in 1984 when i was done with my formal education i went to live on an island in the northwest in what they call canada now and i hid my tan colored car in the woods and burned my two week visa and when i ran out of money i borrowed the i.d. of a citizen and planted trees. the whole mountain was an after photo but being in the landscape was overwhelming. we struggled upward planting tiny saplings in cracks of dirt that were eroding day by day. there was nowhere for animals to hide and nothing left to eat. when we stopped for lunch ravens came to glean any possible morsel we set down. grouse called out to grouse in what could have been the same voice as before, now an unmistakable cry. i cried with them, and the whole crew was struck silent. there's nothing to say in response to the immensity of the loss. 

 

these photographs come from the narwal if you want to know more.