Tree Farm

Robert C. Chance, a pioneering Harford County ecologist and retired high school teacher, received a two-year suspended sentence and was placed on 18 months of supervised probation yesterday for growing marijuana and possessing psychedelic mushrooms last year on his Darlington farm. "This is a 62-year-old man who showed poor judgment," said Baltimore County Circuit Judge John G. Turnbull II as he announced the ruling. "I certainly don't think he's a threat to the community. If anything, he is a threat to himself."

Even though it might not be a box-office hit in the United States, Renee Zellweger's recent film, Miss Potter, is giving the Lake District of England, the region where the majority of the movie about the children's book author Beatrix Potter was filmed, a much-needed boost in tourism. "The movie is helping our overseas visitors finally get over those horrible images of foot-and-mouth disease in the English countryside," said Andrew Poole, deputy manager of the World of Beatrix Potter, an attraction based in Bowness-on-Windermere, which centers on the author and illustrator's life and storybook characters.

THERE ARE milestones in a father's life. Your kid takes his first step. Pretty soon your kid takes your car. Then one day your kid, not you, cuts down the family Christmas tree.Last weekend I passed the latest of those milestones. I was the one holding the tree while my teen-age sons took turns sawing it down.I was the one who watched as they hoisted the tree onto the roof of the car. I was the one standing on the edge of the action; they were the ones in the thick of the fray and the fir.Passing the Christmas tree saw to a new generation was a somewhat unsettling experience.

Proprietors of Maryland Christmas tree farms are braced for the busiest time of year. Whether it is Scotch pine, Douglas fir, blue spruce, Fraser fir, Norway spruce or some other kind of Christmas tree, it very likely can be found at one of the many farms in the metropolitan area.In the fast-paced, fast-food world of the 1990s, area families still make time to drive to a farm and spend hours looking for just the right tree. Although the outing means cutting down the precious find and loading it onto the family car to bring home, for many it is the extra effort that makes gathering around the Christmas tree all the more special.

The Cissel family of Lisbon attended the Olympic trials in June in Atlanta to watch a nephew compete for a spot as pole vaulter. Although he fell short, the family still could claim a unique role in the Centennial Olympiad -- via its Treegator.The Treegator is a portable drip irrigation system that Lambert Cissel, 57, invented. More than 1,500 of the 20-gallon water pouches are zipped around the trunks of the trees that adorn the Olympic Stadium, the Georgia Dome, Martin Luther King Memorial, practice fields and downtown streets.

About to make the trek to ye old Christmas tree farm? Whether you're a neophyte or have been at it for a while, tips on what to look for can be helpful. When it comes to selecting that perfect fresh Christmas tree, it's wise to start from the bottom up."The first thing people should look at is the handle, the trunk stem," says Paul McHugh, owner of Brandy Farms, located in Anne Arundel County north of Crofton.The retired school teacher, who has been in the "choose and cut" Christmas tree business since 1989, explains that there should be about 7 to 12 inches from the ground to the first branch.

TO ME, NOTHING says Christmas like a 5-foot-tall chunk of green polyvinyl chloride decorated with taillight-red lights, a $1.98 garland from Rite Aid, and a couple of spray-cans of fake snow, the vague smell of heat-resistant thermoplastics wafting throughout the house.But my wife is one of these people who insists on having a real Christmas tree, whatever that means."What's more real than a cellulose acetate base and polycarbonate hooks for the branches?" I tell her.But she doesn't want to hear about it. You can talk to her 'til you're blue in the face, but she's firmly in the pocket of the anti-artificial tree lobby.

The Cissel family of Lisbon attended the Olympic trials in June in Atlanta to watch a nephew compete for a spot as pole vaulter. Although he fell short, the family still could claim a unique role in the Centennial Olympiad -- via its Treegator.The Treegator is a portable drip-irrigation system that Lambert Cissel, 57, invented. More than 1,500 of the 20-gallon water pouches are zipped around the trunks of the trees that adorn the Olympic Stadium, the Georgia Dome, Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, practice fields and downtown streets.

Joyce TillmanRan tree farmJoyce Bonner Hall Tillman, who operated a Harford County Christmas tree farm with her husband, died Feb. 19 of cancer at Union Memorial Hospital. She was 76.She had been a resident since 1952 of Good Endeavor Farm in Joppa, where she and her husband, James R. Tillman, a retired chemical engineer, operated a cut-your-own tree farm.They also grew apples for a local cider mill and raised sheep.The farm, which dates to 1800 and includes the original log cabin, encompassed 100 acres until the construction of Interstate 95 in the early 1960s reduced its size to 65."

IN OUR previous lives as city dwellers, the thought of trekking into the countryside to find and cut our Christmas tree was daunting.Certainly a four-wheel drive vehicle would be required to comb the dirt roads where the pine trees could be found. An entire day would be spent running around for a mere tree -- certainly an inefficient use of time.And we would get lost. How would we ever find the tree farms listed in the newspaper advertisements? Our idea of a tree adventure would be driving to the nearest commercial nursery, less than a mile away, buying a tree and driving home again.

Robert C. Chance, a pioneering Harford County ecologist and retired high school teacher, received a two-year suspended sentence and was placed on 18 months of supervised probation yesterday for growing marijuana and possessing psychedelic mushrooms last year on his Darlington farm. "This is a 62-year-old man who showed poor judgment," said Baltimore County Circuit Judge John G. Turnbull II as he announced the ruling. "I certainly don't think he's a threat to the community. If anything, he is a threat to himself."

A few years back, when they were saving to buy their Perry Hall home, Charmaygne and Kevin Litz skimped on Christmas and canceled the big Dec. 24 party they held every year for family and friends. Never again, Charmaygne vowed. So this year, with money tight and the economy seeming to crumble around them, the Litz family did cut back. Charmaygne and Kevin won't be giving gifts to each other. But other things are non-negotiable: that huge Christmas Eve bash and the fresh tree at the center of it. "It means a lot to us to have the real tree, the smell of Christmas," she said yesterday as her husband secured a 9-foot Douglas fir in the bed of their pickup.

It's time to pile into the car, head to a farm and pick out a Christmas tree. There are an abundance of places near Baltimore to find the perfect pine, fir or spruce - some organic, some already cut and some you can cut yourself. Some places also offer seasonal food, crafts and tractor rides. A few spots are offering discounts, matching last year's prices or posting coupons on their Web sites. Here's a partial list, researched by Rebecca Hyler, a features producer at baltimoresun.com, with help from the Maryland Department of Agriculture (mda.

It was "a real tough year" for Maryland's Christmas tree farms, as the drought killed off many seedlings and saplings and stressed the mature trees that will go into homes this holiday season. While there should be a ready supply of market-size trees for families looking to cut their own, they "do look a little bit more sparse than they normally look," said Mike Gagarine of Good Spirits Christmas Tree Forest in Hagerstown. But Gagarine said he lost close to two-thirds of the 3,000 seedlings he planted this year, twice what he would lose in a typical year.

For some people, picking out that perfect Christmas tree and cutting it down themselves is the only way to go. Here's a sampling of some of the farms where you can find the perfect tree to decorate this holiday season: Allegany Pleasant Valley Tree Farm -- 333 Gorsuch Road, Hyndman, Pa. / Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays. 888-347-8733 or pleasant valleytreefarm.com. Baltimore County Feezers Farm -- 3700 Wards Chapel Road, Marriottsville / Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends through Dec. 16. 410-461-5654 or feezers farm.

Even though it might not be a box-office hit in the United States, Renee Zellweger's recent film, Miss Potter, is giving the Lake District of England, the region where the majority of the movie about the children's book author Beatrix Potter was filmed, a much-needed boost in tourism. "The movie is helping our overseas visitors finally get over those horrible images of foot-and-mouth disease in the English countryside," said Andrew Poole, deputy manager of the World of Beatrix Potter, an attraction based in Bowness-on-Windermere, which centers on the author and illustrator's life and storybook characters.

As Christmas approaches, it's time to celebrate one of the season's traditions: the hunt for the perfect tree. It could be Douglas fir, white pine or blue spruce. Once you've found, cut and hauled home the one you want, the decorating can commence. Here's a roundup of some area farms where you can cut your own Christmas tree. Call ahead to check whether these farms take both cash and credit or just cash. ANNE ARUNDEL Friendship Trees -- 6950 Old Solomons Island Road, Friendship / noon-4:30 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekends.

For her first venture out into the world, 8-day-old Maggie Zwarich accompanied her parents as they picked out a Christmas tree at Triadelphia Lake View Farm. Her parents, Jennifer and John Zwarich, had moved to Catonsville from Illinois a couple of years ago, but had never bothered with a tree in Maryland because they always returned home for the holidays. This year was different. "This is the first time we'll be here as a family," said John Zwarich as he and his wife headed toward the trees.

Having stuffed our burlap sacks with enough greenery and crimson to garland a dozen windows, we set about choosing a tree. "It should be," muses my friend, "twice as tall as a boy. So a boy can't steal the star." The one we pick is twice as tall as me. A brave handsome brute that survives 30 hatchet strokes before it keels over with a creaking rending cry. - Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory The joy of cutting one's own Christmas tree that so many vicariously relive each year through this author's short story was played out across Maryland in recent weeks.

We want your opinions THE ISSUE: How do you purchase your Christmas tree? Do you go to a tree farm and cut it down, or purchase a tree already cut? Tell us why. YOUR VIEW: Send e-mail responses by tomorrow to howard.speakout@baltsun. com. A selection of responses will be published Sunday. Please keep your responses short and include your name, address and telephone number. Addresses and phone numbers will not be published.