As a young actuarial professional in the ebbing 20th century I was granted plenty of study time to focus on the arduous exam regimen put forth by the Society of Actuaries. I spent much of that time actually studying, but as noted on my grade 9 report card, ‘Derek gets the work done, but always has his head in the clouds’. No Joke. My wife laughed out loud when she dug up that gem of a document.

Part of this cloud-based studying was spent drawing up the schematics for Halcyon. The original Halcyon is a beautiful Greek myth of love and devotion that morphs into its current connotation of prosperity, joy and tranquility. In my case Halcyon was a private Caribbean island, akin to the contemporary version of Richard Branson’s Necker Island. Coincidentally, Branson – four hours ago – offered to sell Necker in order to secure a bailout for his Virgin Atlantic airline. If only my timing was better…

One short-term goal of note is the Maple X depot. This project is so short term that construction is already underway. Well, deconstruction anyway. The main barn on the farm is 24’ x 36’ and in 2019 was gutted to provide a wide open space in which to build out a climate controlled warehouse that would feature a truck loading bay in the front and personal and vehicle entrances in the back. The next step is to repour the cement floor, followed by framing and wiring, then insulating and finishing the 12’ walls and ceiling. The depot will serve primarily as a distribution warehouse, but also as a docking bay for the Maple X mobile bottling facility.

Next in the term horizon of plans comes said bottling facility. The platform for this component of the business would be an enclosed 15’ deck-over trailer. Appliances would include a bottle sanitizer and steam-jacketed kettle along with automation and pasteurization devices, leaving ample space for transport and distribution of the finished product: cases of Maple X. The side of the trailer will feature a window that would allow for public sales at outdoor events such as fairs, concerts and sporting events. The roof must be sturdy enough to accommodate several occupied lounge chairs for watching the showcase game or act, but now we’re drifting into the longer-term plans.

Since I’m heading that way, the long-term vision for the depot features a second floor with a balcony overlooking the ultimate field. At this point the name ‘depot’ might be substituted with ‘club house’, as its primary focus evolves toward the dream of Halcyon, Too.

The updated (and downgraded) version of this dream came mid-career as a data engineer, possibly more grounded in reality, when I substituted the tropical island for a landlocked local acreage that we referred to for many years as the orchard. I managed to acquire the land for that dream a few years ago, and although there are only a handful of apple trees, there are plenty of maple trees. As amazing as it is, the shinny pond will need some expansion work to accommodate a waterski circuit, but I can see it happening.

Grounded steps into the future allow me to continue to look forward through the clouds and into the halcyon days ahead.

Cheers,

Derek