Across the street and kitty corner from us is the Swan House, a big beautiful yellow Queen Anne built in 1899. The residents leave small candle lights in all the windows, and all year long it looks festive and reminds me of Christmas. I've heard that tours are occasionally offered, although I've never been. The house is enormous, and the third floor is rumored to be a ball room. It stands proudly near the top of the hill on the main street into town just before reaching downtown, surrounded by the historic well kept old homes.
As a girl, I visited my cousins in Beaver Dam often, and have always loved the Swan house. When I moved to town with my daughters, they fell in love with something else about the Swan house. The lions.
Out in front of the Swan house, lining the walkway to the front door as if they're protecting the front porch are two large concrete lions. Even set against the large three story Queen Anne, the lions looks massive. They stand on all four, muscles rippling, facing the street as if they are ready to pounce. I have to admit that I love the lions too. They look just as home in the snow as they do now, with bright red tulips growing in front of them. For reasons I can't explain, I want to pet them. If the Swan house were my house, I would name each of them, for sure.
The other day I was out running errands around town with Holly and her friend Catie. On our way home from the pet store, we took a back street home that I don’t often take, and drove past the side of the Swan House. As we came near the stop sign, I noticed that on the outside of the picket fence near a side door is another set of lions. These lions are significantly smaller, and they're sitting down less imposingly. I was shocked, mostly at their existence, and the fact that I didn’t know about them.
"Holly! There are more lions! Did you know this?"
Duh. Of course she knew this. She's 11 and in 6th grade, so she knows almost everything. Plus, this is the way she walks to school, and to her friend Laurins house. She was not nearly so surprised or impressed.
"These lions are really small though," she tells me.
"They are small. Way smaller than the ones up front. And scrawny. I don’t think they feed them as well as they do the ones up front," I tell her.
"Yeah. These probably just get scraps and stuff. The ones up front are all muscle. I bet they feed those steaks everyday. They wouldn't be so big otherwise."
"Probably because the ones up front are their favorites. The side lions are probably like Cinderella. They keep them around but they obviously don’t take very good care of them. They almost look sick..." I tell her, somewhat concerned.
We're home now, parked in the driveway but still sitting in the car, talking about the lions, when Holly's little friend Catie finally chimes in.
"Umm...Excuse me. What are you guys talking about?"
At first Holly and I are confused, wondering why she couldn't keep up. Then we realize that most people probably don't spend much time contemplating the well being and care of the neighbors’ concrete lions. Holly fills Catie in, who does not seem any less confused once she's informed.
I call my mom later and tell her about the set of lions that I discovered, as well as how Holly and I think that they aren't very well fed or cared for. My mom doesn’t question our sanity at all. In fact, she jumps right into the conversation that Holly and I were having earlier, and offers a reason we hadn't thought of.
"Maybe they aren’t malnourished, Michelle. Maybe they’re just younger."
Younger. Yes, I like that a lot better.
Photos provided by Holly Roth
