How refreshing to go for a walk in the forest near Cap Tourmente. The clamour of tens of thousands of snow geese as they whirl overhead, circling to land down beyond the trees by the St. Lawrence River. Like a rumour of song wafting on the salt breeze. A fervent dream asking to be remembered. Our muddy path wandering through stands of birch, balsam poplar and butternut. A carpet of fallen leaves, blazing yellow and orange, each one a miracle of symmetry. Here and there a gurgling brook surging around jumbles of boulders torn from a rock face higher up, ribbons of water dancing down to the tide. That pungent odour of age, decay, mushrooms, the transition of seasons, animals and plants all getting ready for the long bracing winter that will soon descend upon us. Falcons and sparrows breaking free, floating in the sky….
