Writing Assignment # 6
Writing Assignment #6
Writing Assignment Day 6 – June 9, 2014.
(Write about the most interesting person you’ve met in 2014.)
It was that time of year again, the warm sun had once again cast its supremacy over old man winter and the thick blanket of snow. All that remained were a few stubborn mounds of snow that had accumulated under the shade and protection of the one hundred foot fir trees. It was that time of year …………. the time between the vanquished snow and the rebirth of the birch trees that had stood dormant for five months.
The previous winter supply of fire wood had been largely consumed by the ever hungry stove that had kept us warm during the winter months. Now it was time, time to wake up the old trusty chain saw, sharpen the ax, fuel up the quad, dig out the work boots and begin the annual ritual of converting the standing birch trees into cords of firewood before the trees came back to life.
The chosen unsuspecting victims stood proud and erect in the lower reaches of the wooded portion of the property and after packing a few sandwiches and testing the equipment, I set out to begin the task which would take several days of hard physical labor to complete.
I always looked forward to this task. It was just the forest, the deer, the bears, the birds, my chain saw, my quad and me. No one to answer to, not a complicated mind numbing job, no major decisions. I found hard physical work good for the soul as well as the body. Eager to begin, I powered up the saw, not conscious of how I was disturbing those that lived in the area of my work.
The saw worked perfectly. The buzzing and whining of the saw, the noise of crashing trees and the occasional grunt from me drowned out the gurgling sounds of snow melt rivulets and the chirping of the forest birds. After felling several trees and feeling very satisfied with my effort, I shut down the motor of the saw, opened my back pack, took out the thermos of hot coffee, unwrapped a tuna fish sandwich, sat down on the trunk of one of the felled trees and began to enjoy my lunch.
All was silent, I was alone surrounded by nature, or so I thought. Just as I was about to take a second sip from my thermal coffee mug, I sensed another presence. Something or someone was active in the bush behind me. I could not see it but I knew it was there. Slowly as I focussed my eyes in the direction of the sound, a figure came into view.My first thought was that it was a a bear, just out of hibernation, who had detected the smell of my tuna fish sandwich but I quickly realized that it was indeed a person.
My next thought was that this person had, like the bears, just come out of hibernation. He stood not less than six feet four inches. His foot long greying red beard, along with his shoulder length hair, had not seen a comb in many days. His arms hung loosely by his side with his knuckles reaching down to his knees. He stood somewhat hunched as his grey blue eyes seemed to pierce my brain. He almost seemed to float rather than walk as he came into the clearing.
What to do? Do I run? Do pick up my ax to defend myself? Or do I say “Hello” and offer him a sandwich? Before I could make a decision and before I could speak, he said, “Do you realize what you are doing?”
Quizzically I looked into his eyes and responded, “I don’t understand what you mean. This is my property, these are my trees and I will do with them what I want. I need the wood to heat my house.”
“I cannot stop you from doing what you are doing but just think about what you just did to the forest, the birds and the animals that enjoyed this place before you showed up.”
No other words were spoken. He turned and drifted back into the darkness of the forest.
