Poetry on preserved Hammer property
Plus, giant garage sale and pollinator gardens
Being a supporter of Kawartha Land Trust (KLT) I was waiting with baited hook for my invite for my first walk on the property. It wasn’t coming. There were surveys to do of plants and animals, checking out habitats and testing water. Trails to devise. And land to get to know.
One of the Passports to Nature events produced by KLT was at the Hammer property. Hmm? Here is my chance. I am going. I wondered what we would do. Were trails ready? I read the description better. We were going to write poetry. OK! We would be in the midst of natural inspiration.
But let’s back up a bit.
This property has a lot of history behind it. The property has been called Sandy Point Estate with 9,000 feet of Pigeon Lake water front. It is located in the vicinity of the spiritual retreat — Elim Lodge. It has a 28-room summer home with 1,450 acres of land, three wet slips, two farms and a modern four bedroom log cabin.
William Claxton bought Sandy Point in 1873. His son sold it to Sir Edward Kemp, a politician and businessperson, in 1913. Kemp built the 7,500 square foot summer home with a nine-hole golf course that he named Mississquoi, after his birthplace.
Kemp was minister of Militia and Defence during the First World War and served in London, England as minister of the Overseas Military Forces of Canada. In 1917 he was knighted for his wartime service. Two prime ministers — Meighen and Borden — visited the home as did the Pellatts of Casa Loma, Toronto.
Sandy Point was later sold to Eugene Cost of Egypt and when he died, to Louis Cadesky, a famed breeder of imported Hereford cattle from Scotland.
The Hammer family last owned it. Rumours abounded as to what was going to be developed. They wanted to sell. It was a difficult property to market. It is large and has many amazing aspects. Kawartha Land Trust entered the picture.
It is now owned by that land-saving conservation agency. The property’s attributes will now be conserved forever.
As for the poetry … it was led by Sam Banton and David Seymour. Samantha took a group and had them use aspects of the property — water, trees and the ground — to inspire us to engage our emotions using these aspects to describe our mental or emotional state at the time. Writers were encouraged to use their senses to produce poems about their surroundings again reflecting various emotional states.
Sharing the poetry with others in the group was a small price to pay to be able to gain access to the Hammer property for the first time with, hopefully, many explorations ahead.
Gigantic indoor/outdoor garage sale
A giant indoor/outdoor garage sale will be held at Wesley United at the Curve Lake turn Friday, Sept. 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 8 from 1 to 4 p.m. At rock bottom prices you will not be able to walk away without buying that piece of jewelry or extra bowls for the camper, a book to read, a kitchen appliance. Brand new stuff and antiques. Great care has been taken to make this a great event. See you there.
Pollinator Garden
While we are in an environmental frame of mind, The Land Between features a program in which you can grow your own pollinator garden. It offers custom garden designs or self-guided resources to turn your shoreline or even your septic into an oasis. They offer custom designs for shores, septics, and pollinator meadows. Site visits, consultations, plans, plants and planting services are involved. Check out thelandbetween.ca.