The Trees and the Stars

One of the things I miss about Leaf Rapids is the way in which the town remains embedded firmly in the thick of the Canadian Shield's northern boreal forests. If you could abide the mosquitoes (luckily, gigantic dragonflies were plentiful, mitigating the pest population somewhat), the forest was the perfect environment for all manner of adventures. I remember in particular how the root system and stump of one very large, fallen tree provided a cave of sorts; it often served as a fort or a gateway to other worlds.

At night, a few minutes' walk would put you in pitch blackness; the stargazing was incredible. On a clear night in Leaf Rapids, you need only look up into the night and the stars to feel yourself perched on the edge of the universe, about to fall up into the cosmos were it not for an accident of gravity.