By: Dr E.W. Gordon
I once stood upon a hill all, around me nature watched on calmly. I wonder what it thinks of me? Really I’m plotting the next journey. I wish I was an eagle soaring high. I want to fly, I wish I could, I’d fly up to the clouds, do loops and swirls: after all, it is what I’d be designed for. I’d sail in the breeze, swoop and chase the thermals, master and commander of the world. Or maybe I’d be a stoat, drop in to burrows and explore the anchor points of trees, try and discover where the secret treasure is really buried. I’d travel forever mile after mile and see the world only when I see fit. If I were the magnificent stag, and the land mine to rule, I’d view things like a wise king. If the need arose I could defend my world, but mostly I’d be quietly alert as my flock grazes contentedly. You know it can only be the squirrel for steadily planting next year’s new crop, filling breaks in the hedge by happy coincidence over and under, darting back and forth. The little character was once hunted with bows but mercifully now he’s allowed reign of the branches listening for danger. It’s a funny thing how keeping a keen weather eye is so innate that a beaten creature is as rare as a yacht in the free classifieds. All this and many wonders make up the wilderness experience, the natural world has more than the eye can see: and that’s the wonder of the promised lands we inherited.
*Get reading and counting. SW