2.1

A chill wind sweeps across the flat landscape, tossing the snow through the stubble of the harvested wheat field like scattering dust. A little girl with dirty blonde hair chases a boy through the field, giggling as he tosses a handful of dry snow in the air, raining it down on her bright pink jacket. They’ve rarely gone this far out into the field, but the flat ground of Regina, Saskatchewan means that their house is always within sight. The boy is about to step further when a moulting rabbit darts out from under the path of his foot and takes off across the open field. The two children are amazed they got so close without even noticing the skittish creature. Smiling with excitement for their encounter they decide to head home to tell their mother about their adventure.

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The children take turns jumping across the narrow stream at the base of the steep ravine. One of the boys reaches his hand out, helping his sister across. They are almost to the tree house. The handmade structure, built across two trees almost a storey up, is hidden deep within the forest. When the group arrives, one shimmies up the smaller of the two trees then reaches down to help the others up. As the boys set to work, the girl sits on the edge of the platform, inspecting the beautiful green plants and trees. She calls out as she sees two raccoons following along the stream – a mother with a small baby raccoon following behind. The boys all gather to watch the raccoons as they pass before returning to improving the structure of their fort.

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A girl is roused from her sleep early on a summer morning by her mother. Their brand new puppy has chewed through the rope keeping her in the backyard and has run away. She frantically pulls on some clothes so that she can venture out into the neighbourhood to find the little blonde puppy. Before she makes it downstairs, her mother calls up that the dog has been found. From the kitchen window, all that had been visible was the chewed rope on the peg. But the puppy had been sitting at the back door all along, just wanting to be let in.

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Commentary:
I decided to do this blog post in the style of a Ottawa, ON. In a completely new town with two long months until school and swimming started and a neighbourhood full of kids much younger than my brother and I, we had little but each other to pass the time with. Unfortunately, many of my friends have come and gone purely because of physical distance. But my family has never been far away. They have been with me all across the country, from Vancouver, to Regina, to Ottawa. As much as my brother and I argue and annoy each other, I know that whenever I am with him I will always be home. I think when I start my own family, my home will be with them as well. No matter how far I wander, I will always have a home with my family.

References:

Snowshoe Hare. Wikipedia. Wiki.

Nepean, Ontario. Wikipedia. Wiki.