The Free Radical

(Halo of Flies by Alice Cooper from his 1971 album Killer. I had to speed up the turntable to cram an 8:30 long song into about 7:15 as to not exceed the 7 MB limit for embedded audio, so Alice sounds a bit like a chipmunk and his band sounds like they’re enjoying a bit of cocaine.)

We had a celebrity guest on this day– the intrepid Darren whom you may remember from The Amazing Race Canada season one… you know, one half of the BC hippies. Being a curious fellow, Darren urged us further afield this day, deep into bigsquatch and cougar territory.

I don’t often venture up into the gorge where my old cabin lies because of the summer incursion of mosquitos. On this day however, they weren’t bad at all. As a result, we had the opportunity to explore the unique vegetation of the thick forest surrounding the tiny stream cutting through the gorge.

The prize of this exploration was the numerous elderberry trees which were loaded with fruit. They combine especially well with Merlot for the making of a unique and very tasty wine.

Generally, red elderberries are considered inedible while the black ones are edible.

As you can see, it only takes a few minutes to pick several pounds of elderberries.

Our most significant encounter this day was with a rabbit. Sitka ventured up ahead from where we were bushwhacking, and flushed out a rabbit towards us. The frightened hare nearly ran right into me and then dodged and weaved for a confused moment before disappearing into a bush right beside Lhasa. As Lhasa stuck her nose in, we quickly urged her not to attack the rabbit and she was happy to oblige. Amidst three dogs and two humans, the bunny finally escaped into the forest behind us no worse for wear.

Darren remarked that it seemed to him that animals and humans were currently redefining their relationships, even in wild settings. I readily agreed. We’re all getting along much better it seems.

Darren was also able to help me identify the “mystery bird” from a couple of days ago. It’s a grey jay, a relative of the bluejay. Jays come into the lives of dabblers– people like myself who know a little about lots of things and are able to make it appear that we know more than we actually do. His message is about the appropriate use of power in a more focused manner.

Message heeded. Thank you.