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Speaker 1: Hey, thanks for being a part of the conversation. This

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is Forest Stories. I'm the Poet in the Forest, a

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children's series that I pinned out in the nineteen nineties. Now,

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none of it would be possible if it wasn't for

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this forest right here in South Charlotte, North Carolina. I

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talk about it so much that I thought, maybe it's

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time that you get to know what has inspired me

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for thirty years. Thanks for being a part of the conversation.

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Welcome back to the forest. So often when I take

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this transition walk through this forest in South Charlotte, North Carolina,

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I can't help but try to put my mind back

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into the latter part of the nineteen seventies and maybe

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even more, because I want to know what did this

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land look like before the families moved in, before the

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building took over, before everything was basically erased and man made.

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I've looked for photographs, I can't find them. I have

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searched for storytellers, and I can't find them. But I

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sit here and I listen to these birds, and it's

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almost like they're trying to tell me find your peace

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in the present, because the past was before a moment

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of release, meaning This land probably gives away more stories

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than you could ever imagine if you would just take

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the time to participate with its personal growth, meaning replenish

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the forest, give yourself back to the land, and quit

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taking from the land. This forest is always going to

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be here. Yeah, there's a billion houses cradled up against

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each and every tree. The lake is still looking absolutely gorgeous,

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especially on a cold winter's day like today. But you

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still can't help but wonder what did it look like?

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Was the lake as beautiful as it is today, or

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is its pristine look that of the human beings creation?

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What did it look like before we all arrived? If

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I could just find a photograph, maybe two three, just

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so I can say I've been here, I've been there.

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I want to share sharing the story of a forest.

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It's not around. The only thing we have is our

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present place of right now, just like the birds were

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saying just a few steps ago. And thanks for being

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a part of the conversation.