Busy yesterday but got almost 2 hrs in at the pool. Started a new group of bowling trainees this am and now headed out of the park to bowl. Warmer everyday although last night was cool.

Chapter 4.

 

When my parents became the occupants of the aerie, there was little change close by, but they were well aware that to the southwest and around to the northwest, trees were being cut down by man at an increasing rate.  These trees would be dragged to areas along the sound and dumped into the water.  Some of these trees had supported nests of my brothers, my cousins and aunts and uncles and they were forced to move on.  Often the loss of these nests also meant the death of hatchlings and usually the delay of one or two years or more before a new nest could be completed and be ready for eggs.

During this time the trees of our immediate forest were spared, but one day in the furthest reaches of where the men all those years before had cut their strange lines, the trees started to fall.  Lucky for us, because of the greed of man, they did not cut all the trees in those days.  For the most part they only took the larger (unless they were too large), the straightest and the soundest.  They did not cut them at that time if they had to drag them uphill.  Because of the greed I have mentioned, the “harvest” nearby, left many trees standing, some were of poor quality, some were too big, many were too small.  Our tree and its neighbors would have to be dragged up hill and so were spared.

In time the forest above us started to recover, the smaller trees now having more light started to grow, nurse species reestablished in the open spots and enough trees had been left so that cones could grow and seed could disperse.  No significant damage had been done to the roots and the later damage from winter storms was not severe. 

The logging moved on, away from areas close to the water.  The first areas began the cycle, first the alder, the willow, the salmon berry and thimbleberry.  Small birds returned, bear and other wildlife became plentiful as nature once again healed the land and provided a habitat suitable for their needs.

My parents continued on in our aerie, they raised many sets of fledglings, while they were always aware of the forest to their backs, their attention could focus on the waters that stretched out beneath them and time moved on.