(dec 30) I go out into the deep wooded ravine I know best, just to clear my mind and let the cold wind brush through. A millenium ago, all this was different. This lowest part of Canada, now on the edge of the Carolinian forest (the oak-hickory that makes up the Middle U.S. states) was spruce and pine, probably more like northern Maine. It was colder in the year 1000, but there was an endless abundance of birds and animals and fish everywhere,blizzarding the sky, filling the forests, flowing down the rivers. The trees were wide and high, especially the high white pines.

What there is 1000 years later is a sad remnant, full of invaded tree species like Norway maples and scrub ornamentals escaped from lawns; but it is practically empty of animals, birds, and the fish are struggling. It has been all cut down at least twice, so the current trees are all 100 years old or less. And every few minutes, when the wind shifts, I can hear cars on the motorway. It is a mess, really: nothing to be proud of.

In another 100 years (I cannot think 1000 years)? All this will be different again. If we are lucky, this will all be Carolinian forest, the current trees dead from the changed climate and insect borne diseases, and replaced by southern forest completely. If we are not, then it will be something worse: a forest of new genetic weeds, or the radioactively transformed survivors of the next war. One thing for sure: the wind won't be this bitterly cold here then -- and if I was around, as a good Canadian, I would probably miss it.