Santa is, that’s who!

Today, Santa got a fresh coat of paint. I’m sure he appreciated the extra coat — while I was painting, we got the first flurries of the season. Brr.

When we first looked at the farm, one of my favorite things was this carved wooden Santa.  It’s a mammoth piece of wood and I have no idea how I’m supposed to move him to the field in a couple of weeks. Nonetheless, he’s a great carving and I have hopes of making a few companion elves of my own as time goes along.

Santa gets a fresh coat of paint

So the tradition goes that you take your family photo in front of Santa after you’ve cut your tree and I just love that the shed wall is covered with various family photos from years past.  There’s something about the combination of sentiment and tradition that appeals to me as a contrast to our typical, modern, fast-paced lives. Year after year, one can come here, enjoy the view, sip some warm cider, use a handsaw to cut down a tree and make a photo with Santa. A tradition that could echo across generations and not be much different from centuries past. Perhaps, given Santa’s girth, that’s when he was born, a seedling starting out in a forgotten forest.

When I described the farm to a friend this past summer, she exclaimed that she had been bringing her family to Third Stone for years.  I’ve since gotten to enjoy looking back at her family photos seeing the progression of her kids growing up over the years.  Thanks, Erika, for sharing those photos for the front page of our website.