Sooo..the year 2020 will certainly go down in history as one of the more “dynamic” years we have had in some time. Many of us look forward to stability and tradition in an unstable World. One of the more cherished traditions, is to decorate for the Holidays. The sights and sounds of the season abound as the rough edges in life are covered with a lovely blanket of snow. Usually, folks wait until after Thanksgiving to begin decorating for the holidays, but this year is different. You can already see decorations springing up all over, not only in Real Life, but in SecondLife as well, as snow-covered Sims begin to carpet the grid.
I had the very real pleasure of visiting Tex’s Tree Farm
last week. Both Tex, and his partner,
Summer, were up to their elbows in boxes of Christmas Decoration as they busily
decorated their Sim for the holidays.
Despite this activity, they were able to carve out enough time to
graciously answer my questions about their operation.
Josh (Thomas1 Bellic):
Hi Tex, Hi Summer. Thanks for inviting us back again this Winter to tour
your lovely Sim. You guys always do a
great job here, and I am sure that, along with other Christmas Traditions, a
visit to Tex’s Tree Farm will soon become an annual trek for many of the grid’s
more discerning residents.
So then, what is the “Tex’s Tree Farm” difference that makes
your place unique among the hundreds of sims on SL?
Tex Humby: Tex's Tree
Farm is unique because we are the only tree farm that you can chop down your
own tree with an axe. We have created in SL a full family experience like you
would have in RL cutting down your own Christmas Tree.
JB: What was your
inspiring “Ahh Haaa” moment when you first realized that a “chop down your own
Christmas Tree” would become a reality in SL?
TH: We knew chopping
down a tree isn't new in SL with RP Sims. But we never saw anyone cutting down
a Christmas Tree; So we put our heads together and found a workable solution so
that Real Life experience could be brought to SL, for SL families to be able to
have that same Family tradition they experience in RL.
JB: I see you have a
Gift shop here also? What might the
discerning shopper find in there?
TH: Under the Tree
Christmas Shop is an extension to Tex's Tree Farm. We have 100s of Christmas
Gacha from the best creators Items such as Rare Christmas Trees, food to toys.
Our Gacha Toy section is one the biggest Gacha toy shops in SL. The second
floor are non gacha items for your home decor. We also have our Pet adoption
center filled with gacha pets waiting to be adopted this yea. And for all those that love Harry Potter we
have a Magical Menagerie with an array of beasts and magical creatures.
Careful! Some do bite.
JB: I think I saw a
guy with a streaming hot cup of coffee and a donut. Where can a chilled tree shopper grab a bite
to eat around here?
TH: Our Deer Ridge
Cafe is where you will stop after a long hard day of cutting trees. Stop by our
cafe and get a warm cup of Hot Chocolate or cider. We also have several options
for meals and soups to get your energy back for more shopping or ice skating.
JB: How do you two
figure out the division of labor here?
Which of you does what, normally?
TH: Summer and I have
been together for 6 years in this game and from that moment we became not only
partners but partners in business. We both love creating. My wife Summer builds
the trees and I make sure everyone can cut them down and keep the sim running smoothly.
We have a great partnership in love and in business that keeps going. Every day
is a new adventure in our creativity.
JB: Do you guys
design your own trees? Or are these obtained
elsewhere and brought here?
TH: We do design our
own trees. These trees are all are one of a kind. Each year we design new ones so there are always
several more trees each year for families to come and have new options each
year for their family tree.
JB: Do you operate
the tree farm year-round? Or do you do
something else with the property during the off-season?
TH: We do not. We
own several other businesses so half our year is spent with upgrades or
building new sims and the other half is getting ready for the Christmas season
and the trees. The tree farm ends January 10th every year. That is when we put
in our samplings to get ready for the next winter season. All of our other
locations on the sim are open year-round.
JB: I see you also
have a lovely residential area here as well?
Can you share something about that with our readers?
TH: We do own several
rental business and Deer Ridge Cabins and Cottages is one that we have set up
for that winter season. Deer Ridge is
unique and decorated for that cozy warm winter season. And we do have residents
all year as well. Those are always open
JB: Is there anything
else you would like to share with our readers?
TH: Come and see the
vast array of trees we have to offer. All our trees have decorating options
which allows you to pick and choose which decorations you would like to see on
each tree. Stop by the cafe for a hot drink or a hot soup to warm you back up
for more shopping at Under the Christmas Tree Shop. There is so much to do and
see. Start your families Christmas tradition this year at Tex's Tree Farm. The
experience is waiting for you.
There you have it, Folks. The trees for sale at Tex’s Tree
Farm are beautiful (especially at midnight) and are very reasonably priced.
While not actually built as a “romance sim”, taking that special someone with
you to select a tree for your home or business and wander the isles at the gift
shop will make for a highly memorable Date Night for you both. By selecting and cutting down your own
Christmas Tree, you can continue a family tradition (or even start a new one),
AND, enjoy some shopping therapy in the process. Accomplish two things with one trip. Sounds like a Win-Win to me.
Be there! Aloha
JB
SURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Larsen/86/182/103
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