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Fourteen Years of the Pasty Cam ^{Printed on Recycled Internet}

Today's review has photographers from A-Z. Who is A, who is Z, what years?

A is 2010 Alan Abel and Z is 2002 Z Man. Good morning!

2010 Alan Able
2002 Z-Man

Alphabetical Tie

I love the pictures but, my favorite is the snowy rose one. love it.

I might look for some tea roses to plant this summer. My mom had some in the backyard when we were kids and I loved them. I loved the yellow ones she had.

Thanks for posting the picture again.

I absolutely love this year's picture, and that rose........just amazing!! Then there's something about a Christmas tree lot. Always makes me think of Charlie Brown, lol. And pictures of Houghton during the holidays always brings me happiness!! Thanks guys!

Nice, again today! Speaking of Christmas tree lots, I used to love to see them in plentiful numbers but then many folks started using artificial trees/wreaths, and the lots became a pitiful sight, especially after Christmas when most of the trees were still there. Such a waste.:( (and no, I'm not a 'tree-hugger', I just like evergreens)

Wonderful pictures today. I especially like the one of the little girl riding on the tree, with her big red dog overlooking the situation. That would be a really fun day!

Shirley, I love evergreens, too, in the outdoors. But for me, they have to stay outside, because I developed an allergy to them, so I can't handle them in the house; I can't even sit next to a real tree at a party for a couple of hours without becoming almost unable to breathe. Som we have had to go the artificial route. I know of a number of other people with the same problems. I know that our town is glad to have fewer trees to have to dispose of after Christmas, too. Our town puts them through a wood chipper and sells the wood chips to a small power company, if I remember correctly. I like the idea that some areas use, to haul them out to use them as underwater fishing habitat.

On the Lake Superior bay between Bayfield, Wi. and LaPointe on Madeline Island, used Christmas trees mark the ice route. Bob and I did just that a few times on our snowmobiles, traveled the 12 mile Christmas tree marked ice road. Saw dog sleds, mountain bikes, joggers using the ice road as well.

Shirley: When evergreens are grown to be used as Christmas Trees they are a renewable resource; not any different than a crop of potatoes, corn, etc.

Janie, didn't/don't they still do that between Mackinac Island and Mackinaw City?
Marianne, I'm so sorry about your allergy. That's one allergy that would be so hard for me. When I was a child we always had cedar trees for our Christmas trees because most folks went out into the country and cut their own....so to me that aroma (cedar) always meant Christmas!
Daveofmohawk, I understand your point and have absolutely no problem with it. Thanks!

I like all these, especially the Christmas themed + Wintry ones.

A Christmas tree! A Christmas tree!
With dark green needled memories
Of childhood dreams and mysteries
Wrapped present-like in front of me.

A Christmas tree! A Christmas tree!
I glimpse a past wherein I see
The child that then grew into me
Not forward fast but haltingly.

A Christmas tree! A Christmas tree!
A time for being with family
A time that's gone so fleetingly
Yet lives for always deep in me.

A Christmas tree! A Christmas tree!
When twelfth night comes whole hauntingly
One lingered look and then i see
No Christmas tree where it would be.

A Christmas tree! A Christmas tree!
With feelings now felt longingly
No corner in my house to see
The magic of that Christmas tree.

That's what a Christmas tree means to me. No pondering on the good of cutting it down or the bad of cutting it down. That tree put up in the corner of the living room, decorated by you and your family is sharing the love and the season.

Please, folks, I'm not against cutting down trees, I just meant that I hate to see the ones which aren't recycled in some useful way, being left to turn brown and shrivel up on some corner lot. And believe me, I'm going to lose some beautiful maples in the next few weeks, being cut down and ground up by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. There's a winery down the road from my house, the vintnor ordered something that was shipped in on wooden pallets that turned out to be infested by African Longhorn Beetles, which attacked a lot of trees in our area.....one house down the road recently lost 100 trees because of this. I'll miss the trees but if it means saving the others....so be it!

Shirley, no need to apologize. Believe it or not, some of us on this site are just looking for opinions. Unfortunately, some are just not happy without expressing negative thoughts.

Merry Christmas Shirley. :)

And a very Merry Christmas to you, Hollidays! And thanks!:)

Excuse me for a minute.;) I have to make a correction....the beetles are "ASIAN Longhorned Beetles", not African. (betcha Capt. Paul or Dr. Nat would've caught that blunder)