I grew up where the prairie met the treeline. Our house was surrounded by a forest with a long lane and a lot of giant, beautiful trees. My favorite being the cotton tree in the backyard that rose the tallest out of all the trees in the forest. You could see it from town!
My Dad cut a trail through the woods next to our property and was able to collect firewood along it for the winter months. We’d spend a lot of Sunday afternoons out in the bush loading up the little red trailer attached to the trike and haul it back to the house. While being out in the woods there were many things my Dad taught me about the forest and many things I started to learn from it. Most of the time I was frightened by new strange sounds and the darkness creeping in but Dad would explain it and then everything would be alright. We’d always find some new way to have fun and Dad would always find something to climb.
Here are the top 12 things that I learned while spending time in the Forest.
- Squirrel Bridge Trees
- Watch out for Wood Ticks
- Deer Stands in the Forest
- Delicate Lady Slippers
- Animal Tracks
- The Sound of Trees
- Losing an Earring in the Forest
- Finding the Path
- Karate Kicking Tree Stumps
- The World from the top of a Rock
- Forest Markers
- The Sun Sets in the West
The next few weeks I’ll be posting a little story that goes along with each of these lessons and share with you what makes them so special to me. If you get the chance to spend some time out in the forest, please do. Find a nice, comfortable place to stop and listen a while. You’ll be amazed what you hear.
