End of the Line

Chapter Sixteen. Jack's Arrival

Chapter Sixteen

Jack's Arrival 

Pop was surprised to hear that the gardening season ended with the Labour Day holiday. Frost was possible any time now. He found this hard to believe, as the days were still warm and sunny. However after sunset a warning chill did develop. Realizing that the approaching winter would make him redundant, Pop searched around the district for some form of employment. The family needed extra cash to pay for all the winter garments ordered from the Eaton's catalogue.  

As a result of enquiries made at church, he obtained a part time position as grounds keeper at Blarney Castle, the home of Senator Foster. His main function was to tidy up after the gardener,  and to keep the grounds free of debris. With gardening at an end, he found the work initially quite easy, but things soon changed. The leaves on the towering deciduous trees that shielded the mansion began to turn. Pop marvelled at the resulting blaze of colour. The first heavy frost came. Almost simultaneously, the brilliant red and gold leaves fluttered to earth, covering the whole estate with an ankle deep blanket. All had to be removed. Capricious nature for several days produced a swirling wind making his task of keeping the driveway and the manicured lawns of the immense ornamental garden free of leaves almost impossible. On the farm, most of the leaves fell to earth within the confining forest. He ignored the few that blew in to the pastures and cornfield.  

One evening, just as they were all about to sit down for supper, they heard a series of loud splashes from the pond followed by a cacophony of croaks. Startled they all looked to Mrs. Maclean. 

"They're early this year. Not a good sign." 

"What's early?" asked Pop. 

"Go to the veranda and see for yourselves." 

Everyone in the family rushed out. Large strutting birds covered the whole area in front of the house, including Pop's garden and the borders of the pond. 

"What are they Meg?" 

"They're geese Dan, Canadian geese, heading south for the winter." 

"Boy, they're big and fat. Do you have a gun?" 

"Oh we don't shoot them. The meat tends to be a bit tough and greasy and we much prefer the ducks bred in Brome." 

"Seems such a waste." 

"Not really. We never have to fertilize the garden." 

The next morning they rose at dawn to watch the geese depart. It was quite a sight to see them gather in groups of thirty to forty then start their frantic waddling runs to the edge of the ploughed corn field, where with flapping wings they rose in to their ragged vee formation. 

"It wain't be long now," said Mrs Maclean. 

She was right. The following night there was a hard frost. Small patches of ice formed in the pond. That was it for the ducks. They followed the geese. 

It was the last Friday of October when the first snow came. Just after midday, the wind shifted to the northwest and arctic air flooded in. Meg said she wasn't concerned. After all the first snow rarely stayed long, but she still insisted on installing the path markers. These were pointed cast iron poles about five feet high stuck in the ground  ten yards apart on either side of the main farm paths  

" Do they ever get completely covered?" asked Pop, who had been informed that in his new job he was responsible for keeping the long entrance drive to the Foster mansion free of ice and snow.