Excerpt from Chapter 10 - Rings of Wisdom -

Nature oriented excerpt

Up ahead a swift, shallow run overrode a sandy bottom. The sandy areas had beautifully crafted ripples across their faces. Those features formed perpendicular to the current direction, as wavy bottom currents molded armies of sand grains into ridges. There was a field of them. I watched the stream slowly rebuild a crested ripple I had just stepped on. It reminded me of ants rebuilding a mound, minus the ants of course. The river gracefully played the role of an invisible sculptor.

Nub got ahead of me thanks to my daydreaming. 

“What are you doing over there?” He looked back and asked.

I lifted my eyes while keeping my head down. “Ah, nothing really. Just looking at ripples in the sand. You know I like that kind of stuff.”

“Yeah, I noticed them things. I just don’t stop and stare at them like you,” he heckled me.

The water was only ankle-deep, which challenged even the most seasoned trout fisherman’s prowess to maintain quiet steps. I tiptoed closer to my brother who had slowed his pace.

“Hey look, there’s that huge black spruce,” he said while directing me with his eyes.

“Man, now that’s a tree, Nubby!”

My brother stood stiff with a hand on his hip. “I remember that tree from before. I knew it was up here somewhere.”

The majestic black spruce stood off to our right, where the woods met the stream bank. That tree had a presence, like a relic from an enchanted forest. It stood tall and pointed as it looked down upon us. It would have taken at least two people to wrap their arms around its sturdy base. A collection of roots exposed by the river’s erosive force held firmly to the bank. Patches of green moss and lichen covered old man spruce’s craggy brown hide and reminded me of age spots on an elderly person. I felt insignificant in the company of that tree, but it felt good to be minimized in its presence. If only that forest king could have spoken. I would have paid a pretty penny to learn from its rings of wisdom.

We stood side by side and gave the towering wooden statue one more look.

I lifted my cap and addressed an itch. “You know, this tree reminds me of those humongous willows down at the Forks."

Nub searched his memory. “Which ones again?”

“You know, when we park down by the Forks, we walk right by them. They’re just before we hit the river. They have those super long, gangly branches that hang to the ground.”

“Yeah, I think I remember,” he said while he stared a hole through the spruce.

“For some reason they stand out to me. I picture them in front of a haunted house.”

“Like on the Munsters?” Nub jokingly asked.

“Ha-haa. Yeah, like that. They’re just cool trees.” 

Those flowing willows had an aura about them. They were sprawling beauties. Their bases were hidden behind their lush growth like Mardi Gras revelers behind their masks. I wasn’t sure what to make of those long, stringy branches. They looked inviting, like a hug might be forthcoming. On the other hand, they looked daunting, like the trees might strangle me instead. Either way, I was fond of them.