Good Day all you almighty ones!
The glorious days of summer are upon us. Global warming is changing our world.
In an area where 30 degrees is a sometime thing, we have reached record highs in May. The result? A new kind of splendor. It might be dire, but for the holidaying visitor, the new kind of splendor is an awesome grand new experience for us.
The snow is still clinging to the mountains in places, the high glaciers, still holding their place on the peaks of those far off places, the rivers, still streaming from those sources and the avalanches still crashing down. The quiet of the day in a remote location, broken by the sound of avalanches crashing and rumbling down a mountain side.
Spring has come early here, with the wildflowers showing their elegant blooms, the birthing mothers showing off their delightful offspring, the warm, lush landscape brimming with vegetation and the northern lights playing
and dancing in the sky.
Here is the remote wild. A far off place where nature sings and calls to us. Venture oh wise ones, hear our call, come to visit and to know us , come to see how we live and come to understand the awesome need of the great wild. Come, oh wise ones and bring your children, come to play in the great outdoors.
The warm, soothing waters of soft glacial fed lakes, the pristine clarity of the water and the warm, bathtub temperatures to sooth the aching stress of highways, traffic, pollution and busyness. A warm dip in a warm lake of glacial fed water, blue and shimmering and still.
The wild orchids show a fine display in the shaded forest. The birds sing and call to the glory of the day. The animals watch with curiosity, then hide in the forest. The awesome summer, with it’s warm and brilliant days is upon us.
These splendid, special places, where the Earth shows its finery, its majesty and it’s awe, have special meaning for us. Ecological integrity, bio-diversity, unique areas of cultural and environmental significance. Places where time stands still, where you can still see the view that the fur traders saw. You can still navigate the rivers and portage the land. You can camp near historic camping spots and fill your cup from water, today’s first water, melted glacial water, the water that will enter our rivers and flow to the oceans.
Here, in the great wild, is the birthplace of many. The birth of the rivers, the lakes, the watershed. The birth of the wild animals, the great forests, the mountains themselves. Here is the new beginning for you. A step into the land of the wild. A cultural place, a privileged place, a place of sanctuary and life. A place where the history of the people presents itself in preservation, in endless land, in an unusual meadow. A place to learn about our protected places, the events that built them to their glory and distinguished them from other, lesser known areas. Here we sing and laugh and play in the heart of this beauty. Our special land, our special life, our immensely special love.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
July 3, 2015