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Tom Wood

Algonquin Wonderland

Rugged and pristine, a tantalizing combination of pre-Cambrian shield and boreal forest

Hauntingly silent,

Grey billowing clouds lazily drifting across the sky

A snow-covered landscape as far as the eye can see

Icicles on rock faces like walrus tusks

The landscape covered in a blanket of white powdered purity

Fluffy snow drifting from the treetops, like wisps of smoke from a stone cottages chimney

Lakes and rivers caught in an icy winters grip

New trails to blaze, like the voyagers of old

Whispering voices from the distant past catch my ear

Loggers to be sure

The sharp thwack of the axe sinking deeply into the majestic white pine

Was this my fertile imagination, or just the crack of a frozen tree limb?

A Red Fox scampering across a trail, stopping to give quizzical look at this interloper before moving on

An Otter, chattering her displeasure at my intrusion into her winter wonderland, before disappearing into the depths of the black running water

An Osprey circling far above, watching the landscape unfold below on each lazy pass

Jays raising the alarm from the treetops

Light is fading; a soft snow is starting to fall

Time to go, must I?

Reality calls, a return to the urban sprawl

Farewell my ALGONQUIN WONDERLAND

Until another Christmas Day.