“You’re wondering why no honking, where are the a-holes? Why is it so peaceful?”

My father leased the Sail Inn for about a decade in the last century, and in doing so drove himself to an early death for ignoring Rule #1 of bar ownership: You can’t be the best customer in your own saloon.

Last year a group of us decided to tackle our ecological despair with action in a landscape we love — East Hampton and eastern Long Island. We started in our own yards.