would be a weak one!) I see it as a gentle reminder that you're about to walk over some naturally kept ground that a) you likely don't know like the back of your hand, and b) being covered in snow, hides the possible hazards below.

My favorite aspect here is the couple walking into the opening... such precision about their placement. If their silhouette cuts into the landscape even one bit, the image is changed.

The decisive moment lives!

Beautiful.

reards,

Lorne Chesal

they forgot to add malaria !

I've got a great idea! Let's go out in the ice and snow where it's really cold! Let's risk permanent injury and attack by half crazed animals! What could be more fun than the chance of hypothermia, rabies, pneumonia, and spinning out of control on frozen roads as our sap covered fingers stick to the steering wheel? Heck, we can invent a new language as our frozen tongues and chattering teeth try to form intelligible words! Perhaps a new dance routine as we are overcome by violent shaking fits as our bodies succumb to the elements! How about "Name that color" after we take off our boots and try to describe what used to be our toes!

Why would we expose ourselves to such dangers? Why, to cut down a perfectly good tree, of course! It is Christmas after all, so let's get going!