The town of Bowmanville is not far from Lake Ontario but our waterfront has not been developed for public use, except in tiny pockets. Some readers will remember when Waverly Rd. extended south from the 401 highway to the lake, whereas now it is blocked off because of a deal struck with the St. Mary's Cement company.
In our first years here we were scofflaws, lifting our bicycles over the St. Mary's gate and past the No Trespassing sign. Who says clergy can't be wild and reckless? Okay, pretty tame stuff. We would ride down the old paved road to the water and find our way back on to the public thoroughfare. Yesterday we made the same ride but discovered that the abandoned section of Waverly is now gone, chewed up by the vast limestone pit which fuels the cement plant. The paved road has disappeared, although there is a vehicle trail around the excavation.
Just to the east of the pit there is a marsh which is home to many creatures. We have noticed that the osprey nests are now empty -- scared away by the noise and dust? But no less than six blue herons flew up as we rode by an area immediately adjacent to the "big dig" and in addition we saw swans and ducks. I wonder if the deer and hawks we have seen on other occasions are gone as well?
There is so much pressure on the balance of the natural world, what Christians regard as God's creation. It seems sad to me that this change happens to creatures who can offer no voice for their own protection.
A week ago we were in the marsh of the Port of Darlington with our kayaks and met two young people in a canoe who work for the Conservation Authority. They were taking water samples and told us that of the eighteen areas they test along Lake Ontario, none has very good water quality. "Too urban" the young woman said, matter-of-factly.
Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone? (thanks to Joni.)
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My blog entries will be sporadic for the next couple of weeks because of vacation. Here's hoping for weather decent enough to put our kayaks in the St. Lawrence up in the Gaspe region. Pray for our French!
Bonnes vacances!
ReplyDeleteFor those who are in the dark about scofflaw:
ReplyDeletescofflaw - one who habitually ignores the law and does not answer court summonses
Never had heard that word before and now am dying to use it in a sentence to impress those around me. Sadly, I don't think I'm much of a scofflaw'er'.....
Have an excellent vacation, David, and thanks so much for your insightful, thoughtful blogs. We are truly fortunate to have you as a resource and friend in our community.
ReplyDeleteI'm on vacation too, and just got back from a weekend in Algonquin park. Josh and Evan did some kayaking and had a great time. Algonquin has so many tents and campers, but we were on a lake where there were no motors and everything seemed so peaceful (except for loud neighbours!).
ReplyDeleteIt was a place for getting in touch with God's creation and remembering a time when we humans lived closer to nature. It is difficult to hear the "voices" of creatures when we live so apart from nature.