Sleeping Forest

I began to write this book in November, thinking how easy it would be to just hike, take photos and make observations.

After all, doing the Enchanted Forest~ was not particularly difficult. I madly photographed plants as they appeared and bloomed from March through November.

I identified them and marveled in their beauty learning much about plant life and soil.

But through this winter I've come to a realization. It is not about the Woods, the Forest, the Plants.
It is about the struggle for survival.

I've lived and hiked the surround Forest for 15 years. I've admired its winter beauty but never really thought about much about it
during my daily hikes through the snow and cold.

I've tried to document my observations of the changes that occur through the winter months.

What I found surprised me.
Even though it should not have.

It centers around the Forest's lifeblood which is the spring fed creek that runs through it.

Life, death, and survival depends on who is cunning, swift, and strong. It is center stage for the predator and the prey.

Winter seen this way is absolutely beautiful yet cruel at the same time.


Those that survive through the harsh winter are renewed by birth of their young ones in the spring.
Those that do not ~ become food for the strong and hungry or scavengers.

The creek trail used by all animals for access to water:
Raccoon tracks and den tree:


The swift.


The unlucky.
At times while walking the woods in my snow shoes I've felt the emptiness and harshness of the winter.

There were moments that I felt out of place because I could always return to my home and escape the cold and the hunt.

It is an amazing feeling that overcomes you when you realize that you are just an observer in the way of things.

This is no Sleeping Forest, this is Winter.