Ben Krull is a lawyer and essayist who lives on the Upper East Side.

Alvin is a 14-pound Boston terrier who does not share my affection for shoes. Needless to say, it took a while to find a pair that he would be seen in public with. But step foot out on a snow or salt covered sidewalk? He won’t have any part of that either.

Never in a million years did this native New Hampshire-ite think she would write a column advocating the use of canine booties. But I am a true convert. City sidewalks are tough on the feet. While dog’s paws are built to withstand outdoor terrain, a little pampering can be warranted. Snow and ice can build up between the toes and cling to fur on the feet, resulting in cuts and abrasions or, at the very minimum, uncomfortably cold feet. It is best to let the ice melt rather than trying to pull it off. Caustic sidewalk de-icer products can cause irritations and chemical burns. At the very least, you should inspect and cleanse your dog’s paws after walking. I keep a box of baby wipes at the door.

If you splurge on boots, be prepared for some resistance from your pet. It will take some time to get used to them. A good fit is necessary to ensure proper ambulation. Make sure the boots have suitable traction on the bottom, and be careful not to wrap them too tight. Of course, make sure the shoes fashionably accentuate the jacket. You don’t want to be caught by the canine
fashion police.

Other cold weather tips:
Keep your animals sheltered from inclement weather. The toasty indoors is always preferable.

If you must house your pet outdoors, provide ample housing that is elevated off the ground and insulated with dry bedding or straw. Find a house just large enough for the dog to stand and turn around in, but small enough to retain body heat. Unfrozen water and ample food are necessary.

Anti-freeze is highly toxic to pets, even in minuscule amounts. If you suspect that your pet has ingested anti-freeze, immediately seek veterinary attention. Life threatening kidney failure can occur, even with treatment.

Beware of thin ice. Keeping your dog on a leash around bodies of water is the smart thing to do.

–
Dr. Robin Brennen is vice president of program operations and chief of veterinary services at Bideawee, 410 E. 38th St.

Got a question for the vet?
Email it to pets@manhattanmedia.com.

Arguably one of the oldest continuously made alcoholic beverages, port is one of my faves for a number of reasons. Aside from being delicious, it is affordable. Because a bottle of port isn’t meant to be drunk in one sitting, even among a group of friends, it is a drink that lasts for a while. It stands to reason, then, that a $20 bottle of aged Tawny is well worth the cash, since it can be enjoyed for an extended period of time. Even a splurge like a bottle of 1978 vintage port (which was an amazing year) is a bargain at less than $300, compared to a good year of Bordeaux or a Burgundy, which can easily run into the thousands.

Another positive attribute is port’s durability. Port is fortified (thus making it a “fortified wine”) by adding brandy to grape juice that is only partially fermented. This does two things: it raises the alcohol content and stops the fermentation. Brandy is added until the alcohol content is higher than 17 percent. At this point, the yeast cells are unable to continue converting sugars into alcohol, and the sugar that remains is what gives port its trademark sweetness. Since sugar and alcohol are both natural preservatives, most ports are drinkable for a month or more after opening. Granted, everything has a shelf life, but with port you have much more leeway.

If you are new to drinking port, you might want to start with something on the younger end of the spectrum, like a ruby port. Taylor Fladgate Ruby Port ($11.99 @ PJ Wine, 4898 Broadway betw. 204th and 207th streets, 212-567-5500) is typical of this style, which is aged for only two or three years, and is the lightest of all red ports. There are flavors of currants and raisins, along with orange peel, ginger and allspice. This is a delicious way to end a meal by itself, or a great pairing with roast duck breast.

For something heavier and warmer, try an aged tawny port. The Fonseca 10 Year Old Tawny Port ($32.99 @ 67 Wines, 179 Columbus Ave. @ 68th Street, 212-724-6767) is a stellar example of this style. Tawny ports are left to age in oak casks for much longer, allowing the tannins to soften and the port to become mellower. The color lightens and the flavors are reminiscent of caramel, figs, brown sugar and molasses. This is an indulgent treat, perfect for pairing with a pungent hunk of Roquefort blue cheese.

Vintage port has a steep price tag, and when released it is not meant to be drunk right away. But if you want the indulgence of a vintage port, you’re still covered. Late bottled vintage port has been aged, bottled and is ready to open and enjoy immediately. It’s also quite a bit less expensive. The Quinta do Noval LBV 2003 ($18.39 @ Cabrini Wines, 831 W. 181st St. @ Cabrini Boulevard, 212-568-3226) fits the bill perfectly without breaking the bank. Darker, more tannic and muscular, this port will remind you of a cross between an aged tawny and a full-bodied Claret.

Take your pick. I’m sure you’ll find that there is something here to warm you on a cold winter night no matter what your taste in dessert wine dictates.

–
josh@pennilessepicure.com

It’s the dead of winter, and the dead of night. He’s thousands of miles from his Swedish home, selling Christmas trees on the Upper East Side. He works every night of the week, from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m.

“Yeah, it gets lonely,” he said.

There’s not much client interaction on the night shift; mostly he’s just guarding the trees. At least the neighbors are friendly. They dearly want to buy him coffee. For Thanksgiving, he got a meal’s worth of leftovers. And last year there was cheesecake.

Joel makes wreaths while waiting for late night customers on the East Side. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

In New York City, nothing hints at Christmas—not Black Friday sales, not even the incessant carols—like the rich, piney smell of a Douglas fir on your street corner. The city’s tree industry is mostly controlled by New Yorkers, but it’s the workforce that captures hearts, minds and a whole lot of food. They hail from Europe, the U.S. and, most notably, French Canada. In a city that claims to never sleep, these rugged individuals seem to be the only ones actually still awake. Sub-culture by day, sub-zero by night.

The radio is tuned to 101.9 FM.

“It’s the RXP. New York Rock Experience,” Joel said, the station identification by now drilled into his head. “I love that it’s not Christmas music.”

Joel was a medic in the Swedish army, and he plans to study medicine in school. But he’s not done traveling yet. With the money he saves this month, he’s heading off to East Africa, and will journey from Zanzibar down to Capetown.

Fredrik, another Swedish tree-seller who works the night shift on Columbus Avenue and West 90th Street, has found time for sightseeing while in the city, hitting the Empire State Building and New York Public Library.

“I have been waiting to do this a long time, and now I got the opportunity,” he said, cupping his hands for heat.

His girlfriend, also from Sweden, is
doing a one-year stint as an au pair on Long Island.

Food options abound for Fredrik. There’s a Domino’s Pizza down the block, and a 24-hour grocery store. Doughnuts and bagels are real American treats.

“Oh, and Starbucks. I love Starbucks,” he added

A local resident, Nancy, brings him coffee and food almost every night.

Shelter for the coldest days. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

“She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” he said.

The Swedes pay their own way to the U.S., but the rent here is mostly covered by the boss—for whatever that’s worth. In one case, four day-timers and two night-shifters are tucked into a small studio on the East Side.

Their salary is paid in a lump sum at the end of the month, but the amount is not pre-determined. Estimates for night-shifters range from about $1,500 to $2,500 for the whole month.

“First off, when I get my paycheck, I’m going to get a whole new wardrobe. Because the clothes here are really cheap compared to Sweden,” Fredrik said.

“You get a lot of lamb, steaks, everything. It’s cold, that’s the only problem,” said Raphael, a German windsurfing teacher who traveled through Baja California on his way to New York from the Dominican Republic.

“Maybe next year we’ll bring a microwave. One guy on Broadway has a microwave in his shelter.”

Raphael is charmed by New Yorkers.

“This experience of people bringing you food,” he said. “In Germany we would never have that.”

He’s living with his girlfriend—and windsurfing equipment and three surfboards—in a van on West 97th Street. It’s parked next to the wood-and-tarp shelter that Raphael built out of an old futon.

“In New York City, there is so much furniture in the garbage,” he said. “We have to do it all as low-budget as possible.”

His girlfriend, who sells the trees by day, has more luck meeting good Samaritans. She even showers in the home of a local family.

“For me, in the night shift, it’s a little different,” Raphael said. “Because the only people I know are on drugs mainly, or people going home from a party.”

The doorman in a nearby building gives them access to a bathroom. Or it’s a Rite Aid down the block. “We’ve got, for emergencies, our portable toilet in the van.”

Raphael studied philosophy, education and psychology back in Germany. The philosopher most likely to sell Christmas trees in the middle of the night, he ventures, is probably David Hume. “The guy was always trying to
experiment with the world.”

Ultimately he’d like to settle in Canada, where his girlfriend is from. “I’m too intelligent to expect that I’m
going to go traveling for my life.”

He’s not exactly sure why so many Canadians come down to sell trees in New York. “Maybe because they’re more weather-resistant. That’s what makes the job tough.”

He’s listening to some jazz on 88.3 FM, though during the day 106.7 Lite FM is the station of choice because “they play non-stop Christmas music.” Still, he’s not tired of the music. He’s not tired of the holiday either.

“For me, when I sell a tree to a family, and you have the kids there, it’s amazing. I love it.”

With the exception of some public parks, for which the city auctions off permits, most of the Christmas tree operations are on city sidewalks, and only require consent from the property-owner fronting the sidewalk.

That permission often comes at a price, and stores are sometimes reluctant to allow anything that will obstruct their signage.

But even while new space is hard to find, the Christmas tree industry has increasingly flooded the New York market with new product lines and new marketing tags.

The sheared balsam comes “from Nova Scotia’s most exotic forests,” reads the SoHo Trees Website. The grand fir, “offers unique, ultra-wide silver tipped needles and incredible citrus fruit aromas.”

Adam from Serbia pulls the late shift on Broadway and West 72nd Street. Photo by Andrew Schwartz

Other well-known conifers are Douglas firs from the Pacific Northwest and Fraser firs from North Carolina.

Greg Walsh, who owns Greg’s Quality Christmas Trees, says the balsams dominated the industry two decades ago. The Douglas and Frasers would later secure a bigger market share.

But there’s momentum behind the noble firs, perhaps the richest looking trees, with branches that can take on the heaviest ornaments. A big noble planting boom on the West Coast is expected to drive down prices in coming years.

Walsh has been selling trees in New York for a quarter-century. This year, for the first time, he equipped his locations with live-in trailers. The trailers are by no means the lap of luxury, but don’t tell that to the sellers.

“I got some guy with a full couch and flat screen in Queens,” he said. “It’s a family thing. And the mother’s helping him out.”

Walsh says he employs people from as far away as Arizona and Alaska. One local seller will start work on Wall Street in January, but needs some money in the meantime.

Two of his sellers, from the Niagara Falls area, have turned their trailer into a kind of vegetarian resort. “They’re like hippies living on kasha,” he said. “They call it urban camping. They’re having a ball.”

“They’ve got mounds of vegetables. They’re cooking beans and stew. They’re inviting people over for dinner in the trailer… and they make lovely dinners.”

Though not everyone’s taking advantage. For sellers who commute to their site, rather than live in the trailer full-time, “it just becomes a grind,” Walsh said.

He pokes fun at one of his more undomesticated sales teams in Manhattan: “They’re doing nothing. They’re just pathetic. No coffee maker, nothing.”

Pete Lance splits the night shift at an East Side tree stand, in a frat-bar-infused corridor of Second Avenue. He says the alcohol can be good for sales.

“Sometimes somebody comes stumbling out of Rathbones and they’re feeling pretty jolly,” he said, pointing to the popular restaurant pub.

He’s listening to Lite FM, as the station’s overwhelmingly festive playlist is good for business. The tree stand is crowned with a giant, illuminated elf. The neighbors, he said, don’t complain. “Everybody in the immediate area has been nothing but nice to us.”

On the snack front, he’s received cookies, cupcakes and hot chocolate.

During the non-winter months, Lance works as a commercial scallop fisherman based out of Cape May, N.J. Selling trees, he says, makes sense in winter.

“It kind of translates well to commercial fishing because it’s a lot of odd hours,” he said. “Long and odd hours. Nothing I’m not used to like staying up all night.”

He’s been staying in a nearby apartment to avoid the long commute back to South Jersey.

“I’m actually mostly here for fun. Any excuse to come to the city,” he said. “This was just a perfect reason to come spend a month in New York and be here and have that experience.”

* Some sellers requested that we not print their last names.