It’s the Easter long weekend and my dog and I are visiting my folks in rural Ontario in Wellington County. My mum is doing some cooking this weekend including for Easter Sunday, and I also contributed for the three day weekend, by making some macaroni and cheese, a big green salad with chopped veggies, bean salad and tuna salad.
Yesterday we accompanied my dad on one of his seasonal rituals. Every spring he walks the length of the property that fronts along the road and picks up the garbage that has appeared since he last did this. Although people will sometimes throw their garbage or empty beer and pop cans out of their cars onto other people’s country properties, we also found many things that, during high winds, had likely blown out of the neighbours’ recycling bins which get placed by the roadside on waste removal days. We had two big buckets with us which we managed to fill as we worked, although to be honest my dad did most of the work, carefully picking his way down the steep parts that sloped down from the road onto his property, and bending under the tree branches, to pick up the pieces of garbage that we spotted.
View in Spring
Another spring ritual of my father’s which I have sometimes joined him on in past years, is to walk the trails on the property and clear the fallen branches that have come down over the winter. Much of what we need to move can be picked up and placed aside, off the trail, however my father will sometimes need to use his chainsaw to clear larger, and heavier tree branches. My folks have lived on this property for thirty-six years, and I have come to love this spring activity and the memories of helping my dad with this will be cherished. It’s funny how when we see how much a simple ritual like clearing the trails every spring is so enjoyed by our loved ones, it can grow to also mean a lot to us. As with so many who have lived on country properties, my memories with times shared with family here are rooted in the place, and the sense of the relationship with the land that my folks have, is something significant to me, that I will always remember, and is ingrained in me too.
On our walk today which was a lovely walk, although not a spring cleanup walk as described above, we saw a number of turkey feathers, and signs of coyotes. As we paused for a moment on the path in the trees before coming out into the open field, we saw movement and as we watched a hawk flew up from the field. My dog was eager to follow scents in seemingly all directions. As we crossed the small stream, we saw that it was at a high level of water moving along although it is still not very deep. And later today my dog and I saw a wild turkey while my dog was in his pen just before dinner. It was in the not too far distance and as we watched and he barked at it, the turkey slowly retreated into the trees.
Forsythia Buds
Living on the edge of a small city, I find that I yearn to get to the countryside on the weekends and visit my folks in their rural location. It helps me replenish my well spring of energy, connect with nature, and is just all round good for my soul. My dog thinks so too. He has a large fenced in pen here, and when I put him out to relieve himself (in between walks) he loves to sniff around and discover all the scents, as dogs do. He barks to warn off the coyotes that are in the far back fields, and if one listens carefully it is clear he also has conversations with the dogs in the distant neighbouring properties. And I often find my dog sitting on the higher ground of the back of the pen looking out across the field, serenely enjoying his own sense of place, living in the country moment. Ah bliss!