This is a story about characters we met during our stay in Maine’s beautiful woods, in a cozy cabin on a shore of a peaceful pond. They all made our days joyous and brought us to the point of a calmness impossible to achieve in our overcrowded and over noisy place of dwelling.
Humble in the face of nature, overwhelmed by the goodness of its offerings we opened our eyes, our ears and our souls to its miracles and our minds to its meanings.
The Squirrel tirelessly runs from one cabin’s porch to another, crosses the paths or runs along them, climbs a tree only to come back down and climb the next one. He squeaks or barks, apparently, he scolds us or no one in particular but this is definitely not in vain. He protects his territory at a relentless pace and he has the things very well under control.
He appears to us as funny, friendly or just silly, but he only wants to assure things are done the way they should.
The Squirrel is the owner of the shore.
The Loon swims the pond, dives deep under the water and appears back on the surface at a long shot distance, she catches fish to feed herself and to feed the little ones. She wails and she voices long tremolos day and night to stay in touch with her beloved ones. She is sure of what she is doing and patrols the water confidently.
Her wails and tremolos are misleading us to think of some other inhabitants of the woods, but she only talks to hers.
The Loon is the owner of the lake.
The Trout is quick and invisible. His presence is only acknowledged by the environment he likes to live in. He is a master in hunting and he is a master in camouflaging himself under the waters. At dusk, he will swim unbelievably fast from the bottom to the surface to catch a fly and he will dive back as it was only an illusion.
He makes us think he is a prey easy to catch but he knows his place and he does not get tricked.
The Trout is the owner of the water.
The Hawk majestically spreads his wings to fly on a gust of wind. He lives in untouchable places and he masters the art of seeing at distance. His wings flapping are disturbing the air and send waves of sound but the prey is never aware of his presence.
He appears in front of us for just a glimpse, and flies back to its wuthering heights before the man has even time to be amazed by his presence.
The Hawk is the owner of the sky.
The Snake stays hidden only to the eyes not accustomed, his skin is one with the surrounding matter. He slithers on the ground seeking his prey and he retreats protectively when threatened but he can be quick and sharp on attacking.
He will scare us more than any other creature and sends shivers of fear but he will bother no man if left alone.
The Snake is the owner of the dirt.
The Moose is majestic, he is impressive and he is a symbol of the beautiful state. He stomps the ground with confidence, his hooves are sinking deep in the mud but he will walk with ease over the meadows. His antlers are his crown because he is crowned as the king of vaste woods and remote lands. His antlers are wide but he will wear them proudly with much of ease among the thick dense forest. He bellows strongly to bring the wilderness under his will.
He doesn’t show himself to us but he’ll make sure he will leave his hoof prints to be seen on our path. He makes us feel his presence by leaving his scent behind, but doesn’t come to our sight wanting to invite us to come back.
The Moose is the owner of the forest and also the king of the land.
The Man is a guest, a passer-by looking for meaning in every aspect, in search of a silence he can only break, a silence that is not a silence in itself as it is a silence filled with all the sounds the beings shown above are making.
In this serene and peaceful atmosphere the man has plenty of words to tell but not so many meanings to say.
The Man thinks he is the wealthiest as he owns the illusory world of thoughts, the regretful past and the not present future.
words-of-mine 