Voice Within the Trees

 

As a boy, I saw the trees as something larger than life. I always looked up
to them. The town my grandparents lived in had big trees along the streets and
on the properties. There were so many large trees that there was always shade.
These big trees made their city so awesome. It was like being inside a forest!

Our family cottage was on the same property as a provincial park which was
primarily forested. The roads through the park had tall trees lining the way.
Light fell on the road at funny angles and the scent was something else. This
forest had the greatest smells which were constantly changing. The morning was
different from afternoon and evening was a bit like morning as things got
quiet. There was a scent of heat in summer and of moist leaves in the fall.

We also had farming in our family, at the farm, the maples stood stately
along the west lawn. Trees lined the creek as it twisted and turned away from
the house in both directions. It was a magical place in the late afternoon and
evening, sitting and relaxing as the trees shimmered above.

Our house had young trees as did the entire neighborhood. To be amongst
larger trees, we had to walk to Thomson Park or Morningside Park. There were
big trees here, some of them had shapes and names carved into the bark. I often
wondered if a tree felt special that someone had picked it to carve something
on.

The story below is a small sample of the joy I’ve experienced with trees and
their greater family, the forest.

(Part One – Introduction)

A most beautiful journey started in the summer of 2015. This is a story of
how trees came to me, telling me their story and the wisdom within.

I began to visit a woodland area that summer in the greenbelt of our city.
It immediately invited me into its heart and shared its beauty. I visited this
forest many times that summer.

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Winter Lights

Walking the forest during winter brings many magical moments.

I sense the silence here today is shared. Part of it is the forest, and the other part is within me.

A short distance onto the trail I stop walking and the crunch of snow under my feet disappears. The thin air of winter steps back and for a moment I hear things that could be a million miles away.

Subtle sounds entice me to quiet further, slowing my breath as if one could stop all sounds completely. I scan the forest one tiny echo at a time. Listening for distinguishing characteristics, the essence within each creak, every gentle whisper. Some I have heard before, many just a mystery along the trail.

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Winter Tapestries

Winter comes and goes, and with it brings so many wonderful stories and inspiration.

This story is about a beautiful boreal (style) forest in Nepean (Ontario). It was a cold, wet day in March and I was walking with our dog, who always tags along.

This forest has many interesting features and many mysteries. If you’re quiet and listening, she will share her magic and tell her stories.

On this particular afternoon, I was in a low-lying area on the eastern edge of the forest. It was raining lightly after a bit of mild weather that had thawed some of the snow cover, bringing fresh water into the basins and creaks, filling puddles along the trail.

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Forest Stories

Many years of walking through forests in Ontario and Quebec have not only changed me as a person but altered how I understand and perceive the natural world. It’s also changed how I use my camera.

I’ve always known the quiet and stillness of the forest. And how all my senses come alive when I’m walking there.

The story below is about how the forest helped me learn to be quiet and still as she is. How to listen and learn from all her wonders, her stories. How to allow bigger things to exist and be real.

Do you see anything interesting in the above image?

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