Wild at Heart

So it’s been a little over a year since the Roaring Lion fire roared thru it’s namesake canyon and burned like a hellcat. 16 homes and 1 life were lost. We used to go there often to run along Sawtooth Creek or venture up Ward Mountain. Today was my second visit since it has burned.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover vigorous growth of various shrubs and plants, but really amazed by the thousands of tiny seedlings, dotting the forest floor. While I was watching a group of downy woodpeckers flit from one charred tree to another, a pileated woodpecker cruised overhead. Walking further up the creek, I saw pockets of Cedar and Aspen trees that were somehow spared.

So one year ago, a fire burned in this forest, it’s different, it’s changed in profound ways, not bad ways, just profound. I love nature for the wonderment, awe and peace it gives me. Today I discovered, that a fire can’t change that.

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