The Rural Voice, 2004-09, Page 6PRICE, SERVICE
& SATISFACTION
1992 DODGE 2500 REG CAB
Diesel, auto, 2 WD, 4x4, amazing
condition, certified.
$9,995
2000 DODGE 1500 REG CAB
ST model, chrome wheels, air, tilt,
cruise, V8 auto, 2 WD, box liner,
tow pkg.
$12,995
2003 DODGE 2500 REG CAB
4x4, ST model, Hemi, auto, CD,
box liner, like new.
$28,900
2001 DODGE GRAND
CARAVAN ES
Rear heat and air, loaded, electric
sliding doors and tailgate, low, low
miles, local trade.
$19,900
HANOVER CHRYSLER
DODGE JEEP
664 -10th St.,
Hanover
1-866-788-8886
11.
CHKYSLFP.
Dodge
Jeep
Phone: (519) 364-3570
2 THE RURAL VOICE
Carol Riemer
Souvenirs of a bygone summer
Carol Riemer
is a freelance
writer who
lives with her
husband and
two
children near
Grand
Valley,
Ontario.
"Summer is too short," my
teenage daughter complains,
lamenting the passing of the season,
and echoing, in her discontent, my
own growing sense of unease.
I watch, as she puts away the
lawnmower, and I think to myself
how quickly time goes by. Wasn't it
only yesterday when she pleaded to
cut the lawn for the very first time?
Has it really been that long since she
used to play backyard baseball with
her older brother, retrieving countless
stray balls from our neighbour's
pasture? Now, it's hard to believe
that she's going off to university.
"Summer is a lot like childhood,"
I tell her, adopting a somewhat lofty,
philosophic tone. "You think it is
going to last forever, but turn around
twice, and it's gone."
Usually, the subtle urgency I feel
at this time of year has a great deal to
do with getting the kids ready for
school, impending deadlines, and
preparing forthe cool fall days ahead.
This year, it is accompanied by an
overwhelming desire to hang on to
those last, precious days of summer.
Is it that time has become so short, I
wonder, or is it that I am just
increasingly reluctant to see it go?
Perhaps, it's because I still
remember summer as an endless,
magical time, filled with simple
childhood pleasures: hand -dipped ice
cream cones, swimming at the lake,
rescuing a family of toads from the
lawnmower, or discovering a batch of
postcards in the mailbox, sent from
school friends who annually
vacationed in more exotic
destinations than I ever did.
Of course, back then, we had our
share of heat waves and rainy
summer days, too. I remember a
certain rogue mosquito that
incessantly buzzed around my room
for an entire summer. It finally met
its end as the season subsided, caught
between the wall and my new
badminton racquet.
These days, however, I try to
concentrate on the good things about
summer. Waking up to the call of
Canada Geese, I listen to the wind
rustling through the corn, and the
distant rumble of our neighbour's
tractor in the hayfield. In the stillness
of a country morning, the slow-
moving bumblebees linger in the
chives, sunflowers, daisies and
wildflowers that bloom along the
fence lines, and a cloud of dust
aimlessly drifts across the fields
behind a lone pick-up truck, as it
makes its way up the next concession
line.
Large hay bales dot the rolling
countryside on the way into town
where, on Saturday mornings, the
farmers' market is in full swing. As
the season progresses, I look forward
to baskets of fresh peaches, early fall
arples and tables piled high with
mountains of sweet corn. I can never
resist taking home a fresh raspberry
pie or a dozen home -baked butter
tarts. And, after working all afternoon
in the garden, a pitcher of ice-cold
lemonade on the back porch brings
back memories of what I thought
were long -forgotten summer days.
As evening approaches, the sun
meets the horizon in a fiery display of
colour. Out on the deck, our creaking
old screen door adds to the music of a
late summer evening. A chorus of
bullfrogs accompanies the nightly
gathering at the birdbath, the days
grow shorter, and a hint of cool air
suggests that fall is not far off.
Soon, it will be time to embrace a
new season of country,fairs, and fall
markets. Time to celebrate the
harvest, get ready for school, and take
in some of the local music, art and
theatre festivals. And time, once
again, to put away all those treasured
souvenirs of a bygone summer.0
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