Comments and Suggestions from 2010

Each year we always have a drawing for a free tree or wreath for the following year. The 2010 season was no exception. The drawing slip includes a "Comments/Suggestions" area. The following, in their entirety, are the comments and suggestions from the 2010 season. We have always placed the comments and suggestions, and any appropriate responses in bold, in a notebook in the gift shop. This year we decided to also post them on our web site so that they are available to all site visitors.

We wish to thank all our 2010 customers who took the time to share their Pinestead experience with us. Through them we have learned and we have made changes. In addition, when things get rough; late frosts, drought conditions, insect infestations... your kind comments encourage us and sustain us.

“Amazing experience, well done.” K. P., Cambridge
“You have the best selection. Please put me on the e-mail list.” K. S., Andover
“We had a fabulous time! All trees are beautiful and priced right! Merry Christmas!!” W. B., Blaine
“Merry Christmas.” E. S., Cambridge
“This place is great.” D. F., Linwood Township
“We always get the best trees here, love it.” J. E., Isanti
“We love it here!!” T. S., Ham Lake
“Like the animals!” K. L., Ham Lake
“We enjoyed our visit to Pinestead and found the staff very friendly and helpful! The feel of the store was eclectic! C. G., Forest Lake
“Love the tree! Thank you again.” K. B., Minneapolis
“Thank you.” M. B., North Oaks
“Wonderful experience.” L. H., Cambridge
“This place is so fun for family holiday events with Christmas trees!!” C. H., Cambridge
“Great trees!” M. L., Cambridge
“More Santa times during the week.” J. M., Forest Lake Sorry, but we are just not busy enough to have Santa come during the week. We already have him here seven times on weekends.
“Great place!” H. L., Stanchfield
“We love your beautiful trees! You run a first class business.” R. T., Burnsville
“You are very helpful/personable. Thanks for having a great facility!” M. O., Isanti
“Keep doing what you’re doing. We like the dog Scout.” J. W., Isanti
“We like your puppy.” M. W., Andover
“I like the dog Scout and the train.” R. W., Isanti
“Roads were very snowy!” M. H., Minneapolis [drove out the Saturday of the big snowstorm]
“We love your trees, Merry Christmas!!” A. N., Isanti
“1st time to a tree farm—had a blast!” E. M., Chaska
“Wonderful trees!” L. S., Ham Lake
“Great trees, we come every year!” C. B., Blaine
“Friendly dog and staff! Kids love the train! Thanks!” D. V., Blaine
“Very friendly people!” J. M., Cambridge
“Kids had fun!!” E. W., Princeton
“Awesome place! Will definitely be back next year!” C. K., Zimmerman
“Love the 8ft or above White Pine, always have a hard time finding one. Love coming here for holidays, Santa, sleigh [hay] ride.” J. S., Plymouth
“Our 15th year.” S. M., Bethel
“Wonderful experience with the grandchildren. Thank you.” R. N., Andover
“Great place! Love it!” J. W., Zimmerman
“Have been coming here for over 15 years will come back every year after.” Thank you.” K. Y., Blaine
“Very satisfying tree selection!” C. B., Isanti
“Great family fun!” A. L., Ogilvie
“Loved it!” D. R., Andover
“Love it here. We come every year!” N. H., Blaine
“I like the trees!” P. O., Andover
“Love it here!” J. K., Zimmerman
“On website pricing was stated as a “tree by tree” basis. The tree I picked was not grade A perfect, but still was priced as so or at least “standard”! Otherwise was a great time and I will still be returning next year! Thanks!” J. B., Isanti Pricing individual trees is as much art as science. We wish you would have brought it to our attention while you were here.
“Great time as always!” St. Anthony
“Great Place!” T. A., Shoreview
“Got your coupon off your website—Thanks. Merry Christmas!” L. M., Wyoming
“Wagon ride going this year?” D. J., Cambridge Not sure when you were here. It was going almost continuously the first two weekends, the third weekend it was shut down because of the snowstorm and below zero wind chills. It never runs on weekdays except for Thanksgiving Friday.
“Great service!” J. H., Andover
“Wonderful farm. 4th yr here.” L. K., Roseville
“Very nice place.” A. L., Princeton
“My kids have had many fun times picking Christmas trees. Thank you! God bless you!” N. Brooklyn Park
“Lovely—so glad I stopped!!” Thank you.” R. O., North Branch
“Thanks! Merry Christmas.” L. D., Crystal
“Awesome place.” L. S., Centerville
“Indoor restrooms please.” R. D., Champlin Sorry, but an addition with plumbing and a commercially sized septic system (required) is cost prohibitive for the limited time we are open.
“Been getting our tree here for years! Christmas tradition.” J. P., Isanti
“We love it here!” R. S., Andover
“Very nice.” K. S., Cambridge
“We started coming here last year and brought our family with this year. We love it!!” L. M., Isanti
“Thanks. Nice tree selection. 3rd year here.” J. Ham Lake
“We like tall “fat” trees! Nice Fraser today!!” C. N., Mendota Heights
“Very wonderful experience—love your hours and friendly service. From one business owner to another.” K. N., Stacy
Thank you for the 6th year. We always love picking out our trees here.” M. C., Cambridge
“Love your trees!!” M. Isanti
“Been coming here for years! S. S., Isanti
“Great! Thank you.” A. P., Blaine
“More signage by trees—on which ones are available—couldn’t always see tags.” A. H., East Bethel Not sure how we can address your request. The tags are quite large with lots of red on them. It’s been since 1991 that we have had this much snow on the trees during the sales season. The main culprit was the first heavy wet snow that froze on and wouldn’t shake off.
“Great place! K. S., Cambridge
“Thank you!” A. G., Braham
“Everything was wonderful. We used to come here when we were kids.” H. M., Otsego That makes me feel old.
“Fun family time.” A. M., Andover
“Thank you—this is a favorite holiday tradition.” R. B., Blaine
“Coming here to pick out our tree is our favorite Christmas tradition! Thanks for being here year after year!” L. L, Isanti
“We all found our trees within 20 min of being here. That is a record. Thank you!!” L. M., Otsego
Love your trees! (2nd time here) Thanks.” B. H., Blaine
“We miss the White Spruce!” A. B., Eden Prairie The market for them is limited because their needle retention is not as good as the other “short needle” trees. However, we a growing some Black Hills Spruce (a subspecies of White Spruce) for landscape trees and will start selling surplus ones as Christmas trees in a couple of years.
“This is my first time here. My daughter told us about your nice tree farm. T/Y all.” S. J., Minneapolis
“Keep coming every year—love the extra touches.” D. T., Pine City
“7th year!!” M. S., Bethel
“We have the best tree every!” L. G., Shoreville
“Family tradition—great place.” L. K., Bloomington
“Loved it!” K. M., Coon Rapids
“We have been coming here for 10 yrs and will be coming back for many more.” R. S., Andover
“Friendly staff.” D. T., Pine City
“Been coming here for years—love it!” N. P., Andover
“Good fullness.” K. T., Pine City
“All the big trees were already gone. Nice fullness on trees though.” N. T., Pine City The 10’+ trees went fast, but people were still bringing in 8-9’ trees from the field the third weekend. We had 10’ pre-cut trees until the 4th weekend.
“Nice trees and fun atmosphere.” K. K., Andover
“Very pretty trees.” T. N., Isanti
“This place is a nice change to shopping malls.” B. T., Minneapolis
“Love bringing the kids here to see Santa and pick our tree. It’s now a family tradition.” A. R., Pine City
“Nice tree farm.” R. R., Lino Lakes
“Excellent operation. Great place for families.” P. L., Isanti
“We need bigger Blue Spruce trees! There were almost none! We had to go smaller…” D. L., Circle Pines We are overplanting Blue Spruce (and the Firs) to get larger ones. The spring frost that killed all the new growth on the Balsam Fir caused many more people than usual to take Blue Spruce.
“Love the shop! Thank you!” K. E., Isanti
“Wonderful place!” L. S., Ham Lake
“Thanks for another great tree!” M. J., Minneapolis
“We love coming here! Great prices on your gifts!” J. B., Arden Hills
“We love Pinestead!!” K. C., Richfield
“Love getting our tree here.” M. E., Isanti
“We love coming to Pinestead for our tree. It is a family tradition.” C. J., St. Francis
“Nice place! Have been coming 4 years in row!!!” B. A., Ramsey
“Always having a great time at your tree farm!!!” S. A., Ham Lake
“I liked the shop and the fire and the hayrides.” J. K., Coon Rapids
“Thank you for having the larger pre-cut trees!” S. P., Blaine
“Wonderful atmosphere. Thanks for the donation [to the] Isanti Xmas Village.” D. J., Isanti
“I really liked it here, especially the fireplace and concessions.” B. C., New Brighton
“You are truly wonderful for giving to the community. Thank you for all you do!” R. R., Isanti
“We’ve been coming here for over 15 yrs.” S. S., Harris
“Merry Christmas!” K. W., Blaine
“Awesome time and great tree here every year.” C. G., Blaine
“Returned again! Kids love it!!” J. D., Harris
“Nice trees.” M. L, Stacy
“LOVE IT! We come every year.” K. S., Blaine
“Great—as always!” M. M., Cambridge
“Love your trees. We always come here.” M. K., Andover
“We love coming here!” H. N., Isanti
“Very cool place.” M. B., Fridley
“Love this place!! It’s our tradition for many yrs to come!” R. S., Roseville
“Great! A suggestion though is to ask for email addresses right on this form.” E. C., Isanti After the first weekend we did replace the forms with new one’s asking for email addresses.
“Awesome trees!” J. B., Rush City
“Extend Santa hours, we were here around 2 on a Sat after Thanksgiving and he left. My kids did not get their picture.” M. D., Dayton We advertize Santa as here until 2:00pm, but he always stays an extra 10-15 minutes. We’re sorry you missed him.
“We love your tree farm. We have been coming of 10 years and drive from Rosemount, MN!!” T. B., Rosemount
“Great location, tree selection and good service. Thank you. Highly recommended.” M. B., Mankato
“Thank you!” C. V., Isanti
“Great tree farm!” C. P., Elk River
“Great family fun!” B. L., Cedar
“My youngest son is really crabby right now.” R. L., Mounds View
“Nice selection of trees!” D. G., Blaine
“Here every year!” K. B., Isanti
“Been here many times!” B. J., Cambridge
“More White Pines!” We have a new field coming in along the south edge behind the buildings. We should have quite a few ready next year.
“I love this place. I look forward to coming here every year. Everyone is so nice and welcoming. THANK YOU! Scout [Greg’s dog] is AWESOME!” K. F., Willmar
“It’s our tradition!” J. S., Andover
“Family tradition every year to cut tree together and deco. And get picture. Not as many mature this yr?” L. F., Ham Lake A Mother’s Day weekend frost killed all the new growth on the Balsam Fir this year. It’s the first time it ever happened and we can only hope it’s the last time.
“We love coming here for our trees! Great trees. Great shop!” T. M., Minneapolis
“We have fun every year. It’s become a family tradition. We use to buy 1 tree. Now we buy 3.” J. B., Blaine
“Love your place!” P. M., Minneapolis
“This is awesome.” L. S., Coon Rapids
“We come here every year and love the gift shop, fire and visiting Santa. Thanks!” R. B., Blaine
“Love the fun we always have here. You do such a great job I can’t think of anything more you could do.” G. O., Anoka Wish that were true. You should see our work list.
“Love the facepainting!” C. O., Andover
“We like the 9-10ft trees! Great trees! 6th year.” K. B., Andover
“Very nice. Here 1st time.” A. F., Wyoming
“Very great environment! Would definitely come back here!” J. R., Shoreview
“Fun Family afternoon!” G. G., East Bethel
“Awesome trees as always!” B. W., Isanti
“Great Fraser’s.” E. V., White Bear Lake
“Very nice here. 1st time.” G. S., Chisago City
“Keep the Norways and Scotch Growing!” B. S., Isanti We already have more than enough Norway’s and are close to getting ahead on the Scotch.
“I appreciate all the help out by the cut trees—Thanks” S. N., Cambridge
“Your trees are very good and high quality.” M. F., St. Anthony Village
“Awesome tree farm. Extremely friendly! Thank you! Merry Christmas.” M. B., Stacy
“Been coming here for 14 years.” J. H., Andover
“Great trees! Love coming here every year.” J. T., Arden Hills
“First time cutting down our own tree and it was a great experience!” L. R., Andover
“Great place.” W. W., Blaine
“4th yr here as family. Many more to come. Thank you for being so friendly!” S. B., Forest Lake
“Had a great time! Beautiful tree!” K. H., Ham Lake
“Great time!” C. S., Cambridge
“We have been coming for years with our family. We love it!” J. B., North Branch
“This has been our family tradition for 40+ years—keep up the good work.” S. H., Coon Rapids Actually, over half of the 40 years were elsewhere. We started planting here in 1986 which is 25 years ago.
“Love it, we come every year for tree, wreath, Santa and lunch!” P. F., Cambridge
“Thanks! Cute place.” L. K., Lino Lakes
“Love this place! So cute! 3rd time here.” N. B., Isanti
“Great place.: D. G., Bethel
“Love this place” T. C., Cambridge
“We come here every yr!” A. A., Champlin
“5th year coming and we love it. Thank you.” E. P., Cambridge
“We love it here. We have been coming here for 4 or 5 yrs now.” K. F., Isanti
“Love this place. Have been coming here for 5 years now. Thanks.” A. V., Fridley
“Have a merry Christmas.” J. B., East Bethel
“You have a wonderful place here—we’ll be back.” R. S., North Branch
“Merry Christmas!” K. P., Blaine
“Awesome!” M. U., Ham Lake
“7x!! Thank you!” F. M., Isanti
“Thank you!” A. A., Cambridge
“This is our favorite place.” P. R., Mounds View
“Thank you—Wonderful place!” S. J., Braham
“Very cold day out—your staff is great at being there to help!” T. F., Blaine
“Keep up the GREAT work!” A. S., St. Louis Park
“Great tree’s” R. O., Cedar
“Great!” P. R., East Bethel
“My parents recommended your place rather than ______!” M. S., Isanti
“We shop for our tree here every year!” K. A., Isanti
“Best place ever.” B. M., Cambridge
“Great place.” R. J., North Branch
“Always a great time—it is a family tradition.” J. M., East Bethel
“Love your place—been coming here for years.” M. S., Isanti
“Come every year.” D. M., Isanti
“Love that you’re open weekdays!” S. H., Cambridge
“Thanks for cider and cookies.” N. R., Coon Rapids
“I love the trees, cider, & cookies…& animals!” C. L., Blaine
“Good times.” T. R., Cambridge
“Great!!” H. S., St. Francis
“Been here for 9 years. It’s like family. Won’t go elsewhere!” L. W., Isanti
“Love the new website! Easy to navigate and very informative & fun to browse through!” J. G., Cedar
“Love your place!” M. V., Cambridge
“Keep up the good work.” C. K., Isanti
“Have been coming here for years. We love it.” T. D., East Bethel
“We come here every year for tree. It’s always a great time. Thanks.” G. W., Cambridge
“Love your trees and your shop!” C. B., Blaine
“Great!!” B. S., Minneapolis
“We love it here.” A. H., Cambridge

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Comments and Suggestions from 2010

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