American family 36 years dresses the same living pine

In 1983 Joe (Joe) and Gina Mistretta (Gina Mistretta) from Irvine bought for Christmas Scotch pine for $ 20. The tree reaches a height of only 60 centimeters — it was so small that it could sustain only one garland. After the holidays, the pine looked dead, the Americans felt sorry to throw it out, and they have kept the tree for next Christmas. Thus was born a tradition that was already 36 years old. Now the family is going to pass the tree by inheritance to his son.

Pine watered, several times a year transplanted, and the head of the family regularly sawed the barrel to fit under the ceiling of the room. The tree even survived the fire. At some moment to 130-pound tree could carry through the front door of the house, it had to expand twice.

Funny that the tree is older than both children in the family: Michael and Joe Jr. never celebrated the holiday with cut or artificial trees. Therefore, the annual dump trees after Christmas seem to Michael wild: "I just hate it when you walk down the street and see how people throw out the trees."

According to the calculations of Professor at the University of California John Sides, for 34 years, the wood absorbed more than a ton of carbon dioxide — this number is formed by the burning of 540 kilograms of coal. Due to the fact that the family did not every year to chop down different trees, it reduced the gas emissions from greenhouses. For comparison: if they had all this time, every year brought home a live spruce, it would have produced 170 kilograms of carbon dioxide, and if every five years to buy an artificial fir tree that 125 kilograms.

The couple handed over the tradition of son Joe Junior and his girlfriend who live in the Bay area of San Francisco. They have their own small tree in a pot, which they plan to use year after year. Well, this tree is likely to inherit younger son Michael. Scotch pines live from 150 to 300 years, and Mistretta plan to keep your tree as long as possible. "You'll scatter our ashes" — joked the head of the family in conversation with journalists.