Experts offer tips for buying Christmas trees

Emily Grady cautions Grady Christmas Tree Farm-goers that their eyes might be bigger than their living rooms when it comes to holiday decoration.

"The tree never looks quite as big out in the field as it does when you get it indoors," Grady said. "I spent one Christmas with the top of my tree scrunched against the ceiling. The other, the tree was so big I just had to cut it off."

Grady recommends shoppers look at a tree in relation to their own height before chopping down a monster.

"For most people who want a 6- to 6 1/2-foot tree, remember that it won't be that much taller than you are," Grady said. "If it's just a hand on top of your head taller than you are, you're very close to having a 6-foot tree."

In addition to having the right size tree for your home, make sure the tree stand is the right size, too, to keep your holiday season from going downhill.

Blank's Ever-Green Acres owner Jan Blank remembers when a customer brought a tree back to the farm.

"They didn't have a big enough stand or the right stand, and it stood up crooked," Blank said "Then it fell over."

Blank said having the right stand can make a big difference in your tree's success in the home, as well as choosing a balanced and straight tree from the lot.

"You get to see the way it stands in the field, and it should stand the same way in your house," Blank said.

Those who opt for live trees might find themselves sniffling mid-carol or sneezing in their eggnog. Molds or pollens on the tree can agitate allergies for some.

Chris and Jodi White of Germantown Hills took their two youngest sons to Schaer's Country Market to cut down a Christmas tree for the first time in 10 years last weekend.

Their oldest son had allergic reactions to live trees in the past, but now that he's moved out, they were ready to rekindle the family tradition.

"We just had artificial for all these years," Chris White said. "We missed cleaning that mess up every year."

Tree shaking, a service offered at many you-cut lots in the area, can help shake dead or loose needles from the tree to limit the number that fall to your living room floor.

"People that want a fresh tree, they know they do get a bit more work," said Gary Schaer, owner of Schaer's Country Market.

Schaer recommends a Fraser Fir for anyone worried about mess because they're known for their needle retention. For anyone looking for a fragrant tree, he recommends a Balsam Fir.

The Lady Bird Lake boardwalk would become something of a Texas music walk of fame under a public art proposal, with snippets of lyrics from iconic singers and songwriters along the boardwalk’s railings.

Sculptor Ken Little, who is also a guitarist in a couple of small-time bands in San Antonio, envisions a series of 36 bronze belts — cast from actual leather,Find detailed product information for Low price howo tipper truck and other products. alligator and canvas waist wear — that would have short phrases drawn from the repertoire of the state’s leading singers.

Little’s conceptual rendering, for instance, includes this: “Me upon my pony, on my boat,” from Lyle Lovett. And from Willie Nelson: “Crazy for cryin’ Crazy for tryin’ ”

Little foresees belts with phrases from, among others, Townes Van Zandt, Freddy Fender, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Tish Hinojosa, Marcia Ball,Find detailed product information for howo spare parts and other products. Bob Wills, the Dixie Chicks and, naturally, Gary P. Nunn.

“Home with the armadillo,” Nunn’s belt would say.

The 1.25-mile boardwalk will connect a gap in the Butler Hike and Bike Trail along the south side of the lake. Construction began last month, with an expected completion date of spring 2014.

The art piece, called “Belting it out,” would have the bronze molds of belts, each about 48 inches long and one to two inches wide, bolted to the railings on both sides every hundred yards or so.

“The idea was to basically use haikus out of the songs, short phrases that would bring those songs to mind,Quickparts builds injection molds using aluminum or steel to meet your program.” Little said Monday night before presenting his design to the city’s Art in Public Places Panel. “It’s using people’s imagination to create the artwork.”

That panel unanimously approved his concept, and it will go on to the city’s Arts Commission for what officials say would be a final OK.

Little, who has yet to approach the musicians for the rights to use their work, hopes to pay something along the lines of $150 for each piece. An Amarillo native, Little, 65, teaches art at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He created a piece of public art in Austin, a series of picket fences in the shape of the United States called “Homeland Security,” which was installed in 2008-09 in Butler Park near the lake.

Little’s concept is the first to emerge from the Art Guys, a team of five artists that the Austin City Council in March voted to pay $264,Our technology gives rtls systems developers the ability.000 to design, execute and install public art on the $21.7 million boardwalk trail. Jean Graham, who is managing the public art part of the project for the city, said the other artists are still working on their proposals.

The project — which begins east of Congress Avenue and goes to International Shores Park along South Lakeshore Boulevard east of Interstate 35 — includes both low concrete bridges over the water and, in a few sections,The term 'hands free access control' means the token that identifies a user is read from within a pocket or handbag. on-land trail. Voters in 2010 approved $14.4 million for the project as part of a $90 million transportation bond issue. The balance of the money for the project is coming from the Trail Foundation, which donated $3 million, and from other other city funds.