"Fox Looking Backward" by Kris Bauer
Fox - Extremely cold and hardy predator with incredibly sensitive hearing.
Forest Spirits
I had the privilege of growing up in a multi-generational family. The “Old Swedes” as we called them had immigrated at young ages around 1900. I was always so interested in learning anything I could about the “homelands”. I just couldn’t get enough of their stories! And they were willing to teach me - However growing up with immigrants puts a different slant on life. The family is the main nucleus of everything. We built and repaired houses together - lots and lots of family dinners.
At Christmas the tables would be rolling with food – You couldn’t find a spot to add food. And then you would hear “Well there’s not much here, but I think you can make a meal out of it”
Growing up in the Black Hills, the houses were built in a forested area. I had no fear even at a young age and would tend to wander and explore. I had my Uncle Hermann Borg - every family has an uncle that is a story teller - he was ours. His stories were absolutely captivating to me - and very believable…Everything from the Rock Monsters to trolls and the Nisse who lived in the out buildings and barns to help take care of your farm and belongings.
The Forest Spirits were his favorite - and as he told the stories - kept me much closer to the houses and not be so bold in my exploring.
Spirits are a way to explain an invisible concept to something tangible we can visualize to our understanding.
If the spirit is facing left - he is facing to the past, facing right - he is facing to the future.
