02/02/2026
The Forest Remembers - Part I
Nestled in the forest, As the tall trees towered with their reaching green boughs heavy with snow, grandfather walked slowly and steady with his grandchild following him like his very own shadow.
They meandered a narrow, hidden trail, tucked in the deep forest, their snowshoes pressing softly into deep snow and unfolding the buried path.
Grandfather paused.
With his walking stick grounded in the snow, he lifted his gaze- slowly, slowly - up the trunk of a great grandmother pine. Grandfather looked with a gaze like he could see beyond the tree and see the tree spirits.
The little one paused too.
She watched his feet.�Then her own.�She adjusted them carefully.
She watched his hands on the walking stick.�Then her own.�She corrected her grip.
Satisfied she had become a perfect mirror, she finally slowly lifted her head and followed his gaze slowly as he had done: up, up the pine - she new this tradition of Grandfather sharing stories of the olden ways, long forgotten. She awaited.
Birdsong fluttered from brand to branch like they too were getting the best seats to hear grandfather speak. �Even the light wind whispered through the needles, saying everyone gather round. Pay attention.
Grandfather smiled his slow deep smile; the smile he always wore when he was remembering. Little one always loved hearing his memories.
Without looking away from the great grandmother tree, his low and rumbling voice, the kind that soothed.
As though speaking to both the forest and the little one. Little one often wondered if the animals and trees understood him. She was pretty certain they did, she wasn’t sure how, but she noticed they seemed to bristle with quiet joy whenever he spoke
“This tree holds great warmth,” he spoke.�
“She has given much to this forest.”
Then, gently, he asked without turning his warmed gaze from grandmother pine:
“Did I ever tell you the story of the winter I wandered too far…�and how it was a great grandmother pine who helped me find my way and kept me safe -
continued....
~ Enchanted
"There is a kind of warmth that begins at the feet."
Enchanted Wool Co.