Northern Ontario

A True Story At Lone Wolf Lake

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The black and white photo in this collage is probably the timing of this experience. In this pic my younger sister, Bev, and I were visiting our uncle’s place where he kept horses for trail rides in the bush near his farm. His daughter, our cousin, Lori Thicke, has written a book coming out on Indigo shelves this April (by Simon and Schuster publishers) called Dreamer’s Daughter, which will probably include at least one story about that farm as well. Uncle Dacker was quite a colourful character with an interesting life. As for my story here, I never saw the Big Bad Wolf again. No wonder!

At Lone Wolf Lake

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At Lone Wolf Lake
Years later the memory sprang suddenly to mind.
“Whatever possessed me?” I wondered aloud.
“What a wild and crazy thing to do!”
Dad had said, “Try fishing Lone Wolf Lake”
when I sought to entertain a visitor from the south.
“Okay,” I replied, determined to give him
a taste of our Northern Ontario wilderness
that he’d not soon forget.
Lines cast from shore, I saw his wolfish grin
as we waited in the hot, still air.
Oh, oh! I said silently to the swarm of blackflies.
Am I Little Red Riding Hood to his Big Bad Wolf?
As he tried to devour me with an unwelcomed kiss,
we heard loud, crashing sounds advancing toward us.
Relief transformed into awe in that magical moment.
A magnificent bull moose appeared.
He stood in his power and glory just a few yards away,
head slightly bent in a challenging stance.
Oh, oh! I said silently to the mosquitos. What now?
Then a sense of predatory wildness came over me
with a fearless courage unlike I’d ever felt.
The moose reacted instinctively, turned around,
and headed back into the bush as fast as it could
with me chasing after it, unarmed, and running
as if my life depended upon the hunt.
When the feeling passed, I stopped, shook my head,
and waited ’til the Big Bad Wolf caught up.
He’d changed too. A sheepish grin. Fear in his eyes.
I laughed then, as I do now.
Whatever possessed me at Lone Wolf Lake?
February, 2000 revised march, 2004

Winter In Northern Ontario

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Winter In Northern Ontario
Winter brings the beauty of sparkling snow on trees,
shovels and aching muscles,
snowbound feelings and S.A.D. expressions
on all but a few returned tourists with souvenir tans,
thrills of adventurous winter rides
always ahead of the plough trucks,
cold winds that critique southern clothing styles,
dreams of debt-enhanced lives,
sexy freedom machines racing down beckoning trails,
continuous mechanical repairs and survival skills,
booze-fishing on ice in little huts,
skis and skates defying death and broken bones
and even the latest fashion trends,
patchwork quilts of reading materials,
the magical world of computers, TVs, DVDs, and
multi-functional sound systems
that take us through time and space
to other realms and seasons
before we come back to another half-year of winter
in our ruggedly beautiful, beloved, chosen domain.
January, 1997