They cut down every tree around the swamp and left them to rot.

The experts said the downed trees would make good habitat for wild animals, that it was good for the environment.

Next summer the water got too hot. Ducks and geese left. Herons left.

The swamp dried out.

Joanna M. Weston is married and has two cats, multiple spiders, a herd of deer, and two derelict hen-houses. Her middle-reader, “Those Blue Shoes”, has been published by Clarity House Press. Her poetry, “A Summer Father”, was published by Frontenac House of Calgary. Her eBook, “The Willow Tree Girl”, is available through her blog.