Forest Kids

1 The Enchanted Forest
The Douglas fir, once towering in the coastal forest, lies on its
side like a slumbering giant. Two boys barely as high as its trunk
scramble onto one rotting end and gaze up the long length of its
back. The deep ridges of bark are slippery in the damp spring air.
One after the other, the children spread their arms, gingerly plant
their boots heel-to-toe, and make their way to the other end, picking
up speed as they go.
“Come on!” Their calls echo through the cathedral of trees as
they pivot to retrace their steps.
Across the clearing, a swarm of 5- and 6-year-olds climb over
logs and clamber onto mountains of red pulp left by decaying
cedars. Grubby fingers dig in the dirt for bugs. Superheroes leap
from stumps. The children bend and stretch, lift and carry.
In the nook of a decomposing trunk, Chloe assembles twigs
and knotted bits of wood. “A fairy house,” she whispers.
Rylan, with corn silk hair poking out from under a blue hoodie,
piles sticks and boughs over a nearby hollow.
“Who wants to help me build my den?”
Chloe builds a fairy house (Diana Nethercott for the Toronto Star)
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