In the Salish First Nation tradition
In the Salish First Nations tradition,
youth would ask the elders “What do I do if I get lost in the Forest?”
The elders replied:
“Stand still, the trees ahead and bushes beside you are not lost
Wherever you are is called Here
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know and be known.
Listen, the forest breathes, it whispers
I have made this place around you
If you leave it, you may come back again saying,
Here, no two trees are the same to raven,
No two branches are the same to wren.
If what a tree does is lost on you
Then you are surely lost.
Stand still
The forest knows where you are
You must let it find you.
What do I do when I am lost in the forest…
Stand still, the trees ahead
And the bushes beside you are not lost.”
“Bedazzled” by Judy Frabotta
Here is a delightful 24 page booklet, self-published by a local Prospect Lake artist.
If you would like a hardcopy, it is available for about $12. Contact Judy at curlysalamander@gmail.com
Tales from “The Tod Creek Flats”
On 2019-07-14 @ 5:31 a.m., Brian Higgins wrote:
Sylvia and I were enjoying the first local corn, some sushi and a rack of lamb “al fresco” on the deck last evening. A beautiful summer night. We were overlooking our farm field below with deer and the local flock of geese grazing around in the evening sun. Suddenly the deer were running and the geese running and flying around. I figured someone was walking their dog around there and sure enough I saw what looked like a black collie size animal chasing around. I thought maybe the neighbour’s dogs were loose and got my binoculars to check. It was a big black otter loping around the field chasing the geese. He would go for a stretch and then lie down in the grass just like a dog might do. It went on for a while and then he gave up and went back to the cross-ditch of water in the field……
Just when I thought I’d seen it all!