The Free Radical

(Suffocating the Bloom by Echolyn, title track from their 1992 album)

There are still those who would suffocate the bloom of the light come to shine anew. I know; it’s interminable, right? When will imminence finally burst upon the scene undeniably?

The rain was still sparse during the days we were away. And fires still rage around us as our valley fills again with smoke… making for gorgeous sunsets, though! (The above pic was taken from my deck, not the usual from the Forest on the western side of the valley.)

Upon our return from the prairies– the endless prairies– we were greeted by Moose. We had made a little detour very close to home in order to pick up a friend. Upon the paved goat trail that is the Panorama road, on the way down we encountered two young moose standing on the road. They looked very much like brother and sister, as one was a fair bit larger than the other, but both were definitely still yearlings.

Traditionally, Moose is considered an avatar of the Divine Feminine. However, many modern shamans consider moose energy as predominantly male. Having both youngsters present themselves without adult supervision seems to speak to the infancy of a new unfoldment in our reality involving a tenuous gender balance. (Sorry for the lack of a pic. It was already fully dark, and the camera was in the trunk of the car.)

For our return to the Forest the following morning– after a five-day absence– we were joined by a fourth canine member, Lhasa’s brother Snoopy.

The skunk smell still lingered around Lhasa from the previous week, as did our memory of the poor squirrel who lost his life in a moment of indiscretion. Skunk’s demeanour is calm and gentle, though his stench is not! He urges us to do no harm… or else face the dire consequences. It’s do-or-die time!

A re-enactment was granted, but this time with Rabbit– the representative of New Life, instead of Squirrel– the nervous Nelly of preparedness. Sitka had ventured into the forest underbrush to flush out a rabbit once again. She expertly drove it toward where the other three dogs and me were waiting to see what all the commotion was about. As serendipity would have it, the poor rabbit ran straight into the arms of a waiting Toby. I quickly said “Toby no!” and she calmly stepped aside to let the rabbit past her. Sitka gave Toby a questioning look on the way by, as I heaped praise upon Toby and tried to persuade Sitka to abandon the chase altogether… which she soon did.

Redemption. I was proud of all the dogs. If they had held the collective intent to kill the rabbit, it wouldn’t have stood a chance. Sitka was more into the chase than the killing anyway… and I thought it was good to know that the dogs could probably fair rather well on their own if they had to.

In other news… we are currently in the very last days of raspberry season. The high bush cranberries too are coming to an end, but I managed to harvest about ten times as many this year over last. The choke cherries are just starting to lose their bitterness and astringency, so the competition to feast among the birds and myself commences!

The rain is promising to visit soon again… but I hope it’s a plump, slothful, lingering guest this time, instead of the skinny, flighty bitch who’s only been playing peekaboo.