walkingwiththunder.com
Aligning sensibilities
By Conrad Beaubien
I was waiting for the arrival of the donkey Thunder and had parked on the side of the road at the crest of the hill by the cemetery. Here, along Closson Road there was once a church building which sat on the site and which years ago was picked up and moved to a new location, transitioning to a place waiting at one of the County’s wineries. I’m no expert here, but I believe there is sort of a blessing given to such consecrated buildings, sort of like a travel pass where, having been part of one world since its inception and in this case a century past, to go forth to discover a new life, also in this case a new life among grapevines on a separate road on a separate hill nearby. Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Riesling become the novel hymns of the day, the parables and testimonials to be heard as the once church edifice converts to the diverse and hospitable religion of the grape.
Surely, finding new purpose for buildings that have outlived a former use is most important. Often those possibilities are ignored and buildings come down such as the recent blasphemy that occurred with the destruction of the storied, period farm homes at Sandbanks. Decisions such as that not only reflect shallow imagination on behalf of the property owners, in this case the province of Ontario, but willful condemning a sound and useful structure in an era where heritage properties are valued not only for their architecture or importance as built heritage or nostalgia, but destroying something in contradiction to the will of the people of a community who value landmarks as evidence of the saga of a place. In the case of streetscapes where one building is removed, I see it comparable to a missing front tooth, a noticeable gap in an otherwise aesthetically pleasing composition of vertical and horizontal lines. Travelling to places in Europe where municipal guidelines and laws contribute to maintaining originality and cohesiveness for the benefit of the whole offer stark contrast to North American approaches.
I now see as over the horizon a truck with trailer following rounds a bend and heads in my direction. Paul from the farm, with Thunder in tow soon pulls over to the side of the road across from the cemetery, to a safe spot in order to disembark the trailer’s four legged passenger. In my series of walks over the past year, I have learned how transporting an animal needs special consideration. Imagine a sentient being that is reliant on all of its heightened senses in order to situate themselves, now finding itself in a moving box on wheels. The process is stressful and requires special care and therefore always a relief for the animal and all of us when the trailer has arrived at its destination and a side door of the trailer is opened and fresh greetings and connections happen.
Allowing Thunder time to settle, one of us will enter the trailer by the side door in order to release the lines that secure him when the trailer is in motion, to change over his halter, and then on cue the back door is lowered which also serves the dual purpose of a ramp. Thunder is turned around to face outward and seemingly with a breath of relief he is guided as he clambers down the ramp to be greeted by his fans and well wishers who are about to join us on an excursion. I always sense his contentment to be among people, a change from the routine of the paddock and perhaps a reasoning that a drive through the unknown can often have benefits of friends awaiting at each destination. On this a Family Day, a walk through the calming of the Hillier wetlands awaits for the pleasure of all.
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