New Dock/Deck

We woke this morning to be able to look out at our new deck/dock for the first time. Last evening
we had a lobster roast (not really, but sh/could have) over the fire burning of most of the old lower deck which had seen far better days.
I had finished the flagstone walkway
a few weeks ago, and will build a new fire pit to the near right of the deck to ward off the chills of spring and fall when we resume our dock talks with our neighbors... talk mixed refreshingly with Blueberry Teas and grog. Our friends Kim, Gary, and Thomas from Baltic Woodworking
built this stage of the deck. They also built our upper decks and renovated our complete home here on the pond over the past couple of years. I can't but strongly recommend Kim Aaboe and Baltic for any high end work you might want to do on your home here on the Eastern Shore. They also put in the forms for the land base of the yet to come floating docks...
we will pour the cement to these and for several mooring blocks
early in the fall. We should be able to moor a couple of good size boats next year, and have
a dock from which to collect provisions and people...

We also burned a lot of wood from the seven trees that came down at the hands of a power saw. This was due to the "HRM" form of the Japanese Long Horn Beetle
which has systematically destroyed
these spectacular 60+ year old Spruce trees on our and our neighbors land. We are in a containment area
here on the pond, and can't even transport this wood off our properties... thus the burning
which will go on for several more evenings. The real reason we have these destructive pests here is
that the Halifax Regional Municipality didn't deal with them ten years ago
when they appeared in Halifax's Point Pleasant Park... coming here 'from away' on
containers that come to the container pier just a few hundred meters from PPP. This is
another symptom of the downside of global trade... but that's a subject for another time.

I have also uploaded a few pics of that wood... the top pic is of the three large trees that graced Ron and Bev Smith's (our neighbors to the north) water frontage. They have a very different view now! We piled half of the big trunks for splitting or transport in our driveway... thought you would be interested in seeing how trees grow when there is a strong prevailing wind from one direction... notice the rings
are full size on one side of the block... it comes from nature's hand... would make nice coasters... maybe I will do that... Christmas presents anyone?