Pike Island: Day 3

Yesterday brought a euphoric experience of 4 hours in the Spring sunshine wandering around Pike Island with my grand daughter. Without any specific agenda beyond soaking up as much sunlight as possible we spent a considerable amount of our time on the shore where the two rivers meet (Mississippi and Minnesota) throwing stones into the steel gray-green water and occasionally attempting to skip them across the surface.
The terrain was uneven once we left the groomed trail so we found an appropriate branch to fashion into a hiking staff. With this support, I steadied myself and occasionally turned over piles of leaves to check what might be hiding underneath.
We paused at this rustic stairway. The day had a dream-like quality reminding me of the symbolism ofgoing up stairs. New growth, new awareness, good luck all of those ideas appeal to me considering our current challenges.
We found abundant evidence of beaver activity along the path. The beaver is my birth totem in Native American Astrology. I especially remind myself of the native traditions of the Dakota people as Pike Island is their Notre Dame: sacred space dedicated to healing.
This island provides an opportunity to demonstrate reverence for the interdependence of the planet and it's inhabitants. I am still fascinated by the marks of beaver teeth I saw on this massive old tree trunk near the edge of the flood waters. How tenaciously the beaver has removed the outer layers of bark.

We lost so many of the older trees I had come to know over the past three years of exploring the island. And my grand daughter was interested in climbing on them all. I had foolishly hoped this recent trip might serve as a cardio workout. However, when I am with her she slows me down, sabotages my goals and teachs me (again and again) the value of walking meditation and grounding myself like the tree reaching deep into the clay to anchor against the relentless flood waters.