Hey, y'all. Intern Chelsea here. We have had quite the exciting day here at Crooked Pines! Amanda, Stefanie, and I had all been hard at work on our respective tasks this morning, so when lunchtime rolled around...well, we kind of wanted to have a little fun. 

After eating our lunches and standing around in the sun for a few minutes, we decided to go and visit the horses. On our way to the gate, we noticed that the birds hadn't been let out today. We opened the door to the coop...chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys (and one stray rabbit, Barney Cooper) came running out like they had never been free in their little aviary lives. Mistake number one.

They ran straight toward the food, so we felt bad. Of course we fed them. That's the humane, animal loving thing to do, right? Stefanie took charge, scooped out some food, and tried to scatter it...but the birds were RAVENOUS. Poor Stefanie was nearly knocked over by hungry chickens. Amanda and I chuckled and took pictures.

The pigs were a little upset. You see...we accidentally used some of their food to feed the birds, and right where the poor piggies could see it all happen. Amanda got some food out of the bucket and climbed into the pig pen. I should mention that she was wearing flip-flops. Anyways, once inside the pig pen, Amanda began to put the food in three piles for the pigs, but suddenly she too was surrounded by birds. Yes, inside the pig pen. In her haste to get out of there alive, she sunk her foot in yucky, wet mud. Once again, I laughed and took pictures.

I was determined not to forget our whole purpose for this whole ordeal: I wanted to see the horses. We went back to their gate and Stefanie let me in. I was enjoying petting Frankie and Baby Powder so much. They are so precious and tiny!

Everything was going very smoothly for me inside the gate until the donkey came over. At first I thought maybe he wanted a little lovin' too. As it turns out, he was not in a very good mood and was being quite the bully to Frankie! Stefanie and I could not for the life of us figure out how to get me out of that field! Finally, Amanda came over with some food to lure the donkey and horses away, and I made a run for it. Whew! This time Amanda and Stefanie got the laugh while I high-tailed it out of there.

We learned a valuable lesson today at Crooked Pines Farm: Always, always, always let Duncan feed the animals, but if we have to do it we should always save the birds for last.

 Trip to Sparta, North Carolina 
On Friday, September 24, 2010 the Criscoe family loaded up the truck to go learn about the Christmas trees they would soon be selling.

Heading east on I-20 we passed through Augusta and Columbia, SC and turned north on 77 and drove through Charlotte.  Friday night's drive ended in Jonesville, NC were we stayed the night.

Saturday morning we popped out of bed anxious to get to our destination.
We ate breakfast and we were ready to start our day by 7:30 a.m..  We stepped outside to a brisk 60 degrees.  The crisp air was a welcomed break from the Georgia 90 degree weather.

Our drive to Sparta included a scenic route up a mountain and over some gorgeous terrain.  The mountains in the distance gave hope to the idea of healthy tree farms and friendly faces.

Upon arrival to Sparta, we discovered that our cell service was not available.  Our son was amused by our necessity to use a pay phone.  His comments eluded to "old-fashioned" technology.

After waiting only a few minutes the owner of the tree farm pulled up and we were on our way to explore his endeavors.

Small talk started as we traveled a few miles.  We turned off the main road onto a gravel drive.  The mountains layered off in the distance and as we eased over a creek we began to see rows of trees growing on the side of the mountain.  There were thousands of trees well maintained and carefully groomed.  They were organized by age and characteristics.

We rode in a 4-wheel drive truck so we could climb the steep hills.  As we drove up the hill we past row after row of pristine fraser fir Christmas trees.  When we reached the summit we got out of the truck and began walking around.  Seth, the owner, described how he and his crews spend hours trimming, grooming and caring for each tree.  Seth was very knowledgeable about growing these trees.  He talked about determining quality of seed, planting and grading guidelines and harvesting techniques.  And this was just the beginning!

After we left this first property, Seth drove us to another location where the trees were still young and not ready to harvest.

Yet another area he showed us was where the trees were only a few months old and would soon be transplanted to their new home on the mountain where they would spend the next 7 years growing to perfection.

Seth also explained the process of how they hand craft each wreath and garland strand, and the process to bail the Christmas trees.



Two years later we are still overjoyed to be bringing you quality trees to Eatonton, Georgia. We have founded ourselves on the importance of family and work to host events that will bring families together. Join us this holiday season & make memories that will last a lifetime with your family.


For all the holiday events check out our website & facebook page.

During Crooked Pines Farm Western Movie summer camp, the campers produced a movie about a little lady, Lightning Lucy, who set out to create peace in the world...striking one bandit at a time!

Stalls, bathrooms and siding!

Siding, windows and central heat & air being installed!