An Unexpected Stand

An Unexpected Stand

It was Christmas, all the local coffee shops were closed, and my dad and I needed a fix. I looked online and found a coffee shop in a neighboring town and off we went on a Christmas day adventure.

The Jeep bounced along the old county road as we scanned the fields for deer, turkeys, or any other interesting wildlife. We passed two pheasants along the road which was a nice treat. They’re beautiful and not a common sight.

As we approached one of my favorite stands of trees I noticed that something was wrong. I wasn’t sure what it was, but something was off. What was once a stand of tall straight pine trees in neat little rows had turned into a stand of birch trees, or so my mind tried to tell me.

It took my brain a moment to sort it all out. As we drew closer it became clear that the last snowstorm had covered the side of the pine trees with snow. Things clicked into place and it all made sense.

The previous snowfall was a wet snow that fell while it was quite windy. When this happens trees are transformed from top to bottom. It’s a lovely sight, even if it is a bit odd.

We got our coffee fix and on the way home we kept an eye out for the unexpected stand of pine trees so I could get some photos. Dad pulled over and I got a few, however the sight in the rear-view mirror was better so we turned around and hit gold!

“Well that was worth turning around for!” dad said. He was right, that view was much better.

“Hey dad, what do you get when you cross a pine tree with a birch tree? Huh? Huh? Huh?”

Dad glanced over at me, waiting for my corny reply.

“Pirch trees! Haha, get it? Pirch trees!” I laughed at my own joke while slapping dad on the shoulder. I crack myself up!

(Don’t feel too bad for him, I get my corny sense of humor from his side of the family!)