The Free Radical

(Upon the Rainbow (Befrost) by Happy The Man from their 1977 self-titled debut album)

It’s called The Daily Forest Report. I know, right? But sometimes I don’t have time to post in the morning.

At this point I’ve got a bit of a backlog of photos which you may find interesting… but if you’re looking for a coherent message to tie them all together, you’ll probably have to create your own.

Sometimes my time is taken up by helping out other artists with their projects.

That’s my sister-in-law, Sandy. She’s a very talented artist. She’s currently working on a huge contracted project for a high-traffic public venue. I can’t tell you who the contract is with until after the grand unveiling. There’s a non-disclosure clause.

Last week a group of five of us hiked the steep terrain above Moraine Lake near Banff.

Quite the colour from the glacial silt, wouldn’t you say?

We hiked up to the Valley of Larches which is right by the Valley of Ten Peaks.

As you may be able to deduce, it’s always cold around Banff.

We had to haul special birch plywood panels up the mountain for Sandy’s project.

She spent about two hours roughing in the key features in order to get the perspective right. Sandy says that it’s very difficult to get the perspective just right when working from photos alone… hence our expedition.

Meanwhile back at home, the frostline was threatening to swallow up the last weeks of summer.

But it really makes for spectacular views!

And speaking of nature portraits, here’s a profile bust of Richard the Turkey Vulture carved into a root by Chance and Circumstance.

And Sitka, when she’s not busy barking at inukshuks down by the river, still brings me various treasures.

But a beaver’s foot isn’t nearly so exciting when you’ve already been gifted with the tail.

And for my part, I’m still finding plenty of treasures with which to fill my belly daily.

Shaggy manes and puffballs are still the easiest to identify, and therefore the safest of the mushrooms for me to eat.

Just don’t have the shaggy manes with large amounts of alcohol; that’s a contraindication. Personally, I try to not wander around the forest completely hammered too often.

And now, once again, I must make my way into the forest and the mountains…