Bob and Wendy Chrystian
Bob and Wendy are retired and live in Grimsby, Ontario, a small but growing town sandwiched between shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment.
Bob’s adolescent and teenage years were spent on his parent’s fruit farm where he learned to appreciate the value of a healthy, natural environment and the importance of a strong agricultural community.
Following graduation from the University of Western Ontario and graduate studies at the University of Waterloo, Bob pursed a career in urban and conservation planning holding senior positions with the Hamilton Region Conservation Authority and City of Hamilton.
Wendy also grew up in a rural environment and learned at a very early age how much she shared her mother’s love of old world art and art history and travel abroad. Her studies at McMaster University and the University of Toronto led to a successful and rewarding career in museum and historical site management working at Parks Canada, Upper Canada Village, the Hamilton Region Conservation Authority and as a private consultant.
In 2001, Bob and Wendy left their respective professional careers and started their own landscape design/build company. For over 15 years Garden Strategies Inc. provided design and landscape construction services to homeowners in Grimsby and surrounding areas. As a Master Gardener, Wendy specialized in plant selection and garden design while Bob focused on overall design layout, construction logistics, hardscaping, construction logistics, plant maintenance and lighting.
In 2010 a major lifestyle change began to take shape following a short vacation to Italy, Subsequent trips led Bob and Wendy to Panicale, a small mountain village in the Province of Umbria. Here, they found a way of life they now look forward to each spring and fall spending time gardening, harvesting their own olive crop and experiencing the Italian countryside, it’s food, wine, history and people.
So, Where’s Fred?
Writing letters, reports and the like was part of everyday work for both Bob and Wendy during their professional careers. But, writing a book of any kind was never even a thought. However, one day in late January, 2026 a handsome Red Fox came on the scene and though it wasn’t clear at the time, a story was in the making.
It soon became apparent that our friend the fox wasn’t leaving anytime soon and the culvert under our neighbour’s driveway became his new home.
We named our new neighbour Fred. Not long after Fred’s arrival, a friend and mate joined him. She would come and go as she pleased and certainly spent less time in our garden then Fred. We named her Fiona.
There seemed to be a certain harmony between nearby residents, passersby and Fred and Fiona. But all of this would come to a screeching halt one bitterly cold morning in February. The events that unfolded during that day and over several days to come garnered the attention of many conscientious people within the community at large and became the inspiration for this part true, part imagined story about Fred.