The Wild Heroes

Hail Bravehearts

Can you hear it?  Can you see them?  The chorus is rising, the melody harmonious, the trumpets are blaring and the song is persistent.  The sound draws our curiosity and the clack and crack of the percussion, fills the fall air.

The song is a challenge, a call to a duel, a call of a champion who dominates the land.  Rushes of fierce aggression, power and might.  The will to be victorious, the need to win.  At the peak  of their health, at the peak of their musculature, at the peak of their minds.  No more the docile and calm, the placid and unassuming.  No more the mild and passive.

Now the days have changed and with it comes the call to fight.  The call of great champions, the days of autumn, when the  songs of battle pierce the air and the trumpets blare their demanding rights.  Come out of hiding, oh mighty foe, the challenge must be met and the fight must commence.

The song is a love song, it calls for a mate.  Bellowing and blaring the dominant voice of a great leader calls to it’s circle of proud supporters, to gather around.  Come close and be protected calls the great voice and the interested, the curious, the dutiful, come forward to be protected and to join in the circle of togetherness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJd7L2aDHC0  it’s elk mating season

The family gather around to join with their great leader.  His voice echoes throughout the land and he can be heard by his rivals.  Others, his foes with massive girth and muscular strong bodies, come forward to challenge the champion and the duel for supremacy and superiority rights commences.

The bystanders watch with interest as the champions face off.  Their wide weapons, honed to perfection.  The sharpened daggers of bone, the weapons of nature, tines of pointed danger.  The aggressors face off for the duel of their lives.  Courtship and mating is the name and fighting for this privilege  is the game.  Only the strongest, of superior genetics will win this fight for life itself.  The rights to reproduce, to be the grand champion, to be the life force of nature that will sire next years fawns.  A game of immense proportions, of immense importance, for the victor is the wild almighty one, who’s genetics will carry the herd forward into another year of healthy prosperity.  For these ones, their prosperity is their numbers and the grand victor of these matches is the prize of nature.

The grand prize of nature, stands up to be counted and calls his wild call of majesty and triumph.  To a duel!  Out of the forest comes another bold and athletic counterpart to attack with ferocity for the dominance of this season.  To win!  To be the pride of nature’s glory. To be the victor of this remarkable privilege.  The fabulous,  the mighty, the hero of the herd!  It is now.  A time to live and a time to fight.  The season of the great wild champions, is  now!

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

September 2, 2015

Proper Awesome

Proper Awesome

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.

http://www.parkscanada.ca

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

Environmentally Adapted

Environmentally Adapted

Hello Bravehearts

Now you rise to a day of adventure.  Now you rise to the call of your destiny.  The spirit wakes and your soul sings and the praises of this day, fill you will life.  Praises!  For your life to be worthwhile and joyous, sing with praises for each new day.  In this moment of wakefulness, as the day dawns and the newness of the morning greets us, the world opens it’s doors and lets your eyes see.  The dawn of another day.

The birth of the Earth comes with each spring and this year the world is warmer and the spring is green and lush.  The lakes are warm and inviting.  Swimming and playing in the clean, clear  water is a welcome retreat from the hot, summer sun.  The sun shines brightly late into the day and our daylight lasts past 11 pm.  This is joy to us, the greening of the fabulous planet, the late evening sun and the warm,inviting, outdoors.  We thrive in the outdoors.   In the yellow morning sunshine and the green, lush plantings.  The Earth, so welcoming and quiet in the morning, we can hear out hearts beat and the sounds of the morning risers as they  sing!

Sing!  all of you glorious risers, sing!  The world is filled with the call of your blessings and the love songs of joy as the world sings in gladness for the gift of living.  Sing!  The songs of the wild fill the air as the mating pairs rejoice in the beauty of their efforts.  Life! Love! Creation! Sing! The joy of being, of living, of being alive!  Sing, to each other, to the great planet and sing with joy.  To live is to be and to be is to have life.  Sing for the joy of living as the world’s small creatures do.  Sing with the joy of being alive.

How awesome are we to be the caretakers of the Earth.  To be superior and in charge, to be grand and intelligent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkzDKaq2M_U  The endangered spirit bear

Here in a quiet corner of the Earth, on a lovely piece of land, lives the endangered spirit bear.  An uncommon piece of the beauty and serenity of the forests of British Columbia.  Here, in the great wilds of Canada, we have a piece of evolution, of animal adaptation to a select region of forest.

Preservation is key.  A selected animal in a selected habitat for the joy and beauty of this place.  Unique and rare the white spirit bear lives in a old growth, coastal forest that screams for protection.   The cries of “save us!” ring in our ears as the great white bear lives it’s entire existence in a small area of BC.  A small, needy population of bear, asking for just a small favor.  Oh you wise and intelligent ones, hear us as we call to you.  Protect us.

Save us so that we can sing our song and live our lives in the old, mossy forest. Save us for what we are, the rare and unusual, the environmentally adapted, the unique and special.  Save us so that we can dot your landscape with something different and something rare.  Save us, oh great masters.  Our hearts call to you from the great wild.  Let us sing!

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 15, 2015

To Have it All

To Have it All

Hail you Almighty human!  Praises and praises!

The great good Earth sings in it’s glory.  The majesty of all of it’s creation, the birth of the living being, the living planet, the living soul.  Hail to the dawning of the new day, the new season, the new life that begins today.  The planet unveils yet another of it’s awesome wonders, the birth of the great wild, in all of its wild and wonderful ways.  The shy, but glorious wildflower, the dainty and tiny new born deer, the rushing of the spring waters as the snow fades and melts into rivers.  The passing of the snow of winter, leading to the blessing of the greening of spring.

Hail to the almighty planet, as we praise the warm and comforting springtime, with its  promise of fresh lakes to swim in, recreation for our bodies, hiking and biking for sport, athletes galore.  Out of the cramped confines of weight rooms, pools, gyms and recreation facilities, come the swarms of diligent humanity.  Running, biking, swimming, playing, the great outdoors calls to us, with the demand of the insistent call to opportunity.  Come!  Don’t miss this fabulous day.  Play outdoors in the beauty and the serenity of the great land.  Behold the wonders of the planet.  The divine forest to clean our air, the fragrant flowers to capture our attention.  The pristine, clear lakes to dive into and to play upon.  Water!  Clean and pure.  To drink, to play in, to exercise in, to cool our bodies on these hot days.  Water, straight from the master plan of the planet.

Lucky are we, to be the living, to be the life force that propels the world to a destiny at the beck and call of a human called mankind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjia7BsP4Bw  Canada’s Tar Sands – the most destructive projectanadian on Earth?

So here is the other side, the side outside the mapped, protected area of national parks.  The area of controversy and somewhat alarm as the excavation for industry takes it’s toll on the area of northern Alberta.

We glory in the divine of the great planet, as the Earth welcomes us with each new day.  Calling us to rise from our slumber and to enjoy the discovery that is presented to us.  Something new, for each day is something new.  People with wildlife, people marveling at  the great wild.

Yet the controversy continues and grows.  The plunder of the north of the province, demands the attention of all of us.  Environmental destruction, disease and illness, a growing concern of wasteland and destruction.

As Canadians, do we actually need this?  Do we need the multi-million gallons of oil that the tar sands produces? Do we need the loss of the great land, the great wild, our way of life, to swim and play and to enjoy the bountiful beauty of the great Canadian  outdoors?  Do we need to loose it all for something that we really don’t consume ourselves?  How much of this oil is for us?  Not enough to matter to us.  Not enough for the destruction, for the plunder, for the immense waste of our land, for the loss of life of our people, for the environmental damage and the illness that comes with it.  Not enough for the pollution, for the habitat loss to the wild and to us.  Not enough for the continuing damage, for loosing the fishing hole, the lakes to canoe on, our tent site and our camping spot, the shy deer and the roaming bear and the endless forest that provides our air to breathe.

Do we need this?  Do we need to throw it all away for someone else?  We are the voyageur, the coureur de bois, the adventurer who came to climb a mountain, canoe a river, homestead on the prairie.  We are the people of this great North.  To the wise and the diligent, we call to you.  Protect us, almighty ones.

written be Dr. Louise Hayes

June 5, 2015

The Awakening

The Awakening

Good day all of you Brilliant ones!

Here is today, a day of awesome splendor.  A day when the world shows off it’s beauty and thrives in the warmth of brilliant sunshine.  Here is today, a day for you.

The Earth is warm and sends it’s healing power to you.  A healthy life of intelligent pursuits, carrying you forward towards your goals.

The rejuvination of  springtime, when all of the world awakens to the early morning sunshine and the warm, streaming sunshine pulls you from your restful slumber, into the dawning of the new day.  Warm and inviting, the world awakens and the call of the wild sings to the planet.  Songs of joy, of cheerful living, songs of love to nest and nurture, songs of gathering to keep themselves together.  Sing for the joy of being, of happy pleasure, of grateful life.  The dark cloak of nighttime vanishes with the dawn and today the Earth reveals yet another of its wonders.  Another new flower pulls up its showy head and waves to the world, and nods in graceful elegance.  I have bloomed.  Here I am!  It is me!  I have bloomed.  And with this showy, colorful, fragrant blossom,  we are saved.  Saved from extinction, saved from being a mark in history, saved from devastating loss.  Here I am!  It is me!  We are saved.

Again and again, the showy blooms rise to meet this glorious day.  Again and again their colorful attire sparkles the landscape with dots of beauty.  Reds, yellows, blue and white, the showy dainties cast their spell on the landscape and fill it with the colors of the rainbow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwI2u23LRx4&spfreload=10  secret garden, first day of spring, by Andreea Petchu

Hail to the great planet,calls these precious  dainties of life.  Brilliant and bold they rise to the morning sun and wave and dance to the playful tunes of warm breezes.   The life that fills the planet with color, scent and beauty.  Flowers in a spring meadow, surprising with their brilliance.  Cold resistant and sturdy these fragile, adaptive plants fill the forest, the meadow, the plains, the mountain with an array of color, variety, design and interest that cheer the soul of horticulturalists, botanist and curious amatures.  The world swells with the awakening of spring and the wonderful plant life that we fortunately find.

A tiny, brilliant dot of a violet, tucked away along a path, blue clematis, paintbrush, strawberry and primrose, the competition for finery is unmatched in these species.  Lovely day and lovely findings.  The wild has awakened with the dawn of this day and splashes its paintbrush of color all across its land.

Lucky for us, this day, as we stroll along a mountain path and breathe the clean, pure air of mountain sunshine and rejoice.  Today the world shows off her glorious inventions and the variety and beauty of her landscapes saves us once more.  A day of simple, grand design as the planet entices us from our beds and our secure homes.  Come into my garden, calls the great, good Earth and smile at the day that welcomes you.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 4, 2015

Dream of Peace

Dream of Peace

Good Day, you Awesome Human!

Splendid day. Warm and snowy. The birds are singing gaily from their roosts. The elk lie in the meadows, relatively calm, after a long autumn of elk battles and rutting. The peaceful does with wombs full of the promise of another successful spring of calving. The big horn sheep, also resting, caring for the silent burden of their soon to be offspring.
The great wild! The drama of the wild as it plays out its role, in the never ending cycle of creation. Born to this place, the wild entices us, with its riches of spectacular views, muscle strengthening climbs, varieties of lifeforms and the gift of providing us with natural wonder to explore.
A peek into this place, of grand beauty and grand design, which fills out hearts and souls with wonder. Oh mighty planet, to give us this gift, from a highway, cut through the mountains. Those of us who have time, will exert ourselves more and climb to a pinnacle on a well traveled trail, for a look at what lies on the other side. A steep bit of climbing, a scramble, an effort, but where it takes us is to the grand view of the wild. A view of what lies on the other side of that mountain range. More forests and rivers, cascading waterfalls, animal tracks, mountains and valleys to explore. We are the hungry. We thirst for more and more. Show us your splendor, oh great planet earth, as we strive to reach your mountain tops and intrude into the land of your wildlife, to photograph those elusive species, and brag.
The world turns for us, on these snow covered days, as we strap on snowshoes and venture out to play. A daunting world of snow and ice, but for us to trudge through, a winter’s delight. Animal tracks. There’s plenty of life in this snow covered domain, but no one shows their faces today. Instead, it’s us, joining the tracks in the snow, plodding and chatting and breaking trail. These small few hours of exertion, to remind us of by gone days and years of exploration, as the well traveled adventurer set off to discover this new land. Tracks of snowshoes in the forests, tracks along the winding creek. An easy day of healthful activity, to fill our lungs with pure, clean air, to strengthen our bodies and refresh our minds.
The luck of an easy day of refreshing activity. The joy of adventure into the quiet winters solitude. A brush with nature as she plays out her part. The wild calls us and the wild whispers. Save us, oh mighty ones. Don’t plunder here. Spare us from the weapons of mass destruction and a world of madness and we will give you the peace of a quiet winter’s day, with snow on the mountains and the crisp, crunchy snow beneath your feet.
Let this stand of the earth be your playground, oh great ones, and may you forever venture into the wild and breathe.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
January 19, 2015

Those Grey Days

Those Grey Days

Good Day Bravehearts.

Welcome to this bleak, wintry, grey day.
Get out your snow shovels and start working. It’s the crack of dawn at 8 am and the weather is socked in for the long haul. Pull on your boots, your warm mittens, coat and hat and with shovel in hand,start your day off right,with a little vigorous exercise.
The cool wind blows damp flakes into your face. Your hair and eyelashes freeze. Your damp breath creates a fog around you and the shovel slides a few inches in the ever accumulating snow.
Paradise! This is what winter is all about.
While we lay dreaming in our snug, warm beds, the soft, wintry white stuff was falling gently outside. Swirling flakes of powder to hide the frozen ground. A winter wonderland of snow covered land to entice us outside to play. The shoveling continues and the path to the road is nearly complete. We’ll be doing this a few times today, as our spirits start to soar, with the possibilities that this climate presents. It will have to stop snowing soon and then we go out to play.
For us, the fabulous cold, is not a harsh, dreadful climate, but rather a change of life. A new joy of living. A chance for a new adventure. The snow presents a new challenge in sport and fun. For us, this is awesome. It’s not all that cold, and snow is fun. Joy! for what this season brings. Strap on your skates, your skis or snow shoes, pull on you boots and build a snowman, drag your sleigh or toboggan to the hill, pile up your defenses for a snow ball fight and smile. The cold, frosty, white north, is a superb play land. When this snowfall lets up, we’ll be raring to go, for we pride ourselves in the skills of these sports. What was once survival, is now a calling. Come on out of your houses and enjoy this day!
The raw elements burn our cheeks and the fresh, crisp, cold enhances our complexions. Rosy cheeks and rosy glow. Beneath layers of insulating fabric, our bodies remain warm against the chill and the adventure of the day starts to begin.
Now, as the flakes are piling up again and the seemingly endless task of digging ourselves out of the house resumes, the exercise bike and barbells lay in wait, as our strengthening task becomes the monotonous shovel, shovel. Will it end? Not until spring. And thankfully, spring is a way off, months of endless winter play away.
The barbells and weight rooms lay in wait for us as we gladly clear our path to the road. The temperature is a balmy -12. Warm enough to be outside for hours.
Now is the season for those much desired national past times. We put on our hats and coats with pleasure and slip into the peacetime of winter escapes, winter sport and winter fun.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
January 7, 2015

The Real Santa Claus

The Real Santa Claus

Hail Bravehearts

The holiday season is upon us, filled with love, light, peace and happiness.
Joy to the world, even nature sings!
Some lucky people witnessed the unusual event of a caribou sighting at Marmot Basin Ski Area, Jasper National Park on December 17, 2014. Eight handsome caribou, made a grand appearance on the ski run. These are eight of only 41 left in the Park.
The significance? Come Dasher, come Dancer, come Comet, come Vixen, come Prancer, come Cupid, come Donner, come Blitzen, and the rarest of them all, the Mountain Caribou.
My photo shows a female caribou and her calf on a snow patch, taken from the top of the Mt Edith Cavel Meadows, in July 2014. We needed binoculars to see them.

http://www.thejasperlocal.com/caribou-make-rare-appearance-as-closures-loom.html Caribou sighting at Marmot Basin, Jasper,Alberta, December 17, 2014

The Christmas season is heralded by a merry old gent in red who brings us gifts of Christmas joy. No poverty during this warm season of friendship, worship and brotherly love. The real Santa Claus is not an elf, but a real person, so revered for his abilities to enact miracles. A marvelous human being with powers so great that he could raise the dead and bring gifts of gold to the needy.

Miracles! The holiday season is filled with joy and fellowship. A miracle of humanity and community sharing, of peace and goodwill. The merry old gent, who fills your stocking, is a saint of immense proportions for humanity. His story is told and his contributions deserve our continued respect. Jolly old St. Nicholas who helped to ease the needs of the poor in his day, is remembered still as Santa Claus.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/ Who is St. Nicholas, the real Santa Claus.

Merry Christmas to all of you. Happy holiday season.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
December 24, 2014

Winter Play

Winter Play

Good day Bravehearts!

We rise to a day of fresh falling snow. The wonder of our lives changes with this new season of fabulous fun and adventurous winter. A fine day of fresh tracks at the skihill, of snowshoes and ice skates and warm winter snuggly clothes. Winter is an awesome time of hot chocolate by the fire, of tobogganing, sledding, of building snowmen, of snow shoveling, snow ball fights, ice hockey and winter play.
Gone are the grey days of late, cold fall weather, the end of the mating season and the end of the harvest. The last of this years produce is put down and the seasons canning and storage are complete. Now the snow is falling and winter fun is here!

Rise, oh bravehearts to a glorious day of warm winter fun. Zero is a fabulous temperature, even minus 1. The warm, winter weather of freshly falling snow and the quiet of the snowfall, the crunch of our footsteps on the sidewalk, the clean, white blanket and the fresh, clean air. Gone is the brown of late autumn and the trees curl up for a long winters sleep. The grass is covered with clean, protective snow and the vegetation lies in slumber, beneath it’s warm white canopy. Rest for the weary. For the constant blooming, the constant growing, the constant photosynthesis, the constant producing, leaves the world, at a time like this, and sends it into peaceful slumber, as the winter sets in and whispers to us. Come out to play in the snow!
The snow!
Soft white swirling flakes of snow, each one different, no two snowflakes exactly alike. Each one unique and there are millions and millions of them. A cascade of play, falling to earth, bringing sport and fun. Don your hats and mitts, your scarves and toques, your warm winter coats and warm winter pants. Pull on the long underwear and the extra layer of clothing. Be warm and cozy in the chilly minus temperatures, and play!
This season could last a long time.
The logs are already cut for your fire, the fireplace awaits, it’s crackling flames and the kettle is boiling and calling you, to make another hot cuppa. Chocolate! and tea and warm winters brew. A season of cold remedies and flu shots and days off to recover. The occasional broken bones from falls on the ice, but still, the joys of the season are plenty and duty calls us. Be happy! Winter is here!
Lash on your skates and grab your stick. The very best of Canada and our favourite past times, are winter sports and play. That clearing on the ice, brings about a game. Our national sport, hockey is here. From the time that you are little, until you grow old, the passion of the ice rink or that shoveled spot on the lake, are the call of winter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4–iEOftLZ4&spfreload=10 the beauty of hockey, the greatest game on the planet.

Our mission, to have fun. Our all Canadian dream, to win. This is the time for sport and play. Come on, Canada, get on with the game.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
November 26, 2014

Fishing

Fishing

Hail Bravehearts

Cast your nets into the seas and prepare for the harvest that mankind has consumed for thousands of years. Fish. Fish a plenty from the great store of the waters, direct to your platters. A grocer, a farmer, a store of great variety, of fish and ocean dwellers, that serve as your dinner, your lunch, your breakfast, your snacks.
Cast your line into the water with baited hook and wait for the unsuspecting prey to catch your lure. Cunning and careful, not to divulge yourself, so that the wary prey will not suspect your presence and a trap. Fishing, for sport, for markets, but always for dinner, the catch of the day is your daily choice. All over the world, the waters feed the hungry. A seemingly endless supply of food.

http://www.overfishing.org will it last forever?

The trawlers raise anchor and set sail. The consumer lines the ailes in the grocery store, waiting for the verdict of today’s perils. A stormy sea, turbulent waters, murky depths and dark, brown waters. The nets were cast and the catch is there, but sparse today, as fishing for the multi-millions, the billions is an exertion for fishermen and oceans alike. The markets are waiting, the consumer still hungry, their bellies empty and their wallets ready. There are markets galore, and wealth to purchase, but the vanishing species determines the day. Not that fish today. Last seen, a year ago, and still that product evades us. Well, something else then.
Still the smiles as the purchase is made, not their favorite, but a food source still. Some spices and some creative cooking will prevail.
But what of the species that vanished. How far off shore to find it?
The fishermen traveled throughout the usual territory, but to no avail. Where did they go? There are only seven billion of us feeding from the oceans. Did we eat it all?

http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-overfishing/ overfishing of the worlds oceans

The demands upon the oceans are exhaustive. Another net thrown in to sea. Another chance of pay and prosperity. Lines go out, a sportsman’s day. A fun and thrilling adventure, to fish the oceans and catch that handsome, mighty prey.
The fun, the daring, the challenge, the adventure and then, of course, the delicacy, served to you, for dinner.
For thousands of years, mankind has fished and loved the waters that serve up so much delight. A wonderful day, a wonderful life, to fill you larder from the grocery store of the sea.
Countless recipes, countless cooks, endless lines and nets and traps and variety. Cookbooks and chefs, diners and beachcombers, all of us, all the world, fishing the oceans for food.
Will it last forever?
The oil spills contaminate the water. Pollution and waste drift throughout the sea. Fish consume indigestible product and their breeding grounds are lost to development.
We love the sea. We love the beaches. We play and rest and nourish ourselves by the ocean waters. We look for shells and play in the sand, on the water, in the water, the waves, so much fun and so much life. The waters give us food, play, sport, relaxation, holidays, work and pay. The oceans, so much to live for, our dependency and our nourishment. Survival?

written by Dr. Louise Hayes