Pool Cover And Benny example essay topic

The childhood I remember centers around Forest Hill. I like this area because I never had to go very far to feel I was in the countryside. Forest Hill is right in the center of the city of Toronto and yet it is surrounded by two major ravines, one to the west of the neighborhood and one to the east flanking Chaplin Crescent and Avenue Road. There are many walking nature trails in these urban forests and many shortcuts that I've come to know. I grew up in a house just one block away from the junior and senior school I attended which has the same name as my neighborhood "Forest Hill Public School" also known as South Prep. This school is also surrounded by a large green space and a wonderful track for running and cycling.

I loved being able to go home for lunch everyday, especially in the winter when I would have a nice warm bowl of chicken broth or lentil soup, and a hearty beef stew with mashed potatoes, which are my favorite. I would try to guess what was for lunch from the aroma that surrounded my house since, at that time, my mother would have the kitchen exhaust on at full speed and perhaps a window open so as not to have cooking odors lingering. Most of the time I could guess at least one item correctly. Especially the fusil li, with the Bolognese meat sauce that my mother makes so well. The proximity to the school made it easy to bring things back and forth from school as well. This was especially true in Grade five when I would be allowed to bring home for the weekend our class mascot; a little golden brown hamster we named JP.

I knew it was a great responsibility, but nonetheless, I brought him home as often as I could. He is what really sparked my interest in animals and has led me to come to appreciate their habits, and respect their habitat. He was soft and meek, and I would stroke him very gently with one finger because he looked so fragile. It was like stroking a warm fur ball.

Occasionally I would let him out of his cage so that he could experience a larger environment. I enjoyed making his world as comfortable as possible by scrubbing down his cage and putting fresh wood chips. JP was the closest thing I ever had as an indoor pet because, although my parents love animals, they suffer from allergies, and as such we cannot have pets. This did not prevent me from making animal friends in the outdoors or with neighbors pets. Situated where we are there are a lot of woodland animals and birds visiting our backyard regularly.

One spring in 1999 for the very first spring time our swimming pool was visited by a female mallard duck. It was March and it was still quite cold with a few wet snowy days ahead. Our pool at this time of year looks like a pond. Yet this brave little duck flew into our yard and with all the pools in the area it could have picked, it chose ours. It would sit on the water bags around the edge of the pool since the blue winter cover was still on and when it felt like going for a swim it would waddle and slide down the cover and swim in the murky surface water that had accumulated from the rain and snow.

It must have been tired from its long journey because it stayed in our yard for about three weeks. As the days passed it began to recognize me as I went out and fed it and it would eventually come onto the grass. The first few times I had to watch it dive for food I threw in the water, since it would not take any offerings close to the house or from my hand. It thought it was safer in the pool. Every morning I would look out from my bedroom window, the one that faces the back garden, to make sure it was still there. Then one day I got a great surprise; there were Two mallards in the pool!

The new comer had the beautiful colored feathers of the male mallard. Now the picture was complete. It was no longer lonely, waiting and longing for the company of it's own kind, but a happy pair swimming in unison in my pool. I did what I could to help them regain their strength and they began taking short flights from our yard leaving for an hour or two at a time. It was comforting to know they would come back and everyday they came to feed a bit closer. Their outings away from our yard, however, got longer and longer as if to prepare me for the one day that, without warning, they left for good.

I had a whole other year to wonder what became of them because at exactly the same time in the year 2000, and then 2001, 2002 and 2003 respectively they paid a short visit to our yard. They were welcomed guests that graced our pool with their presence until finally two years ago only the male came. He waited in vain because the female never came back. Sad and lonely, this time he only stayed a few days and flew off. He gave me strange perplexed looks. With this gaze he seemed to ask "Have you any news?" He always kept looking up at the sky calling.

I still wonder what became of them in the end, whether the very first time they called out to each other as they flew by and whether the following years they had somehow mutually agreed to meet at this address beforehand. I still marvel at their instincts and at their sense of direction. When I think of them I get a warm feeling, that in a small way, I was able to show them hospitality and, in return, they paid me back with further yearly visits for as long as they could. That spring of 1999 another big surprise fell in our pool but this time it was much larger and dangerous. After the mallards flew off, my parents had hired a painter to paint our windows. On the south side of the lot we have a tall wooden gate which is moody, uncooperative and that leads to the backyard.

This is because it is heavy but mostly because it becomes fussy in damp weather. My mother had explained this to the painter and told him to use the north gate that shuts automatically since no gate can remain open for pool safety reasons. George the painter, decided that either his watchful eye or his assistant's were more than sufficient at keeping intruders out and he didn't have to bother closing either one. George had thought that perhaps children or inquisitive neighbors would sneak into the yard but never figured on "Benny" the over sized, overbearing and assertive St. Bernard that lived in the house behind ours. Benny was a free spirit that occasionally would surprise his baffled owners and run away. He loved chasing children in the schoolyard and going for a stroll.

His sheer size made him look like a horse to any young child, including myself. That day, Benny, who loved mischief, decided to play with the painter. He knocked down a can of paint, made off with a drop cloth and clumsily brushed against the ladder. George let out a yell of despair and tried to chase him angrily but in vain.

Benny quickly squeezed between a small opening in the fences and disappeared. Like the tornado that he was, Benny came back a few minutes later for some more trouble. After all, he loved to chase and being chased, he was having fun. This time Benny decided that it was a good idea to take a bath, so without any warning he lunged into the pool. Unfortunately for Benny, he lost all control of the game. His size and weight dislodged the pool cover and Benny was in deep water and tangled up.

He was going to drown because the cover didn't allow him to swim or find his way out and he was going under. The commotion had made us go outside and between all of us we managed to pull the 170 pound St. Bernard out of the cold water. It was like pulling an uncooperative dinosaur. The naughty look in his eyes was gone. He seemed frightened and for a change he stood still. This was only for a moment because he then proceeded to shake the water off; giving all of us a cold shower.

I towel dried him first then brushed and blow dried him, so that he would stop shivering. I then brought him back to a unsuspecting yet grateful housekeeper. I was so grateful that I was able to save his life. He must have recognized his ordeal because as I handed him over to Rose and let go of his collar he gave me a warm lick over my hand and arm. Benny has now moved away and the children that were once frightened by him have grown up. I keep hoping to see what the spring thaw will bring to my backyard.

I enjoyed those visiting mallards and it was easy to pretend they were in their semi-natural environment. To this day I leave out food to attract different animal visitors and I still enjoy it immensely when they find it and consume it gladly, especially in the winter months. I am extremely proud when they choose to visit my yard. I may not be able to keep a pet caged up indoors but nature and the neighborhood have offered many "pets" that I equally enjoy outdoors.