The Tell-Tale Heart

Her thirst drove her down to the water's edge very early this morning. Later I found the traces of her passing in the form of multiple small hearts.

She is a yearling doe. I don't even need to see her to know it. The outline of her step tells me everything.

The Mirror

And Vie said, "Let there be Life..."

And there was Life...

And there was Life...

And there was Life...

And there was Life...

And there was Life...

And there was Life...

And there was Life...

Prayer

Ojibway Prayer

Oh Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds
And whose breath gives life to everyone,
Hear me.

I come to you as one of your many children;
I am weak .... I am small ... I need your wisdom
and your strength.

Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever
behold the red and purple sunsets
Make my hands respect the things you have made.
And make my ears sharp so I may hear your voice.

Make me wise, so that I may understand what you
have taught my people and
The lessons you have hidden in each leaf
and each rock.

I ask for wisdom and strength
Not to be superior to my brothers, but to be able
to fight my greatest enemy, myself.
Make me ever ready to come before you with
clean hands and a straight eye.
So as life fades away as a fading sunset.
My spirit may come to you without shame.

-Author Unknown

The Calling

"Everyone paddled to get around.... It was so quiet...(that) when the loons called the water would vibrate."

Madeline Theriault ( Ka Kita Wa Pa No Kwe) born 1908, speaking of life on Bear Island in Temagami Lake, Ontario, Canada. Excerpt from the book, "Molly Spotted Elk: A Penobscot in Paris" by Bunny McBride.

The Red Canoe

Follow Me...

I have a place I like to go. It is deep in the forest. You can follow me. I have something to show you. Something very special.

Across this bridge...


Down the hill and across this small stream. Watch your step! It is quite slippery. But feel how cool it is here...


Past the embrace of giants...


And into the ancient hemlock forest...


This is a wintering place for deer. As the snows become deep, the deer gather here from all around. Here it remains warmer and more sheltered. But there is something else. Something much more rare. Can you see it? There. Among the ferns below us.

Let's take a closer look...


Ne pas déranger, s’il vous plaît ! These tiny, plump ballerina shoes are a very rare type of wild orchid. Fragile and fleeting, they are known as Showy Pink Lady Slippers, or Moccasin-Flowers. Take pictures, but do not pick them, or attempt to transplant them. Tell no one where they are.

Promise me! It will be our secret...


"I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."
William Butler Yeats

C'est La Vie

I have been to a beautiful place…

I have never been there before, but I saw myself everywhere.

In the branching of a birch tree


In the bed of a river


In a stone on the beach


Or the pattern of a feather

(Flight of geese against the sky)


In the meeting of sand


And of water


In the meanderings of bark beetles


And the footprints of a bird


In the shape of a howl


And the wings of a butterfly.


I have always been here.

You will meet me everywhere.

C’est La Vie.

The One Who Walks Alone

No, it is only a young, male bear. "Oshkinabek", if my Ojibway dictionary serves me correctly. Or else the manitou has shape-shifted. (They are well known to favor the Bear form.) This one stood upright, exactly like a man, sniffed the air in our direction, then hurried off into the woods. He studied us from there before disappearing completely.

one... two... three... materialize!

Ah... I see the manitou. There, behind the birch tree...

Magic is Afoot...

Or a hand...
A chance occurrence in my own campfire (unretouched photo)

A human hand cut from a sheet of mica at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. Circa between 200 BC and AD 500 (photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service)

There is a manitou nearby. I can feel it.

The Forest Has Ears

Shhhhhhh.......