Winter solstice is slowly, slowly, eclipsing the day and bestowing peace upon the land. Darkness a welcome retreat from the “too busy” of Christmas expectations. The “magic creating”; put to rest for another year. Winter darkness, a creative sanctuary, establishing a sacred distance from the bustling town and its too many tourists. A cannon could be shot right through the middle of town, down the main street, after six and nobody would notice. Small town Ontario winters, offer a gift of comfort. Small town Ontario is quiet.
Ida’s decision to live in a small town had not been a choice. Her deep seated resentment, after two decades of tracking leads; was about to explode as she stealthily snaked her way into the shadows of the night.
December 21, 1998
Molly moved slowly through her large bungalow, tucked away in the woods, down a side road five miles from town. The wood stove fire crackled, floor boards creaked, as she made her way into her favourite chair by the fire. The foreboding promise of a harsh winter was a reality as the shrieking wind revealed itself with repetitious echoes and ever swirling drifting’ snow. Molly prepared herself for this violent landscape in the fall, when she piled and split firewood, reinforced the garage door and oil checked her snowblower and generator. New cans of gas lie beside the generator, a shovel and an axe; she was ready.
Before heading to bed, Molly always checked on her three aquariums in her Aqua Lounge – their favourite place to listen to music. Two hundred gallons of water housed several turtles and feeder goldfish, a three hundred gallon tank with piranhas and 100 gallons for her planted tank with a spectacular display of tropical fish. Her aquarium hobby had started when she was a child and the fascination for creating interesting habitats had never left her. During the ‘Drifting’ Snow months, this hobby sustained and kept her busy before the outside gardens needed attention. Her aquarium was her underwater garden, that slept once the summer arrived. Replacing water, testing water and water chemistry had always piqued her imagination.
Today, before settling in for the night, Molly always walked her assortment of large dogs. there was Zeppellin; her 90 pound Rottweiler, Poppy; her Bouvier des Flandres and her rather sketchy Belgian Malinois who needed as much attention as three dogs – Hurricane. Hurricane was named after Hurricane (April 2009 – February , 2025) who was a Special Operations canine of the United States Secret Service, who had stopped an intruder into Obama’s house. Molly’s “Hurricane” was only 18 months old and was the latest adoption to her brood, as he had been left at the Humane Society because of the obvious reason that only an experienced dog trainer should ever attempt to teach obedience to a Malinois.
The Belgian Malinois can scale a high fence and possess a high prey drive and instinctively chase moving objects. Mallinois are guard dogs and are reserved around strangers. Police use them for detection, tracking and protection. Molly ‘s intense work ethic worked very well with the high energy of this splendid animal.
To be continued….
Kathryn Kastner 