B.C. couple feel the neighbourhood love for their front-yard Christmas tree project

For the last 14 years at Christmastime, Morgan and Kathryn Hearney have decorated the oak tree in the front yard of their Kelowna, B.C., home, much to the delight of an appreciative neighbourhood.

What many of their neighbours probably don'tknow is that the pair were considering giving up the tradition this year because, as the tree has grown, it's been getting physically harder for them to decorate it.

But the pandemic changed their mind.

"We all need to do things that fillus up and bringa smile and giveus hope," Morgan Heaney told Sarah Penton, the host of CBC's Radio West.

The tree at the corner of Richter Street and Birch Avenue, outfitted with glittering red and gold balls of various sizes,has becomesomething of a locallandmark at Christmastime.

"We walked by on our way to school and it just brings a smile to our face just to see your tree," Morgan Hearney recalled two 14-year-old girls writing in a thank you note they left at the front door.

"Last year, severalRCMP constables stopped by at 10:30 one night, rang the doorbell and just said, 'We wanted to say thank you for your tree and how much joy it brings us,'" she said.

She says people driving by their house often honk their horns and, if one of the Heaneys is there, shout out their appreciation.

A decade ago, the decorating used to take the Heaneys a few hours, but as the tree has grown, so have the hours needed to decorate it. Today, they say it can take 20 hours for the 420 ornaments they now put on it.

This year, a friend has pitched in with a pole and a long ladder to help them reach the top of the tree.

As they've got older, they say the task has become harder.

"We both have a lot of pain all the time," said Kathryn Heaney. "To get up on the ladder, lean against it and stretch all your muscles, you're really sore."

When she and her wife posted to Facebook they were consideringgiving up the seasonal tradition in November, she says they found more support for theendeavour than they'd realized.

"We need to do it ... and ... we're so glad we did," she said.

Tap the link below to listen toMorgan and Kathryn Hearney's conversation with Sarah Penton: