Using small and slow solutions

Wind from the northwest; the trees that protected our land from the wind were cleared 9 years ago.
Noise from the traffic on the two perpendicular highways that border our land.
Visibility from same roads.

These have been diagnosed but not treated sicknesses of our land. The year after we moved, the farmer with land directly to the north and west of us cleared his land to make room for more hay. Although I wish he'd left those trees, I complain little because the alternative to hay and pasture, are crops that he might spray. Being directly down wind from that field, it would be less than pleasant having to contend with the drifting chemicals. One of my gardens is on that side of the property. The wind that we experience with the lack of trees increased.

The noise has been incredible too. Sometimes, while standing in the garden, we have to wait until a herd of Harley Davidsons pass before we can speak to one another again. The trucks coming to a stop at the intersection use their engine retarder breaks. There is a gas plant a few miles down the road. This past year our community has been dealing with a big change; the plant is closing down. All but a few workers have moved on now, and there are far fewer trucks to-ing and from-ing. Although they are winding down, the lake community 10 minutes down the road is still hopping. Some evenings during the summer months there is a constant stream of vehicles, making their way to the cabin for the weekend (or, much to our amusement, away from it when a little dark rain cloud appears over the lake).

This year, we are considering bringing down the 4 90' spruce trees that are on the north west side of the house. During the 2 or 3 wind storms that we experience per year, I watch these trees lean over our house and imagine them giving way. My imagination is particularly vivid on a windy night.

The lack of trees in one area and the over abundance of them in another have been subject to change for some time now. Solutions are not presenting themselves well. Finding someone to cut the big ones down is less a problem of logistics, than money. They are very large and will present challenges such as how not to hit the barn, the house, the overhead powerlines, animals and fencing, not to mention, the safety of the person felling them (hence my insistence that it be a professional doing the job).

The wind row I want to plant on the north side of the property has proven a less than easy fix too. I applied for the shelterbelt tree program that is in place for farms in Alberta. To qualify for the trees the land must be over 5 acres, which ours is. I applied for trees from two sources and was denied both. One was due to my being 5 days late (arg!) the other was a result of the oil industry coming to a slow crawl. The trees that are provided thru this program are donated from the private sector, mostly the oil industry, who order far too many then donate the rest to farm shelterbelt programs. *Note to self: check to see if this process allows oil companies to greenwash thru offsetting of carbon emission points.

So, the little trees that I've collected from under Mom and Dad's gargantuan spruces at the lake and in town are my small and slow solutions this year. After some research, perhaps I'll put my order in for the hundreds more that we'll need to create a good wind row.