Being treed is a good thing

You all know that English is a language that is constantly changing. It alters and expands to accommodate new meanings, technologies or practices.

True, your vocabulary has to grow if you are going to stay on top of things, but it's a good thing. We wouldn't want to be calling iPods portable electronic multiple-platform media-playing devices.

Some clever high schoolers in the town where most of my kids grew up developed a practice (at least the practice was new to me) that needed a new word, so one was found. I'm not sure how widespread the practice is. I haven't heard of it being done here, but as you also know, some words are locale specific, although the usage of such words tends to spread as the practice does.

Check your dictionary for an entry of the verb “tree.” Your edition may be missing an important meaning for that word unless it looks something like this:
tree vt (treed, treeing) a. (1700) to drive to or up a tree. (treed by a bull) (dogs treeing game) b. to put someone into a position of extreme disadvantage, corner, esp. to bring to bay c. vi (1990) to haul a large number of used Christmas trees to a domestic property where they are stood upright in the snow, creating an illusion of a healthy evergreen forest (treed by the senior class) (kids treeing their teachers).

Okay, if you are like a lot of other people and don't want to read a whole dictionary entry, let alone look up a word, you can get by with reading only definition c. above. That is the one that may be new to you, and that is the one I want to call to your attention.

Should you awaken one morning soon to find that your front yard looks like an overcrowded tree lot, you will know that you have been treed by means of definition c.

So that you will know how to respond to such a situation, let me remind you that you need not confuse definition c. with definition b. Nor do you need to confuse it with hate mail. It is not the kiss of death nor any other message from the Mafia.

It is most likely just a manifestation of being noticed by a group of high school kids with access to some trees, a pickup truck and time on their hands.

Let me also point out that treeing is in to way dangerous nor destructive unless you find that holes in your snow are particularly perilous.

True, someone will have to clean up those trees, but it's not as bad as you think. Just put them out on the curb on the first garbage day after the New Year, and they will be removed by the local garbage service. (Check dates and times for your area.) You will be doing them a favor. The trees are already gathered, and the refuse technician can pick up the whole neighborhood's trees in one stop instead of forty.

Or run them through the mulcher and scatter them in the flower garden next spring. Saves you lots of money. Or consider them an early start on next year's wood pile.

Or take advantage of having your own national forest and hike among the trees, ski between them, have a winter campout, try snowshoeing, feed the birds…

That is, should you find you have been treed.

To their great credit, I have lately noticed a few high schoolers dropping off trees, one at a time, at people's homes—trees decorated with lights and ornaments. Those recipients have been treed as well, and they will know what the message is.