Retirement

Today is the first day of my retirement. With almost 42 years as a blue collar factory worker for the same company I'm somewhat of a dinosaur in todays workforce. I know people who aren't looking forward to this day because they wonder what they will do with all that spare time. I'm not one of those people. February may be a slow month depending on the weather but if possible I'll be cutting down some of the numerous birch and locust trees that are trying to reclaim the Back40. With a new lightweight Echo chainsaw it's work that's enjoyable and satisfying to see the instant results. There's also bird boxes to build in hopes of coaxing a bluebird, chickadee, or nuthatch into raising a brood for me to watch in on.  I'm eagerly awaiting March and the migrating woodcock. Emma and I will be visiting favorite old coverts and exploring new ones. April I'll be busy planting the apple trees that I grafted last year and grafting new varieties for next year. April may also find me visiting the trout streams after a too long hiatus.  May will be the start of the mowing season with Chalmer, my late father-in-laws Ford 861 tractor, in the Back40. June through September will be filled with trips to my smallmouth bass streams, always an enjoyable time of year. Then it will be fall again and time for Emma and I to wander through our coverts seeking out the woodcock that we cherish and also the scarce grouse that we sometimes stumble onto. All too soon I'll be wondering what happened to that 1st year of retirement and looking forward to the next one.  Yes I think that I'll handle being retired just fine.