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

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is Forest Stories. I am the Poet in the Forest,

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a 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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Speaker 2: Welcome back to the forest A very chilly, chilly day

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in the forest today, because it's fall, Teimer and I

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think one of the greatest gifts that I get from

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this forest each and every year is to get the

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opportunity to watch the dance. I call it the final dance,

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the way that leaves, in their beautiful bright colors, fall

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from the edges of that tree, that giving tree, and

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they dance to the forest floor. It's like this no storm,

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it really is. There are so many leaves coming down

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at once. I don't know if you can hear the

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wind in the background, or hear how the wind is

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moving through this forest, through these trees. I just wish,

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one time, though, I would like to hear a leaf

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with its journey from that limb all the way to

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the forest floor. But it's a beautiful sight, especially in

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fall time. It's also gorgeous during the spring months because

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those leaves are coming. They're a bright green, and you know,

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it just sets you up for the final dance. And

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that's what I'm experiencing today as I walk through what

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feels like a snowstorm. It's not a leaf storm, because

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this is a peaceful final dance. And when they reach

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the forest floor, they know the job isn't over. We

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got to warm the earth. We have to feed the earth.

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We have to give animals the opportunity to take advantage

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of these leaves. See to other creatures, these leaves could

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be fruit, fruit in the way of protection. Look at

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how many squirrels nests need these leaves to keep warm

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in the wintertime. But here we are the final dance

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at chilly fifty four degree day, inside this loving, living

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forest as it transitions into change. You can't help but

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welcome your own changes. Hey, thanks for being a part

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of the conversation.