Snowy Speculations

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If I could paint, I would have tried to replicate the landscape very early this morning. Illuminated by the faintest hints of light and hours before sunrise, the cold, stark landscape lay completely still in its snowy blanket. Naked trees stood proudly and quietly against this backdrop, this palate of pure white an unforgiving place for any creature, big or small, to attempt to cross without drawing attention to its existence at this time. Even our ancient tire swing looked sleepy and droopy, suspended precariously close to the ground, as if the effort of hanging from a tree limb was too much for it. To the east, the only rays of light visible were the ones coming from the across the river, and even those seem hushed and muffled, like a child tired and murmuring not to wake them up just yet.  The young families down the road have gone all out with Christmas lights this year. Bright colours adorn the night skies and my neighbours even have a Christmas Cat and a Christmas Dinosaur that i
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Fresh Country Air!

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Fresh Country Air!

Everyone in Old Town, Virgil, Queenston or St. Davids, is familiar with fresh country air.  It happens several times throughout the year. We were privileged enough to have not one, but two giant piles delivered to the vineyard directly across the road this afternoon.

As luck would have it, our air conditioning finally threatened to give up the ghost this last weekend, just as temperatures skyrocketed to unseasonable highs this last week in May. Now I shouldn't complain since the unit is between 25-30 years old. So open windows have been a saving grace this last while.

The weather was pleasant today with the sun shining and the wind tossing the tree branches and bushes around. The two A/C technicians arrived around noon and the installation process began. But so did the manure delivery. The two guys were in and out and at first we weren't quite sure if someone had let a little "fresh air" escape in the room. We continued to interact politely, but the smell intensified so much that we finally figured out that the source was not human as was first suspected, but of the animal nature intended to nurture the farms around us.

As the day progressed, the sun was no longer in our favour baking down on the earth. Neither was the strong wind that was now not just blowing the trees around in an easy-going way, but also deliberately bringing the outdoor scents in for us to enjoy firsthand. As with all things, we got used to this fresh air wafting in through the open windows and soon it was business as usual for the next few hours.

The second delivery happened just as we were about to make supper. The guys were in the process of packing up and going and since the smell was now in the house, it made more sense to keep the windows open the rest of the evening in an attempt to get the fresh country air back outside where it belonged.

The lovely clear views of the escarpment that I enjoy from both my office and bedroom window have a slightly different view this week. Two additional hills are right in my line of vision. They probably will be scattered around the vines in the next few days and evidence of their existence will fade along with their custom scent until the next time we get some fresh country air! Unlike the anticipation of a long-awaited Amazon arrival that was expected last week, this is not the type of delivery one looks forward to living in rural Niagara-on-the-Lake!

Lolita Hale



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