Skip to main content

What Are you Doing?!

 



It is difficult to write a story out of context.  My wife and I started a wildflower garden because of taxes.  Yes, you read it right; taxes.  

The original idea of what to do with the piece of land in front of our house started to take shape in 2016 when the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau was elected.  During his election campaign, the Liberals promised to set yet another tax on Canadian families, and this time was to save the entire world; The Carbon Tax.

Well; they were elected and set themselves to grab more money from our purses without providing a framework to start tapering the usage of fossil fuels.   "Not another tax; it is hard as it is!" were the words stuck in my mind constantly.  To show that the liberals were bringing responsible governance to Canada, and the world, the government started to work on their Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act legislation.  It was just a matter of time before we were going to be paying more for everything.

I needed to do something, regain control somehow; mitigate the blow.  On a spring Sunday morning in 2018, I got up early:

"- Jose; why are you getting up so early?"
"- I have something to do in the garden"

Kissed my wife's face and she closed her eyes.  Christina did not make much of what I said and stayed in bed for a few more minutes savoring the warmth of our nest.  I got dressed, put on my rubber boots, and hoe in hand, like a weapon, marched to the front yard to start lifting the lawn.  Christina got up a few minutes later to start her house routines; empty the dishwasher put the coffee on, and prepare breakfast for all of us.  

Sunday breakfast at "The Marino Horvath's" has always been a  big event.  Christina would prepare her famous roasted potato chips which would be accompanied with bacon, fried eggs, and something sweet which would either be Hungarian sweet crepes (palacsinta), real buttermilk pancakes, or Belgian waffles.  We have always preferred "Breakfast Food" on Sundays of all things.  

Preparing breakfasts is labor-intensive and it takes a long time, so, while Christina was hard at work as a chef I was doing the same in the garden and had lifted half of the lawn already.  When breakfast was ready, Christina went to the front door:

"-Jose, breakfast is ready...  what are you doing?!"
"-I am going to plant potatoes here..."
"-No, no, stop!" - waving her hand in the air while taking the front door steps down to where I was. 
 "-You can't plant potatoes there... " - pointing at the ground.
"-But Christina, this carbon tax, food is going to be so much more expensive, we better grow our own, we have the land; we can do this."
"-I'll tell you where to plant potatoes."
"-What do we do with this?  Seed it with grass again?"

Christina remained still for a moment with her hands on her waist, looking at the bare land in silence, pondering what to do, then she nodded.

"-Wildflowers"
"-Wildflowers?"
"-Yes; it would be good for the bees" - turning to me with a smile -"which in turn will help pollinate your plants.  We'll have more than potatoes!  Come, wash up; Breakfast Food is ready".

Ah, If you wonder what my vote was in 2016 and ask me; I would not need to answer that no, I did not vote Liberal, but instead built a wildflower garden! 












Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Planner 00Iren

When I tell my daughters that their mother was amazing, I am not sure they grasp the magnitude of her stature. They tell me – “Yes dad, we know”. I remember the day I saw Christina the first time. It was in the halls of the chemistry department of Simon Fraser University. We both entered this long hallway at the same time, in opposite directions, in white lab coats, and we had the opportunity to take a good look at each other. When we passed our eyes crossed. She kept walking without turning but I looked back to see her disappear into one of the laboratories. “ Wow, I do not have a remote chance with that girl! ” Years later, after we reunited in Vancouver, she told me that she thought the same "- He is going to make a woman very happy one day"  - She told me that she had no idea that it was going to be her. After I received the ultimatum letter from Canada Immigration, I was left with no option but to escape to the United States and avoid deportation and possible impriso...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Thousand Pictures, Three Remain

A thousand pictures, scattered wide, Moments frozen, side by side. Laughter, sunsets, faces bright, Fleeting echoes caught in light. Yet in the haze of time's embrace, Only three still hold their place. One of love, so pure, so true, One of loss, a tear in blue. One of hope—a flame so small, Yet the dearest one of all. Yes, you have guessed right; I was not having a perfect moment then I discovered these pictures in my Blogger picture drive; fresh air from the past.  I will sleep with a smile tonight.
Post a Comment
Read more

It's been a Long Time Since I've Seen Her

To our daughters; I learned so much from your mother!  She was my lover and my bosom friend.    The summer of 1992 was running in earnest and Mom and I were escaping every day to many different places around the mainland.  We were having the time of our lives!  At the end of the summer, I did not have a penny left but was the happiest man alive! Mom had a white 1989 Chevrolet Cavalier station wagon.  Her car smelled like a wet dog, Sam, her dog, was the main passenger before she met me.  That car would break down every 100 kilometers or so and would run out of gas as soon as the gas red light went on, and guess who had to push; your Dad!  But, we were like peas and carrots and as happy as they came. You always tell me - " Dad, you know strange old words and expressions no one uses these days! " Your mom is responsible for that! I learned what a "Sea Shanty" is in that white Cavalier listening to CBC radio.   The station had a show on sai...
Post a Comment
Read more