The Magic Forest

As a child my sister and i spent our days playing...in what seemed like a magical forest. Our house in the country had no neighbours accept the wild animals who lived in the beautiful forest which stretched out as far as the eye could see behind our home.  Being that we were secluded from playing with other children, on weekends  we would throw a "survival pack" over our shoulders and head for the forest and disappear trying to make friends with the animals until dark. I remember all those beautiful animals...the cheeky fox...the graceful hooping crane standing proudly in the river...the dashing deer...the mysterious wolf, etc. Those were peaceful happy memories that still tug at my heart. Sometimes i would get lost in the deep forest on purpose as i found it adventurous.   However, i always knew that once i came across the River and followed it North that would lead me home.

Looking back, Mother nature taught me a lot. The self discovery  found in that forest gave me a confidence that later led to my many past achievements and goals in my sports career.

We eventually moved to Caledonia, a town a few miles down the hwy.  Our new back yard was no longer that magical forest with animals running wild, instead it was replaced with children running wild....playing on the streets. As exciting as it was to have human friends i was missing and yearning my animal friends.

Over the years as we drove past the house, I began to see trucks moving in on the land. After that, i saw that magical forest  slowly slip away and disappear as the development took over. It was sad to think of what became of my forest friends and where they would go? It shaped my views on our world...and the need to be gentle with nature.