Cedar Trees and Earl Grey,The Legend of BC Mary

Written by Grant G



There is something about the rain, a soothing rhythmic song that descends from the clouds, in a moment the harbour is afroth with bubbles and fresh ozone, pattering drops pelt out an energetic medley upon our metal roof, not a day for indoor indulgence, rain like this must be experienced in the flesh...But first a cup of Earl Grey tea...

Dependence, I miss the three eager faces that used to greet me with kisses and purrs, the love of animals can run deep, maybe it`s human nature, the need for rain, the need of dependence, humanity in the form of crumbs, satisfaction and emotional release all accomplished under the guise of mutual dependence, Earl grey tea with one small teaspoon of sugar...

There is a young ancient cedar tree outside my window, it must be a hundred years old but basically it`s still a baby in old cedar terms, it`s home to a family of raccoons, the mom had a litter of 2...She has lived in the cedar tree a long time and every 2 years she has another batch, long loopy lower branches allow easy access for climbing and today, well, momma raccoon and her teenagers came meandering down this old tree, I see this routine every other day and....And about halfway down the full of play baby(teenage) raccoons took a different route, the mother sat back on the main trunk and just watched, this plump little tyke gingerly walked down the skinniest of branches(still 20 feet in the air), I could see that the branch was way too skinny to support this plump baby, half way down this branch it starts a bending, the raccoon stops, only to have its eager sibling come racing down the same skinny branch, this is gonna be good I thought, the branch bent over, both plumpsters went for a wild ride but surprisingly they both clung on, the look on the mother`s face was priceless, she growled out a harsh message and the babies came a runnin, meanwhile the skies were thundering liquid gold but the beauty of this ancient cedar tree is underneath it`s bone dry, mother nature`s umbrella, warm sticky drops of rain falling like strands of syrup from the outer branches while mischievious raccoons annoy momma in complete dryness, dependence is so empowering to one`s own soul..

The blackies, the crows spotted me as I went by the kitchen window and started cawing, nothing goes to waste, dinner leftovers, old bread, meat scraps and lots of cooked rice, you see you can`t cook good Chinese sticky rice unless you make a whole pot, alright crows, I hear ya, no leftovers for me as I toss rice and bread out the window, my mom loves the blackies, they are very orderly, they have a set pecking order, quite civilized, and the most interesting new member is a little smart black bird, the size of a Robin but different, he has white spots on his black fantail, similar to the tail of a bluejay, this little feller comes out from this low ground hedge, looks right at me and chirps, he gets a couple of crackers everyday, I toss it to him/her, the bird grabs the cracker in a shot and darts back under the hedge, meanwhile back at the old cedar tree the baby bandits are still goofing around, having survived their thrill ride on the now broken branch the little raccoons are pushing the envelope, both are slowly climbing out on two more rather thin limbs, these branches leading to a nearby arbutus tree, momma raccoon looking totally twisted really started squawking but her babies were having none of it, down the skinny branches they went and when they started to bend the little raccoons made short leaps onto the Arbutus tree, only to realize that Arbutus trees have no bark, no grip, a smooth shiny hardwood tree and I swear that momma raccoon was laughing it up as her babies skidded and slid at speed all the way down the Arbutus....I `m sure the playful bandits learned their lesson, a minute later they climbed back up to console with mom..

Squirrels, raccoons, crows, humming birds, little black birds, my mom, Gin Gin(orange cat)...Dependence is very empowering and all one needs are but a few crumbs of humanity, I haven`t written much lately, reading mostly, reading stories and blogs, why is it when I read certain writers like Ross K or Laila Yuile, BC Mary I come away feeling warm and included while other sites are cold, desperate venues for hate and self grandization..

Normally I don`t put up guest posts but I was worried about our Dear friend Mary, BC Rail is her story, more than even Bill Tieleman, more than any mainstream media, BC Mary`s site did more to keep the BC Rail file alive than any venue in Canada, every revelation every nuance, from a corrupt investigation conducted by the RCMP, BC Liberal political insiders in charge of the prosecution, the betrayal of Loukedalis, all the meetings, meetings on Savory Island, meetings with lobbyists, the Bruce Clark connection, David Mclean funding Gordon Campbell, every angle from the missing $1 billion dollars to the now $600 million dollar and growing tax indemnity CN has against the province..

BC Mary has the archives of thousands of BC Rail stories, from radio tricks in Prince George to bogus financial statements used as propaganda, it`s all in BC Mary`s archives. ...

Dependence, it`s very empowering, a little rice, a chirp, a caw and a trip down to the dock to dance in the rain...

Thank you for all those years of crumbs and crackers Mary.

Back Monday




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