When I went to visit my niece in early December, they had an artificial tree for the first time.
“At least,” she said, “we won’t be sweeping up pine needles.”
Here’s her tree:
I thought I wouldn’t be sweeping up many because I only had a minature tree this year. My sister gave it to me as a present, ordering it from Harry and David.
Here’s my tree:
But, later, I really laughed. I live in the Pacific Northwest. I have several Douglas fir trees and several European pine trees in my front yard, which I refer to as The Forest. I sweep up pine needles all year.
There’s usually a huge pile, see the photo above, in my Rec Room, where I enter from the garage.
I love my huge trees, and I don’t mind sweeping up the pine needles, especially as more and more of my neighbors cut down their trees.
When one of my neighbors illegally cut down trees on his property, we looked up on Google maps and calculated it looks like between 2011 and 2024, two-thirds of the tree canopy on my street has been lost. It used to be a shady street. It isn’t anymore.
Some people don’t realize that with climate change, it’s even more important to keep our valuable trees. Trees significantly mitigate the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by acting as natural carbon sinks. Trees also provide shade for cooling people and the environment and help control wind and snow.
Soon, my Christmas tree will be planted in my yard and I’ll have another pine tree … and more pine needles.
