CHAINSAWS, HONEY BEES AND CANADIAN GEESE

          I awoke this morning, like the same few days beforehand; hearing loud buzzing sounds coming from the top of Green Mountain; not the busy buzz of honey bees producing life but the busy buzz of chainsaws destroying life.  Perhaps if the loggers are careful and are only selecting the larger trees, the forest will still be progressively intact, but if not, perhaps we'll be changing the name of Green Mountain to Bald Mountain.  My neighbour who owns the property, which is in the middle between ours and the one being logged at the top of the mountain, wants to log his as well.  I cringe as I hear the saws cutting swaths through the forest at the top of the mountain and the thought of the same happening to my neighbour's property.  Hopefully, the trees will be thoughtfully harvested, because if they are not, especially if the stumps are ripped from the earth as well; heavy rains could wash the muddy soil down through our property and into the pristine stream that flows into the lake at Sandy Beach; an environmental disaster occurring.  

          When I was a young man living in Vancouver, BC, fresh out of high school and without a job, I went to work for a small logging company near Hixon, which is located about 40-50 miles south of Prince George.  At 125lbs., a complete greenhorn, I never declared myself to be a logger of any status - my job was to measure the trees when they were skidded onto a landing so that they could be bucked into appropriate lengths for the sawmill.  However, one day when the choker-man fell and broke his ribs I replaced him for the remainder of the day, and let me tell you, a scrawny, skinny guy like myself packing a 50lb. bull-hook attached to a skidder by a steel cable through deep snow and over icy trees that a lumberjack had fallen, was no easy chore.  When spring arrived and logging had ended, because of the selective tree harvesting in those days, except for the small cleared landing and the road into it, very little damage was caused to the forest; the animals and birds still had a place to live and there was no concern for any permanent soil damage.  I realize trees are a needed commodity but when there is no reforestation in place and very little concern is given towards the forests, it brings back memories of a line I heard in a movie, "The only good Indian is a dead Indian."  Is that the way the majority of the people think about the trees, "The only good tree is a dead tree when it's turned into slabs of lumber, pulp and yes, even manufacturing money?"  We own 50 acres, mostly forested land, and as long as I'm alive, the only trees that will hit the ground will be already dead or absolutely necessary for our own existence.  I intend keeping whatever land is already cleared still in that condition as we are considering sometime in the future, perhaps having a bit more livestock.  Also, in the summer months into autumn, the fields are alive with Goldenrod and I hear the bees were eventually thinking about buying, just love the tiny little yellow flowers, which yields an excellent dark, tasting honey.

Heading South

          Heading South, for lack of a better name, a painting, which I did yesterday, although just made up within my own mind, is somewhat a typical scene of the area where I live in New Brunswick, low undulating mountains and placid lakes, albeit I've taken a shit-load of artistic license with the painting.  It's very late in the evening, the glowing harvest moon and a few stars illuminate the lake and the small flock of Canadian geese as they begin to fly southward.  Since moving to a rural farm, which is a completely different lifestyle compared to living in a city, as you may imagine, takes a little time to adjust and stow away that city thinking; instant this and instant that and so does earning a living.  At the moment the chickens are basically paying for all the livestock needs, which is a good thing; nothing like good, basically organic, free-range eggs in the morning or any meal for that matter.  We charge a little more for our eggs but I haven't heard anyone complain; you can really see the difference and taste it too in comparison to the store-bought eggs.  However, besides the expense of having animals and chickens, we have other expenses as well, so since we don't have any other products to sell other than Sarah's baking goods, moonshine is illegal, and we're going to be holding our 2nd Annual Arts Festival here in August, I've decided to pick up the brushes and hopefully try to sell a few affordable paintings like this 12"x21" acrylic painting for a $100. each..  (If anyone who reads this blog is interested in purchasing this painting, the cost of shipping will have to be added.  Also, if anyone is interested in commissioning me to do a painting for them (the subject doesn't matter) I would be happy to hear from you - gotta pay our bills somehow!  I can be reached at lenwsherman@gmail.com)  The person who runs the feed store says I can advertise "Painting Your Pet" there, so I am considering that as well - I actually enjoy painting portraits of people and animals, and since my prices are generally affordable to most anyone, I get a good feeling when I paint them and see the smiles on my customer's faces.

          It's colder today than it was yesterday and it's supposed to snow later this afternoon.  Hopefully, the snowfall won't be very deep as Sarah and I are planning to go to the Woodstock Farmer's Market tomorrow; my big day out once a week!  Time to fire up the wood stove, pick up the brushes and do another painting - cheers, eh!