Friendship

Friendship is a special state of being with another. I think of it as another flavor of love, different than your soul mate or sister, but just as real. The interesting thing about friendship is that it is entirely optional. There are no strings of family ties or marriage vows. The only thing binding you to this other person is a genuine bond of goodwill to the other. I am lucky to have a couple friends of this caliber that I have known a lifetime. They are the ones that endure through the hard times and even when apart for a time, the conversation picks right up as if it never stopped. If you are lucky enough to have an enduring friendship than you are lucky indeed.

Amigos
Two reservation dogs square off and discover that they are friends with the touch of a nose.
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Friendship
Two men in blue plaid venture off from their wives in a brotherly embrace to share a moment of friendship.

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Christmas Tree Hunt

Every year for the last ten we have ventured out into the forest to cut our Christmas tree. We usually start searching for the right tree that we want to invite into our home for the holidays in the fall, when the ground is still bare and it is much easier to walk through the rugged terrain.

Cutting your own Christmas tree can be very satisfying. First you have to hunt one down. Then after stalking it for awhile and making sure there is not a better candidate to be found, you wait for the Christmas season to arrive. Finally it is time and you are ready for your tree, but you look at your mate and say, "Where did we see that tree?" Finally, memories intact and boots on, you trudge through snow to where you remember you found the tree, and with a rather small but dangerously sharp hand saw you cut it down and drag it home. Mission accomplished!

We have a forest of primarily Ponderosa Pines and Douglas Firs around our home and the little firs make the best Christmas trees. They smell like lemons when freshly cut and are soft to the touch. Plus they always grow at least two feet after you bring them inside.

Western Man in Winter
A man on a mission to find the perfect Christmas tree ventures out into the snowy wilderness of a Colorado forest.
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Is this the one?

Holiday Front Door
My very own front door and snowy stone walk decorated for the holidays beckon the weary traveler to stop in for a cup of hot chocolate.
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