We are lucky enough to live in a small semi-rural community on a smallish island. We have 10 hectares of totally private land where we only have glimpses of our neighbors through the trees. We had a big windstorm come through in the fall. It took down 3 larger fir trees which also took out some alders on the way down. I had bucked them up earlier in the spring and it was now time to split the rounds and wheelbarrow them out from the edge of the swampy area to the perimeter road around our land.
It was a lovely warm day at the end of spring and the ground was fairly dry but still damp. I had cleared a pathway out to the road. I was dressed just in a ball hat, boots and a pair of my wife's cropped tights. I liked wearing them as they were light, tight and kept me at least a little clean. I started the steady rhythm of splitting with the mauls and the pieces were piling up.
I could glimpse our neighbor's daughter practicing her driving skills on their winding driveway; stopping, starting, backing up and turning around. Soon after I heard a "Hello" coming through the trees.
Her name was Jytte and she was back from her second year at college. She said she was practicing on her own as she had a learner's permit and wanted to get her full license before going back to college in September. She had seen me through the trees and just came to say hi.