Arroe Collins Forest Stories

On March 20, 2022 I wrote about the peace, beauty and birth of a new spring in Carolina only to stop half way through the thought. What about the forests in Ukraine? How have they changed. As well as the writers and other creative spirits associated with what a forest invites?

An out of control spring thunderstorm followed by amazing rays of light. The first thing you see is bright red cardinal. We tend to ignore the messages from the universe the same way we push things into spam mail. Everything you need is around you. Clear your mind and heart. Allow yourself to receive.

As Spring was starting to take its shape in March of 2022 the writer took note of the entire forest. Not just for it's budding leaves and flowers but to document which trees didn't make it through the winter. Trees are like humans. How we reach beyond our limits to hunching over with age. There's a lot to be learned from the elements of nature. In all things present we become wiser through the exp...

Trees in a forest expand one ring with each passing year. What if human's could do it too? How long would it take for us to look obese? We're constantly shedding pieces of our lives. But do we ever get to go back to see if the dropped can be replanted, replenished or tossed even further away? Through daily writing I'm able to pick up such seeds or weeds. Being open with your writer expands your cr...

Five days before Russia invade Ukraine, I found myself sitting in a forest wondering how we'd react if our borders had become congested with men and women who wanted to take you over. The moment I was writing I felt someone in Ukraine was doing the same. Who was going to protect the trees? The cities? The people? On that February 19, 2022 the writer in me challenged the reader to locate where they...

The writer sat in a forest in February of 2022 sharing the experience of a 71 degree day. February! As August of 2022 approaches we've seen the entire planet infected by unheard of heat. The entire northern hemisphere has been caught off guard with temps that have rewritten the pages of history. Where are the answers in a changing time when political leaders still aren't confused that global warmi...

In January of 2022 the Carolina's experienced three back to back weekends of snow. You'd think being from Montana that it would put me in a happy place. Not true. Amazing things are met when you learn to accept what nature is trying to share. What have you been called to carry? The people that walked through life before us brought with them valuable tools and lessons. Why should you be any differe...

The steps toward becoming a better listener...

The blizzard white canvas' in our every day world. Those moments we walk beyond because what we'd like to savor isn't found on the blizzard white canvas. We miss so much because they pictures painted in our imaginations have turned us into chasers. Looking for the instant victory. How can we learn from the blizzard white canvas? It's in nature.

The wait. So much forecasted. Days are now only hours away. The predicted first snow and ice of the winter season. No owls are hooting. Not falcons screeching. Not even a deer to be seen. The wait. More is moving through my head then leaves on a tree. Do the trees feel the sting of the 40 degree day? Where are the bouncy squirrels? All must be stuck in the same thought. If I close my eyes will the...

The little things! Those tiny birds or insects that zip by us without being noticed. The world is too busy to take note. The little things. A 27 degree morning means what to a passerby? Yet we complain all the time that life is moving too quickly.

May 24, 2022 A huge change is coming to the forest. Within a 48 hour period we’re going to move from early winter 70’s to late night 20’s. The mind body and soul have natural ways of embracing the constant edge of unpredictable outcomes. No matter how many years of experience we carry, the natural disturbance plays with the human heart. It generates challenges. Learning to see the forest for what...

Garrick is one. He finds great joy in pointing at the black bear statue in my forest. On Christmas Eve I placed a black bear statue on his side of the forest. I didn't want to tell him where to locate it. That's part of the excitement of life. Locating things that others have put on your path and not telling you about it until your heart and eyes find it. The same is true about conversations. Just...

A slow casual stroll through and beside the forest. Dampened by extremely light raindrops. Grey cloudy sky. The scent of a fireplace nearby. Just us walking. Slipping into a moment that's never the same twice. Trying to rid the mental system of the blocks that have cracked a wall. I can't leave them on the ground like bread crumbs in fear that I'll find my way back to the self designed foundations...

How does your balance look today? With so much uncertainty life has a way of turning each of us into leaners. In martial arts we put a lot of focus on the front stance. No matter how steep the mountain the front stance which was taken from the cow kept us in touch with balance. Prepared for the unexpected. Physically prepared for the aftermath.

A forest isn't the only object of change during the evolution of seasons. We can learn a lot from how leaves come into being then are set free. How do we turn it into lessons for us to grow with? Depends on how you act when everything once green begins to fall. Is the glass half full or empty?

Does a tree that which scrapes the sky find its place in history knowing it's no longer as tall as it used to be? This forest at McDowell park doesn't look like it did 37 years ago. An area once overgrown is no amazingly clear. In our own lives, those overgrown places that consumed a majority of your life are just as clear as this forest. What are you doing with the space? Are you shrinking? Preve...

When nature calls. Some people instantly associate that with having to use the bathroom. Nature is calling you at all times. To share with you newer ways to grow forward and outward. When you listen to nature it helps you prepare for the always churning unexpected changes in life. Nobody predicted the pandemic and the outcome of how we are still facing it over the two year mark. Nobody predicted h...

I'm not sure it was supposed to be this way. Jazzie and I stood three feet away from the deer this new morning. They weren't bothered by our presence. Jazzie has been trained to stop then sit. The mission is to let the deer pass. It's their forest and we are only the visitors. I remember when a doe charged at Jazzie because she was with a fawn. Sitting still Jazzie looked up at me as if to be aski...

Taking note of the white pine in the forest. Its long needles a shade of yellow. I remember planting the pine as a seedling. Now it's trunk is well rounded with age. I love walking through areas where the white pine has blanketed the forest floor with its needles. It's a stroll through rebirth. So many don't see that as an answer to current struggles. The daily goals should find strength in unders...

Inspired by a once tall tree in the forest whose limbs created what looked to be the human cross. After the tree had fallen to feed the forest floor a cedar tree took root inside the core of the once tall trees trunk. A very strong place for energy. To continue in the same exact place of another tree. Those places where you know it's the right place. Where does your energy arrive from? The outside...

I could spend hours studying the effects of water and wind. How a one time sheet of glass glamorously paints the portrait of fall colors then swiftly evolves into a series of ripples by a restless wind. It's as if Mother Nature has sent out a message of her portraits being for a limited time. As people we endlessly send out signals. Body language! What our body is performer may not be what it's ph...

We are trained as children to always look forward. Yet where do most people get attacked? You see the drama on the movie theater screen! You read about it in the newspaper. Through an everyday world we concentrate so much on everything we see that we aren't leaving enough room to learn about what's hiding. Writing in my forest this past October I took note of everything behind the limbs and leaves...

Studying the path of a tree leaf. How it does more than collect water for the roots. It also provides shade for the truck and after they fall in October they become food for the soil. The continuation. We all have them but most are sharing the story. My mother faced a lot of challenges but never appeared stressed out or beat up. I'd ask her about her story. The reply was always, "I don't remember....