Estacada is known as the Christmas Tree capital of the world. Just like most Iowa farmers grow corn, here in Estacada and the surrounding areas, most farmers have Christmas tree lots. The harvest begins a few weeks before Thanksgiving. This weekend we stopped to take pictures of one farmer harvesting his crop with a helicopter, which seems to be a common practice. A group of workers will cut down the trees and bundle them deep within the field. The helicopter will then fly overhead with a dangling cable. Without slowing down, the helicopter will hook up to a bundle of trees, fly them to the front of the lot, then release them. From there, the farmers will load the bundle for delivery.
