Humans are natural story tellers as it is part of our DNA, and we begin from our childhood when we ask our parents “another story Mum” “Tell us one from your island dad – not too scary” were the chants from my young daughters.
The tales were designed for my grandson who is 10 years old, but I began the writing two years earlier. Imaginary tales except for the ‘growing up history of my Scots friend Angus’ for that too is a story of the past. There was some anxiety in getting my 40-year-old shed rebuilt. It all happened near Christmas time – a time of enchantment. The scent of the Lilac flowers in spring “Granddad they smell lovely” he said. “Pick a few for your Mum and place in her bedroom,” I responded.
A brief lesson, the gift of smell is important and is used by nature to tell us stories through their scent. The songbirds of spring come to my office window to sing and build their nests on the garden shrubs Some birds do not sing, like the Grackles and crows. There is a battle between the giant black flyers and the smaller ones who guard their eggs.
After a day at camp in the nearby Storybook Gardens Park, the surrounding old forest trees appear mysterious to a youth’s imagination.