Plant a tree

Planting has begun. Spring has turned to summer (un-officially of course). The bugs are coming out in full force. We have worked two of our 6 shifts, 11 days in total. We have planted close to 150,000 trees and are going to plant at least 450,000 more before we see the end. My crew is very different this year. It is a mixed bag consisting of 25 year vets age 47 to an 18 year old rookie who just can't figure it out yet. In between there is a 45 year old Czechoslovakian named Miroslav (Miro for short) that lives on a farm without water or electricity and hunts meat to stay alive, he is perpetually drinking vodka and plants 1000 trees a day then lays down and smokes cigarettes. Bruce is my age, about 5 feet tall and constantly positive and filled with energy. He talks like surfer and starts most of his sentences with "Dude, man..." He bounces around shadow boxing in between bag-ups and after planting sometimes goes to the gym. Lori Anne is the 47 year old who has been planting for 25 years. She plants 2000 trees a day consistently, does kung-fu at 1:00 in the morning and talks to herself more than anyone else. I drive to work with these three everyday at 6:30 in the morning and drop them off at the same time at night. I enjoy this crew as they all live in town, are independent and need less baby-sitting than previous years which gives me more time to myself and makes things less stressful. The weather has been good, so far we have kept dry but this week is calling for some rain so we'll see. The rest of the province is hot and mainly dry which means more fires this year so keeping busy for sure. I hope all who read this are well and know that I miss everyone I cannot be with who has helped shape my life thus far. Everyone I've met. So take it easy, enjoy the rituals of life, and try to find the way back to peace and freedom. Love one and all. -Will