DEBLOIS (AP) – James “Weasel” Perry isn’t bothered by wind in the face, cold fingers or early darkness as he snatches tips from balsam firs that’ll eventually be transformed into wreaths.

The sophomore at Cherryfield Christian Academy lives for the weeks between Halloween and early December when he can join his stepfather in the woods for the lucrative seasonal work of “tipping.”

“It’s fun, and you make good money at the same time,” Perry said. On a good day, the 15-year-old said, he can pocket $100 or more.

Tipping is an annual rite of late autumn for Stanley “Junior” McLain, Perry’s stepfather, and Debbie McLain, who makes wreaths on her kitchen table from the greenery her husband and son bring home.

They’re part of a Down East cottage industry that produces upward of 1.5 million wreaths, many of which will be shipped across the country.

David Fraser of Harrington buys wreaths from the McLains and 60 other wreath makers working from their homes. He said tipping is just another seasonal job that people use to scrape together a living or to make extra money.

“It’s just what you do down here in Washington County,” Fraser said. “You do it between clamming, lobstering and blueberrying. You do fairly decent if you do a good job. It’s just part of living here.”

Few who’re engaged in tipping and wreath making are new to the work. Families grow up with the seasonal tradition.

Like Perry, both of the McLains remember being initiated in tipping and wreath making as youngsters.

Debbie McLain grew up in Franklin, where her mother taught her to transform evergreen tips, wire and 12-inch rings into wreaths. Junior McLain grew up in Steuben, where his mother continues to make wreaths on her own.

Thirty years later, Debbie McLain’s fingers are nimble as ever. She tapes her fingers so the wires don’t leave her with cuts.

Her husband delivers the wreaths to Fraser’s Downeast Wreath Co., 12 dozen at a time. The scent of balsam fir fills the kitchen.

“I love this time of year,” she said. “I love how the house smells.”

She would make wreaths year-round if she could, but it’s a short season. For four or five weeks, the kitchen table and floor overflow with brush.

Everybody understands the daybreak-to-darkness frenzy. McLain earns $32 for every dozen wreaths she turns over. Others who sell to other wreath companies earn more, but she’s happy that she gets to stay home, she said.

The other end of the operation takes place out in the woods.

It involves scanning the lower parts of trees for healthy boughs, then reaching in and snapping off the tips. An average day’s haul can be between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds. The going price is 35 cents a pound.

Some landowners allow tipping for free. Others, like Wagner Forest Management, charge a fee for a tipping permit.

When rangers from the Maine Forest Service appear, tippers are expected to show their permits or documents. So far this season, rangers have issued eight summonses for tipping violations.

As many as 20 or 30 violations are recorded in a typical season Down East, said Jeff Currier, the Maine Forest Service supervisor for southern Washington County and Hancock County.

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