World's Greatest Christmas Tree

So, it's that time of year. Christmas is almost here and after working away on my annual "Best of" slideshow(which you can check out here if you haven't seen it yet: http://www.directmotocross.com/news/features/2010/12/james-lissimores-best-2010-slideshow) I needed to spruce my house up with a little Christmas cheer. Since I live in my Grandfather's old farm house here in Abbotsford, I wanted to keep a tradition alive that was always a part of the festive season here on the farm: He would always get the barest looking tree he could find, drape it in a set of outdoor lights and call it a day. The so called "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree. It's one of those things that I always associate with Christmas here on the farm so I figured since this is the first Christmas since he passed away, I needed to keep the tradition alive. So, last Saturday, my friend Jackie and I hiked through the forest behind my house and found this beauty. Sure enough, the old lights were still hanging in the garage so with the lights and a few decorations we were done.

I love it, it reminds me of good times with my Grandfather

Merry Christmas

Turning 30

Group shot while enjoying our salmon bbq after a great day of riding up at Hemlock Valley Resort

Well, it was bound to happen eventually, but I turned 30 this past weekend. It made me feel old and not so old all at the same time. Yeah, my 20's might be over but with an already packed schedule of adventures starting to take shape for 2011 I'm more excited and ever for what the next year is going to bring. 

I'm lucky to have some great friends and with my friend, Andre's birthday the day before mine, we decided to have a day of snowboarding and barbequing up at the Opening Day for Hemlock Valley Resort near my hometown of Mission. The day dawned clear and crisp and with it being opening day we knew there'd be plenty of untouched powder to be plundered so we made sure to get there nice and early. I rarely ride Hemlock these days with Baker being almost the same driving distance but it was fun to hang out at the low key mountain with friends and ride untouched snow until our legs couldn't take it anymore. We made one last half hour hike to hit an untouched line and then it was salmon time. After a few hours of grilling and enjoying some beers it was time to call it a day and I can't think of a better way to have spent my 30th. Thanks to everyone for coming out and making it such a great day!

James

 Sev fires up his bionic knee so we can get this day started

 Self portrait: So stoked to ride!

 Trev checks on the snacks

 Sev brought an entire salmon to grill up for lunch

 Our parking lot grill/hangout zone

 BBQ time

 Nothing's better than beers and friends after a hard day of riding

 Fresh salmon burgers, right off the grill

 Trevor shows how it's done

 Someone forgot to give Matt the memo that Movember is over

 OK, all three of them missed the memo

 More mustache

 The last rays of sun hit the mountain

 It was Andre's birthday the day before so we celebrated together, even if he's way greasier

Good times

Look at this Guy

 

I've had an owl living in my barn for as long as I can remember, but other than the odd fleeting glance as he flew over me at night I've never really got a good look at him. Well, driving home from Whistler the other night I came up my driveway and low and behold he was just sitting on my fence. I figured he'd fly away as soon as he saw me but he just sat there and hung out and allowed me to get my camera out of the bag and grab a few shots. Finally, I drove up the rest of my driveway and he flew away, off to find more mice, I'm sure. It's not exactly the most artistic photo I've ever taken but it's not too often you get a chance to photograph one of these unique animals.

James