teething

Photo from Assiniboine Forest, Winnipeg, MB. February 8, 2013.

* * *

So M and I dragged his cold and my tiredness to the forest this morning. And there was lots of snow and a stiff breeze, which meant very few (remaindered) mushrooms and a runny nose, but...it was such a goddamn relief to be there, walking the trails.

And I'm completely rusty, photo-wise, and completely out of shape after a fall/winter full of deadlines and sickness. But. But. But.

This was the only good photo. And it isn't even that good. But. (But. But.)

I have to be reminded, sometimes, that while doing the Wolseley/Wellington loop, which is a good hour/hour-and-a-half, is NOT the same as going for a walk in the forest.

I'm currently working on essays about urban forests with a focus on the forest. I've been meeting with people in environmental sciences, with forest advocates, with conservation officers via lectures and brochures and books.

My favourite piece of research so far? I got an environmental scientist to send me a list of Assiniboine Forest insults. (One example: "Should it even be a forest?  Aerial photos from the 1920s show a patch of wet prairie.  The only reason trees are there is because the cleansing force of fire has been suppressed....")