Back home again

Hello again!

I'm back, at long last, from my extended holiday.

I spent a lot of time driving and another lot of time flying.   Hardly green!!

This got me to thinking.  The airline I flew across the Atlantic Ocean with offered to sell me some "carbon footprint reduction".    Whilst I'm sure these schemes are good, I decided that it would be better to create my own "carbon neutralisation" scheme.  After a bit of deliberation, I have decided to plant a tree, simply as an offset.  The advantage to going down this route, rather than simply paying out some money, is,  I believe, two fold: Firstly, I will know exactly what has been planted to cover my trip, and secondly, I will get to enjoy the tree as it grows and matures. 

I haven't finally decided on the tree yet.  There are various places in my garden where I could site another tree but first I have to decide on the tree.... and even before that, to decide whether it should be an ornamental tree or a fruit producing one.  My first thought was to plant another fruit tree, but I'm wondering about planting an ornamental one.    This year's drought has left it's mark in my garden and a rather fragile pine tree has succumbed.    I was planning to dig it out and simply fill in the hole, but maybe I could find something attractive to replace it.

My holiday was a mix of both happiness and sadness.  The trip to the USA was brought about by the recent death of a close relation following a year of battling with cancer.   My brother in law was an amazing man and I am very happy to have known him so well.    After a career in the military he retired to his beloved New England just a few short years ago.  I was always certain that the abundance of Maine lobster figured heavily in this decision, and I have enjoyed many local lobsters with him since he moved there.   The lobsters this year, whilst still stunningly delicious, seemed to be missing him too.

Today I've mostly been opening up my home after almost two months lockdown.   It was dark when I got here so I've not even seen the garden yet.  Tomorrow I shall take a look.