Speaker 1: Hey, when it comes to podcasts listening, are you like me?
I mean, it's like television surfing. You're like all over
the place looking for that one thing that you can
add to your moment of now. Be it forest stories,
be it rockstar stories, talking with a chef, whatever you're
looking for. That's what ero dot net is all about.
Arrooe dot net. The searching is over. It's all in
one place. Enjoy the exploration. Hey, thanks for being a
part of the conversation. Welcome to Forest Stories, a series
of short winded adventures within a collection of skyscraping trees,
stuck feet first and Georgia Clay right here in Carolina.
It's been a huge part of my daily journey for
over thirty three years. I Am the Poet in the Forest,
a children's series written and recorded in the nineteen nineties.
It's grown into multiple podcasts that now reach around the world,
and none of it would be possible without this forest
right here in South Charlotte, North Carolina, at the base
of Heartbreak Hills. It's a sign that reads Rainbow Forest. Well,
it's time you get to meet what's inspired several generations
long before the paved paths decorated with colorful homes colonized
around this beautiful lake, slow moving stream, flatland swamps and
array of natural animals. There were families and business owners
who are said to have raced into this area for
the beauty of the land, wild roses, migratory birds, and
wild grapevines. Those before me either forgot to write about
it or it's buried somewhere inside their family tree. Hey,
thanks for being a part of the conversation.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to the forest. Interesting thing out here inside
these trees. Today a fall day, the sun is out,
but there's still that brisk fall temperature that's reminding you
that even more changes on the way. And I think
one of the biggest changes this morning was seeing these
dead moles on the path. You know, moles, the little
fuzzy creatures that dig into the ground. Pisses off a
lot of people. But what a better way and natural
way to air rate your forest than to let moles
have their way. But to see a large number of
holes lane dead, it's almost like did somebody come by
and poison the soil? I mean, why all of a
sudden would there be a change, Because moles can go
underground to keep nice and warm, not to step outside
their world and fall flat on their sides. So very
interesting when you start seeing dead animals inside a collection
of trees. Now, one of the things that I have
become pretty good at is identifying the several scents that
come with a force, not common sense. I'm talking about
what you smell, and that scent has included that of death.
It can be a dead deer. Oh god, oh, when
we had that dead deer in the backside of the
forest because somebody took an arrow and shot it right
through their neck. You have no idea what that did
to me is that scent went from my nose to
my soul. And knowing that that deer was killed on
my property from an arrow that was shot from several
feet away, and the scent, the stench, and we had
to drag it. We had to drag it completely out
of that area with that smell and to basically figure
out what we were going to do. And you still
have to honor that body of that animal, because that's
just what I was trained in Native American spirituality. You know,
just you know, get rid of the body, you get
to honor it. Thank you so much for being here.
For everything that you probably did, and you probably gave
me so many smiles along the way, and then you
honor them and you know proper you know, a proper
burial and everything that takes place. And I've done that
with so many animals, including these moles. Yes, I pick
them up because I'm going to take them home into
my area of the forest and I'm going to give
them back to Mother Earth. It's just the way that
I am. And some people are going to think that
I'm insane, but you know what, you no, I'm caring
for everything that is, my community of trees, shrubs, streams,
the lake, this beautiful sunshine even on a fall day.
And it's just very interesting though, to be able to
when you're walking, instead of looking out into your own
world and getting lost in your own head and heart,
you see what's going on in the real world, and
that is there are animals that are transitioning right in
front of you. Did you see them? Now? Do I
think that all people should do this inside their areas,
be it a city park, be it in a downtown area,
where wild animals still pop up in humanized places, I'm
not sure that's so true. And the reason why is
because you've got to be able to respect what it
is that you're trying to do. If you're just removing
the carcass of an animal that once was, what do
you do and how are you doing it? You're just
going to throw it in the trash can or are
you going to really kind of give it back to
Mother Earth who provided for this animal and what did
this animal do? Well? Obviously, like we're talking about the moles,
you can't air rate a forest floor greater than these
moles doing their thing. And yes they can be a
pain in the butt to those that have moles in
their front yard. You know, I just kind of giggle
that kind of stuff off. It's the human ego who
wants to live a home depot front cover of a
magazine picture. But you know, it's one of those things
that I do invite you to read into the chapters
of A Gentleman by the name of Ted Andrews. Animals
speak is very, very, very important and if you can
just go and study the creatures and the creations that
live inside your areas of all things natural, it will
help you understand why you should respect the dead animal
that you just located, maybe in your front yard. Don't
just throw it away, give it back to the earth,
allow them to become part of the sands of the future.
Thank you so much for being a part of the conversation.