Infill Housing # 2

So, after years of waiting, it has happened. The house across the street from us is down.  We were away last week and missed the big show. On May 17th we received an email from our city councillor's office, advising us that the demolition permit had been issued. Early the next morning we received a message from a neighbour with this photo.

Note the pink flowering tree to the left of the property

Apparently it only took only thirteen minutes to knock the house down. Imagine how much time it took to build it ! Destruction is simple and mindless, compared to construction.

So when we arrived back in town on the 22nd, we walked around the building site. Regardless of the fact that it was not in great shape, it was a family home for many years, probably built in the thirties. Now it was a pile of rubble.

I can't help but think of the nature of these people's jobs. Imagine spending your days doing destruction. You arrive at the site of some perfectly fine houses and use those hulking machines to destroy what were once the scenes of family lives. What satisfaction could there possibly be in tearing down what others have built?

As we walked to the back yard, we went around a pink flowering tree. Perhaps it was a crab apple. At any rate it was in full bloom. I naively wondered if maybe they were going to try to save it, as it was to the side of the property. Maybe the plan allowed for its preservation?

Not so. About an hour later a worker arrived, got into the machine and promptly knocked it over. Just like that, it was on the ground. It might not have seemed so heartless if we weren't at the peak of the flowering tree season.

Killing that tree seemed to be the only thing on his agenda so he immediately left. Again I walked over and surveyed the damage. The  back of the property was covered in pink blossoms.

Our established neighbourhoods are losing not just our original houses but also many mature trees. It's an ongoing battle involving neighbours, the city and developers. Often the trees disappear before neighbours have a chance to try to save them. I'm hoping that the lilac trees on the right side of the property will survive but I won't be surprised if  their roots are damaged so much that they too will disappear. I've seen it countless times over the years.

So what are you going to do? If I had a lot of energy I might have measured the circumference of the trunk and investigated to see if this company had wrongly killed a tree that should have been protected. However, I just don't have that kind of energy right now. So I cut myself myself some flowers. I filled the trunk of the car and took some to mom. The others I made into bouquets for our place. As Erma Bombeck famously said,"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." For a few days, we'll enjoy what was once a lovely sign of spring.