They’re cutting down trees

I can see the brewings of a ‘master project’ about to form this week. My husband left for Florida yesterday with our daughter, Betty. They will be away for 10 days. In his absence, two men will be working in our yard, and will be taking down five dead pine trees.

Our driveway in Carp, Ontario
One of our trees being cut down

Our entire yard is covered in trees. We have 5 acres and no grass. So, removing pine trees won’t make a dent in the foliage that we have here.

What worries me is the part of the project that involves a chipper, and then spreading the chips around the yard in decorative places.

Cutting down trees on our property in Carp, Ontario
Dead tree is down across the driveway

On top of that, my husband wants some other spindly trees removed because he thinks we look too penned in, having so many trees. Damn trees. What? Why? It’s like we’re living in a forest.

It’s the timing of the tree project that concerns me. We are leaving our house to live in a campground in less than a months’ time. Projects like these tend to escalate, causing us all-nighters. I have visions of us schlepping wood under headlamp to make our yard look beautiful. And, it will look nice, I’m sure. But, the effort. Flipping hell.

Our house in Carp, Ontario before we set sail on SV Aphrodite. This is the house that we call the big house and it is part of our family dictionary.

Lorraine Escher

When we began, I had no sailing experience. After ten years of circumnavigation, this lifestyle has been nothing like I imagined. The highs —swimming with dolphins, and meeting people who live in remote places —have been exhilarating and life changing. The lows — losing a rudder at sea or experiencing rough weather — have been challenging. Beach days with small children have given way to school days, as our kids prepare for university. We hope that our lifestyle, meeting interesting, passionate people, and our need for teamwork and self-reliance are memories that shape our children into adults who contribute to their communities and seize life with fervor.

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