Petaluma dairy adds Christmas tree farm

It’s easy to find Petaluma’s newest tree farm. Country Christmas Trees is located in the rolling green hills west of town, a pleasant family outing.

It’s well-marked, with a large red sign and a second sign identifying the location as the McIsaac Ranch.

Someone with a whimsical sense of humor also has posted two signs along the road leading to the Two Rock dairy farm. One reads “Keep Going,” the second promises “Almost There.”

Neil McIsaac is a fifth-generation dairy farmer. He and his wife, Jessica, parents of four youngsters, have learned that diversifying is necessary for ranchers and farmers in these times.

They’ve already begun selling their organic eggs at the ranch. Under the RedHill Farms umbrella, they also are available at Petaluma Market and Whole Foods. But in September, Jessica had an idea.

“I’ve seen how much people love coming to the country,” she said, “so why not sell Christmas trees?”

She set to work researching the idea and chose two types, Douglas fir and Noble fir, which are harvested from a small, family tree farm in Oregon. She also knew that they couldn’t just sell trees.

“On any of our family outings, our kids want to do fun activities,” McIsaac said. So their tree-shopping experience also includes a number of kid-friendly attractions.

Among them is a snow pit. While it isn’t filled with real snow, it is remarkably similar - cool and white, damp and scrunchy.

For those reluctant to leave the experience behind, McIsaac said it’s possible to take home some of the faux snow. For $8, snow lovers can buy a small plastic sack that, when mixed with water, makes a gallon of snow.

“It doesn’t melt,” she said, “and as long as it’s kept damp, you’ll have it through December.”

Other activities include face painting on weekends and a petting farm with baby animals, including Tinker Bell the mini-horse, bunnies, chickens and, naturally, cows.

Young mountaineers can scale Candy Cane Mountain, a peppermint stick-decorated haystack; paint ornaments that can be personalized as a remembrance; and ride a “horse.” The McIsaacs have created two hay bale equines, complete with saddles and hobbyhorse heads. When a bouncing, galloping young rider squeezes its furry ear, the horse whinnies.

The Christmas trees range from 2 feet to 11 feet, although McIsaac said a number of the tallest have already sold. Cost ranges from $25 to $120.

Lunch, beverages and snacks are available, and Santa visits from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Clo the Cow, the larger-than-life bovine, will drop in from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. (The McIsaacs sell their milk to Clover-Stornetta.)

Country Christmas Trees is located at 1315 Tomales Road, 763-0334, countrychristmastrees.com. It is open 9 a.m.-5p.m. Friday-Sunday through Dec. 21.

Contact Petaluma Towns ?Correspondent Katie Watts at PetalumaTowns@gmail.com.