Muses

A couple of months ago Melissa wrote a post on muses and asked us whether we knew our muse. At the time I drew a huge blank. Now, I realize I have two that I use frequently and I can’t believe it took me this long to identify them.

Vegetation is one of my main muses, usually trees. I grew up surrounded by gardeners. I grew up helping my mom garden. We made frequent trips down the block to Edward’s Garden Centre in Bowness before it moved locations and my family left the city behind. I also grew up walking river paths and mountain paths beneath the canopies of firs and pines and willows. I’ve always been surrounded by the poplars that love the Alberta prairies.

My house is so full of houseplants it could easily be a jungle from the right vantage point. New guests always remark on the dieffenbachias and split leafs crammed in corners here and there throughout the main floor, the cereus plants and orchids that take up all available shelf space, and all the rest we somehow find space for.

Trees feature heavily in my stories, as do other plants and flowers. The first thing I research about a story setting is the type of trees that grow there. It’s the oddest thing, but a place is not a place for me until I know what the greenery looks like.

Vegetation grounds me, no matter where I am.

Riffing off Melissa’s post, I can’t personally recall a lot of folklore about trees. The burning bush from the bible comes to mind (though I don’t know that story at all so please forgive me if I’m way off). Baba Yaga deep in the woods could count. Any story set in woods, like a lot of Grimm stories, immediately catch my attention. Hmm, this is something I’m going to have to look into.

A second muse for me would be rivers. While Melissa is happy with any body of water, I feel much more connected to rivers than anything else. I love the ocean, don’t get me wrong. I adore the serenity of lakes. But there’s something about rivers that has always called to me.

Between the ages of 5 and 10, I spent every summer swimming in the Bow River and nearly every winter skating on the Bowness Park lagoon. I’ve hiked along the Bow and Elbow and spent ages at Edworthy Park feeding the ducks and geese and watching the muskrats skim the still waters. I have a healthy respect for the creatures that dwell within the rivers and the currents that can make them dangerous.

Up until I was 15 I always lived close to the river and new all of the local paths within walking distance of my house. I miss the river. I miss the sound off in the distance. The smell. I miss knowing it’s a walk away. Heck, I even miss the uncertainty of living so close to a flood zone.

While rivers don’t feature quite as heavily in my stories as trees do, if there’s a body of water mentioned 9 times out of 10 it’s a river. Surrounded by trees because I just can’t help myself.

Again, I don’t know a lot of river folklore. I know a fair amount about the river Styx in a few Greek myths. Yet another thing I can research!

I’ve surprised myself with this post. I didn’t realize the types of entities I rely on heavily in my writing or the types of things I need around me to relax. I haven’t been able to finagle a retreat in a place surrounded by trees or rivers but I think I need to. I know I always feel much more invigorated after a hike in the woods.

Thanks for the challenge Melissa!

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