Tree Farm

After first snagging a friendly employee of Greenway Farms to snap the family Christmas card photo in front of a shapely row of Norway spruces, Amy and Richard Pippenger devised a quick game plan for their hunt for the perfect tree. Their dogs, Lola and Gus, would be handled by two of their kids, Emma and Sam. Richard would push their son, Jack, in a stroller, and Amy would document their holiday adventure with her camera. With more than 15,000 specimens to choose from on 16 acres, no one has to look long or hard to find a great tree, said Mike Healey, 38, who runs his family's cut-your-own tree farm on Route 144 in Woodbine.

Opening day at Ruhl's Christmas Tree Farm, Nov. 23, found the day mild and bright. While many were out enjoying Black Friday sales, Ruhl's collection of trees in Phoenix attracted residents from around the area in search of the perfect tree for holiday celebrations. The Sherman family of Glen Arm was the first to arrive down Ruhl's long, gravel driveway on "Green Friday. " With their two sons, Justin and Cody, home from Salisbury University, Robin and David Sherman decided it was a good time to get a tree before the boys returned to school.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas trees. Everywhere you go. And it's hitting you that you are sans arbor. No, don't panic. You can easily pick up an artificial tree at Home Depot or a real pre-cut one at the local firehouse. Or you can head out for the nearest tree farm. A trip to a cut-and-choose Christmas tree farm has been known to boost holiday spirits. It can calm the holiday jitters, and it's a perfect excuse for family bonding. And best of all, it offers you the satisfaction of getting that ideal holiday tree, fresh off the farm.

For many people, finding the perfect Christmas tree and cutting it down is a family tradition, and one that puts them in the holiday mood. In Carroll County, local farms are happy to help spread that Christmas cheer, and bring in a little green as well. "Between now and Christmas, those are the busy times," said Wayne Thomas, owner of Thomas Tree Farms in Manchester. "It's an exciting time of the year. Most of the folks are in a pretty good mood, that's for sure. " Thomas Tree Farms actually opened the weekend before Thanksgiving, Thomas said, and he had quite a few families come to get their tree.

For most people, the holidays are full of family traditions and memories.The traditions may be as simple as touring the area to view Christmas decorations, cutting down the tree or gathering with family and friends to sing carols and enjoy hot cocoa. Certain songs heard during the season may evoke memories of loved ones and holidays past.As my family and I were preparing to enjoy one of our traditions -- cutting the Christmas tree -- I was reminded of the first time I visited a Christmas tree farm.

Operating hours for Frostee Tree Farm in Baltimore Count are Monday-Wednesday, noon to dusk; Thursday-Sunday, dawn to dusk. A listing in Thursday's Today and Accent sections was incorrect.The Sun regrets the errors.Each year, the Maryland Christmas Tree Association publishes a list of farms where the public can go to cut their own trees. The farms offer spruce, fir and pine in heights starting at 3 feet, with most trees in the 6- to 12-foot range. Many farms also have wreaths, greens and holiday shops, refreshments and restrooms.

Christmas tree farms around the area open this weekend, gearing up for families who wouldn't think of celebrating the holiday season with anything but a freshly cut tree they bring down themselves.Despite the dismal economy, there's hope among the area's 300 Christmas tree growers that otherwise skittish consumers will dig deep to celebrate this holiday season."When it comes to trees, people will find the money to buy," says J. C. Kirby, owner of JCK Trees near Westminster."People will spend money to buy a beautiful tree, even if they have nothing to put under it," adds Helen Winter, owner of the 32-acre Frostee Trees in Perry Hall.

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 makeshift sign at the command post for those battling a stump fire at the Patapsco Valley Tree Farm that has spewed smoke over the metropolitan area suggests that firefighters know they have a war on their hands.It reads: "Operation Desert Stump . . . Allied Headquarters."Baltimore County fire officials said putting out the fire in the 8700 block of Dogwood Road in the Hollofield area near Interstate 70 might take another month because it is smoldering beneath 40 )) feet of tree stumps, logs and dirt.

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.

Welcoming guests to a Baltimore hotel this holiday season will be a Sandy refugee - a tall, graceful Christmas tree that escaped the massive storm's high winds and unexpected snow. The 22-foot-high Douglas fir arrived at the Royal Sonesta Harbor Court Hotel by the Inner Harbor, where several people spent hours decorating it on Friday. The tree escaped damage last month when the fierce storm ravaged a family tree farm in Garrett County. Thousands of other trees were lost there, according to the longtime owners.

Baltimore County is home to several Christmas tree farms that open their doors — or at least their farm fences — every year for the holiday season. For more details and additional listings in surrounding counties, go to the Maryland Christmas Tree Association Web site, http://www.marylandchristmastrees.org. Doyle's Christmas Tree Farm — 1155 Bernoudy Road, White Hall. http://www.doyleschristmastreefarm.com . Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, Sundays only, through Dec. 18. Douglas firs.

After first snagging a friendly employee of Greenway Farms to snap the family Christmas card photo in front of a shapely row of Norway spruces, Amy and Richard Pippenger devised a quick game plan for their hunt for the perfect tree. Their dogs, Lola and Gus, would be handled by two of their kids, Emma and Sam. Richard would push their son, Jack, in a stroller, and Amy would document their holiday adventure with her camera. With more than 15,000 specimens to choose from on 16 acres, no one has to look long or hard to find a great tree, said Mike Healey, 38, who runs his family's cut-your-own tree farm on Route 144 in Woodbine.

The door to the black pickup opened, a 5-year-old girl leaped out, and for the Prestons — a White Marsh family whose cheeks were already rosy with the morning chill — the Christmas season was officially under way. "I hope there's a billion times two thousand [trees] here," Mackenzi Preston cried as she charged into the frame garage that forms the headquarters of the Mount Carmel Tree Farm in Parkton. On a day when thousands rise before dawn to play their part in the post- Thanksgiving frenzy known as Black Friday, many Marylanders mark the start of a new holiday season with a more pastoral tradition: traveling to a tree farm, taking up a saw and cutting down the Douglas fir, Scotch pine or blue spruce that will serve as centerpiece for their Christmas decor and celebration.

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.

Each year, the Maryland Christmas Tree Association publishes a list of farms where the public can go to cut its own trees. The farms offer spruce, fir and pine in heights starting at 3 feet, with most trees in the 6- to 12-foot range. Many farms also have wreaths, greens and holiday shops, refreshments and restrooms.The list, published in a brochure with tips on cutting and preparing the tree, is available at public libraries in Baltimore and in all Maryland counties, as well as from the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service or from the Marketing Services Department of the Maryland Department of Agriculture, 50 Harry S Truman Parkway, Annapolis 21401.

The owner of the Granite stump dump that has been burning since Feb. 2 can start receiving stumps again today, according to a Baltimore County official, contrary to a previous Fire Department statement that the dump would first have to comply with several safety recommendations.Trucks began arriving at the dump today but the loads were covered.County Administrative Officer Merreen Kelly said yesterday that because the Fire Department has ceased active measures against the fire at the Patapsco Valley Tree Farm, it has effectively returned control to the owner, James Jett.

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.