After the snow fades
It’s been a long, tough winter around here. Now that the ground has reappeared, I’ve been doing the necessary inventory of damage and we’re going to remember this season as perhaps the hardest we’ve ever had. Nothing extreme; the earthquake back in 1988 will hold the record for destruction by force of nature for a while (I hope), but there are odd little reminders that man won’t win in a hand-to-hand with the climate.
The pool is slightly crumpled on one side. With some genetic skills in smithy work, I’ll hammer the dents back to “remember when” status. Ditto for the gazebo, which looks like someone walked on it. There are rumours, but until the proof is presented, the family accepts that heavy snow bent the two metal poles. The railing around the deck will need to be toenailed in one corner, but that is the result of cheap materials. The BBQ is as ugly as ever, and the tables and chairs are ready for the laziest days of summer.
The most peculiar effect of the winter is “in” our tree in front of the house. This is a large linden, measuring about 15 metres at the crown, and all the way up the one side, to a depth that matches the accumulation plus one dog-height we have chewed branches. Almost as if we had a pet beaver… I’m going to need a stepladder to finish trimming the hanging debris.
It’s as if every time the dog was sent outside for “duty”, the tree offered a quick snack. Now, I don’t know if linden is an acquired taste (until now I’d never considered it as something to try) but now I’m curious. Is it sweet; sour; salty; something like beef jerky or dirty socks? After all, dogs have been known to lust after any and all of the above.
Some basic research shows that linden sap has been made into wine, and its flowers give an agreeable taste to honey, so maybe the dog is onto something here. I just hope that we can keep this from growing into an addiction. Will the dog have to go “cold turkey”? The tree has a surfeit of branches, so the gnawmarks will fade quickly from view, but have we left our pet with another uncontrollable need. And to think that we were doing our best to offer the poor beast an environment where she could feel loved and free from harm and stress. Should I find a chapter of TA just in case?
