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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The Sleeping Giant

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 Well, our Septic Sagas have finally come to an end. Our 75-year-old septic system finally gave up the ghost and we now have a giant burial ground to commemorate its existence. For those of you familiar with the Sleeping Giant in Thunder Bay, we now have the Sleeping Giant of Niagara-on-the-Lake! Our once flat property now has the privilege of having a septic mound that is our daily view right out of our dining room window - lucky us! 

The kid in me can't resist walking around our new Hale Hill. Every time I stand on top of the mound, I feel like Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic yelling out, "I'm the king of the world!" But I haven't been able to trek up Mount Rushmore this week as my husband spent several hundred dollars at Minor Brothers on grass seed and is tenderly watering the baby seedlings, now just a mere green shadow on the brown dirt, with the hopes that the Hale Hill will soon be covered in a blanket of greenery and blend into the existing landscape. That is, if the birds would finally stop eating the seed 24/7. The bird banger in the vineyard across the street that has been scaring the life out of me every day starting at 7:00 a.m. is not working on our flock here. They could care less. 

The septic mound is an eyesore, let's face it. But I think the neighbour's children will see it as a great hill to go sledding on this winter and makes me wish that our kids were ten years younger so that they could have enjoyed it too. As I mentioned, the vantage point is pretty amazing as you look over the vineyards toward the Niagara Escarpment, both on our Canadian side and across the river and catch a glimpse of the cars on the Queenston/Lewiston Bridge. The construction company that installed our system was amazing! The excavator operator worked diligently for days on end and it almost seemed like an art the way he effortlessly dug and dumped until everything was exactly as it should be. 

I'm trying to remain positive about this change in our topography. It will give us a bit of privacy from the road since everyone knows that I love dining al fresco with friends and family as long as the weather permits. I was sad to see several of the trees that we had planted last year become casualties of change to make way for the septic mound. A flowerbed with decorative concrete edging from the 60's bit the dust within about five minutes. I almost cried as the shovel smashed it to bits. The one mature mulberry tree that lured birds and squirrels alike to dine at their leisure and provided hours of barking entertainment for our dog is also no longer with us. (Moment of silence in remembrance please). But we did manage to save a few bushes. And let's face it, this will give me another reason to go out and buy plants and make another flowerbed or two or three. 

We made our aging septic system last as as long as we could. Contractors came in and tried to flush the lines to the septic bed. But all things must come to an end and so our old system breathed its last. But there is also a considerable sense of relief with the assurance that comes along with a new system in that we won't have to worry about it for a few decades. The Hale Hill will become a part of our regular landscape and before long, we won't even remember what the property looked like before. And anyone with little kids, give me a call when we have that first snowfall. The Hale Hill will be perfect to take your little ones sledding!

Lolita Schimann Hale


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Snowy Speculations

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Image
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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