The St. Jean creek (le ruisseau St. Jean) in Léry is one of the provinces most beautiful spots, minutes from ugly suburban landscape. Just before it opens into the St. Lawrence (wide at that point and named Lake St. Louis, after a sainted French king) it emerges from a marsh belonging to a nature conservancy, the Héritage St. Bernard. On one side is the water-works of the town of Chateauguay, on the other a privately held former farm that has been divided in two. Beside the farmhouse (where women bought milk insisting that bottles for their ailing children always come from a particular cow) stood four cottages for summer stays by people from nearby Montreal, who used to come by ferry. The one I have the privilege of living in stands by the creek. Built in 1941, it had marks inside showing decades of changing height on the part of the prior renters offspring. The cottage beside the farmhouse may have dated from the eighteenth century, and was one of the most delightful sights in the area, with its classic Québécois (Canadien as they say here) sloped tin roof. Its lake-front setting in that row of cottages on an exquisite little bay made for a scene that brought a smile anytime you came by and boosted your spirits. It was likely at one point a trading post with the Indians. Unfortunately preservation laws are such it was possible to bypass their intent, and the cottage was raised, lowered onto new footing, and made to disappear into the brick walls of a new McMansion with the look of millions such homes in North America. The farm-house itself (built around 1910) is getting a similar makeover to current tastes, and the tone of the bay has changed a great deal, to the point of bringing to tears to some people. As in all regions where the few remaining historic sites are allowed to disappear and farms are converted to subdivisions, rumors swirl about enrichment by present or former members of this or that town council and its committees (there is even a local story of private purchase of wetlands aimed at getting compensation from government so that they can remain unchanged). Someday we may learn it is all fabrication. Meanwhile, heres hoping that what green space remains is preserved both for the creatures in it and the humans who come to enjoy it. If you ever get a chance to stand on the green metal bridge over the creek as it joins the St. Lawrence you will know what I mean. In winter you may be fortunate to see deer crossing the ice up near the marsh as they do several times a day. In summer youll see giant herons spearing their meal at the waters edge. And in fall youll see a beaver cross back and forth as he stocks his home with food. It is so breathtakingly special that many a film (such as Le Secret de Ma Mère, and even one with scenes involving southern bayous) has been shot in this location. But rather than watch on screen, come and see for yourself.
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lery 149 cats and trees.MODby lery5059624 views
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