2011
No photos this year, but we had a lot of fun. After six years of
hitting up the same tree in Claudville, we tried something new this season.
I noticed a big clump of mistletoe high in our neighbor Tommy's yard and ran to
get Ben's slingshot. The project peaked the Bevards' interest and they
joined us in knocking down a couple of nice branches. We got ours with the
slingshot, they got theirs with Jack's paint gun, which worked really well.
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
I honestly have no idea if anyone else gets
their own mistletoe, or if they get real mistletoe
at all for that matter, but for me it's another Christmas
tradition.
As a boy it was my job to get the mistletoe we hung above the entrance to our
den. In those early days, I collected mistletoe with buckshot and a
4-10 shotgun. I stood underneath giant oak trees and took aim at nests of
green perched high above in bare oak branches. Now that I'm anti-gun,
getting mistletoe out of the trees presents more of a challenge. In these
parts, mistletoe is typically found very high in solitary oak trees or in an
isolated stand of trees. Mistletoe seeds are transplanted by birds and
birds typically light in trees on the edge of fields and roads or in open areas
like front yards. Since you can't just go knocking things out of a
tree in someone's front yard, you have to not only find mistletoe low enough
that you can reach it, but also in an accessible remote spot. Until now
that meant finding old trees in front of abandoned farm houses. But this
year we found a wonderful tree standing in a hollow between a wooden fence and a
dirt road. Jackson sat on top of the van to document the harvest, Ben
watched from his car-seat, and I climbed the tree. We only took a little,
so hopefully we'll be able to come right back to the same spot next year without
having to look for it. Although most of the fun is in the hunt.
Jackson loves it because he's five and the whole kissing thing is such a big deal.
Below are photos from our second 2005 harvest. The first bunch dried up, so we went back for more.
2004
Sunday
the 12th. A fun family tradition, the harvesting of mistletoe.
This is the third and last year for this spot by an abandoned farm house in
Claudville. It should have lasted longer, but I've been a little
greedy each year and not left enough behind. It was a great spot because
you could reach the mistletoe by standing on top of the van. But I'll keep
my eye out over the next year for another good tree.