While waiting in the pouring rain, hopeful that a bear might come snag a spawning salmon nearly at my feet, I began to ponder the journey we all make in life. Mew gulls scream all around me as they feed on the spawned out carcasses in the nearby creek.
Sitting in the shelter of the branches of a massive Sitka spruce I ponder life's destiny. The rain is relentless but bears and birds don't care- they survive with their built-in raincoats. Fortunately, I have dry clothes and a trailer to return to. Unfortunately, the bears decide not to come eat in the rain this morning.
I'm witness to the destination of hundreds of chum and pink salmon in Fish Creek in Hyder Alaska. Their destination to create new life. It may be a destination but it is not the end of their journey. The journey simply changes. Their carcasses feed the the stream that the juvenile salmon will emerge into. Their death feeds innumerable species besides the grizzly and black bears we come to observe. Mew gulls scream as they discuss their carcass gorging. Wolves will scavenge them. Carcasses will be drug into the surrounding landscape feeding the lush forest of salmonberry, western hemlock, devils club, alder, cottonwood, and so many more trees, shrubs, and plants. Even butterflies will gather nutrients off their carcasses. Research has found that at least 137 species benefit from salmon carcasses- even the tiny alevins feeding on the aquatic insects drawn to the nutrients of the creek. That's quite a legacy.
Our destination is similar and our journey continues in the legacy we leave behind- Love, kindness, compassion, wisdom. Our journey on this planet as a living being is short compared to others. These spruce are hundreds of years old. They stand and grow through all the changes of weather- wind, heavy snows, rains, and heat. Be a tree. Be a salmon. Be you.
A little winter wren sings it's big song serenading the only drenched human on the elevated boardwalk. Time to move on and continue my journey of discovery.
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