Talk about your unexpected gifts...

Like most Christmas songs, "I'll Be Home For Christmas" has a surprising history. While an in-depth look at its origin is a bit outside the realm of this column, there is one line that ties in nicely. That line being: "And presents on the tree." The short story of this line is that the idea of a Christmas present was more of a thought or gesture than a physical gift. Yes, gifts were given, but they were light and sat easily on the branches of the Christmas tree. When Christmas evolved into a commercial holiday, presents had to be placed under the tree. This line, then, gives hint to the song's age, which obviously exceeds my age. Yet, some gifts can still be found on, or within, the branches of a Christmas tree. Now, using the term "gifts" here might be a bit misleading. The "gifts" I am talking about are completely unexpected, and, at least initially, not very well received. They are, in fact, pretty wild and even wilder as human nature turns their unexpected presence into an advertisement for America's Funniest Home Videos! What "gifts" you ask? Well, like I said, wild ones! All kinds of bugs and spiders can be hidden within the branches of your "live" Christmas tree. (Live is a fun concept here. It was "removed from its roots," right? Thus, it is no longer "live," but calling it a "slowly dying" tree seems a bit, well, let's just say, low-spirited.) The way in which the tree was treated during its growing years, how it was transported and stored and how mild the Christmas tree shopping season was, all play a factor in the possibility of a tree being buggy. In nearly all scenarios, an outright infestation of your home is not likely. Except … One of the most common insect problems with a live tree is praying mantids. Female praying mantids lay their eggs within a tan, Styrofoam-like, egg sack (individually called an ootheca). Within are hundreds of eggs. Within the cold of winter, they remain dormant. Within the warmth of your house, they quickly incubate and hatch and WHAM! ... you have hundreds of tiny praying mantises crawling all over your tree! Of course, don't panic, because, like it or not, they will soon be crawling all around your house! While some will fret about what to do with them, others will fret about what to feed them. Let's look at this second fret first: Don't worry about feeding them, they are highly cannibalistic. The first fret, well, good luck with that. Gathering them up … like all of them … is a monumental task in itself, but once accomplished, what do you do with them? Of course, placing them outside is a death sentence, so… The best plan is to check your tree for these ootheca before setting it up in your house. AND, don't place the ootheca in your house or dispose of it. Place it outside in a safe place so that the little buggers can hatch in the spring and help rid your yard and gardens of insect pests. Over the years, a few Christmas trees have entered homes with frogs and salamanders. These trees were, no doubt, harvested and displayed in southern states. One account stated that the salamander was initially identified as a baby alligator. Considering that alligators don't have the ability to climb trees, this would have been a true Christmas miracle! A couple of mammal stories have made the news over the last few years. One in Florida involved a raccoon. While I know that we are talking about mammals here, this story seems a bit fishy. Just how does a decent-sized raccoon remain undetected within a Christmas tree from the seller to inside the owner's home? My guess is that there must have been an open window or door that allowed the animal to enter the house. For what may be obvious reasons, the tree looked like home, and the raccoon climbed up. What is known for sure is that using your dog to help rid the tree of the beast will definitely end with the tree knocked over, ornaments scattered and broken on the floor, and a raccoon hanging from your dining room chandelier. Another mammal story involves an opossum. Again, how does an opossum end up inside a house within a live tree? Well, that's a much larger question with this scenario. As it turns out, this Christmas tree was fake. Now, if it was, for example, simply stored, let's say, in the barn in its fully decorated entirety, then a bit less CSI is needed. But if it was assembled, as many fake trees are, then I'm thinking open doors and windows again. Please check out the many YouTube videos on these Christmas tree mammal encounters. They are a hoot! And speaking of owls … Owls seem to be the most marketable of all of the Christmas tree surprises. Again, while exceedingly rare, it is a sure thing that if an owl is discovered in someone's Christmas tree, it is going to make the news. And further, since it is going to be a small owl species, it is going to be call a "baby owl." A baby owl at Christmastime would be another miracle. One recent owl story comes from Lexington, Kentucky, in 2023. This darn thing remained quiet, and totally undetected within the owner's home for four days! Kids, dogs, husbands … none of them knew it was there. And before you ask, they had decorated the tree the first day they set it up! (And here I am wondering, did the owl think they did this all for him/her?) It was, of all people, a hired carpet cleaner who discovered the thing, and with work gloves on, safely snatched it up. It turned out to be an intermediate morph (grayish-brown) Eastern screech-owl. At a whopping seven inches tall, it showed just how stealthy an owl can be. (I just wonder if it ate anything while it was there.) (Like what you ask? Well, they do eat small rodents.) The last unexpected gift, another owl in fact, was found in 2020 in none other than the famous Rockefeller Tree in New York City. This darn bird was trapped when the tree was wrapped up before cutting. It survived the felling of the tree … it survived the loading and transport of the tree (175 miles) ... and it survived the erection and decoration of the tree. While some tufted owls certainly look like cats, this tiny, saw-whet owl must have had nine lives! (Or, it just wandered into the tree after it was set up.) One might wonder from all of this, are "live" Christmas trees problematic? Not at all, but it is best to check out your tree thoroughly before bringing it into the house.