Book Signing - Jim Moran - The Sentinel - A Wildfire Story

"It was just to the northeast that the old pine seemed to point its largest bows, as if reaching out, beckoning for comfort and compassion. For it was here that a few other white pine appeared among the spruce, poplar and other tree species. This was no patchwork, but an eclectic array, like a poorly fitted puzzle with no apparent picture yet surfacing. The puzzle pieces were three dimensional and popped up, some bent, some separating, all in various shades of greens, the darkest of which were other white pine, offspring of the patriarch on the ridge. Their proof of life gave comfort to the old pine. It stood as tall as it could, despite the ravages of weather and time, like an old man steeling himself against weather to some purpose. The pine’s purpose was singular, yet daunting; watch over and protect its children and their children.

An incongruity to this pristine forest setting stretched westward. Man had left his unrelenting mark. In stark contrast to a solid mosaic of rich and subtle greens, splashes of ochre and sienna browns dominated the western vista, broken by muddy shades of grey where soil gave way to bedrock."

About the Author:

JIM MORAN enjoyed a twenty-nine
year career with Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources. After retirement,
Jim became a consultant, where much of his work was associated with Ontario’s fire program. Jim has witnessed the devastation of wildfire first-hand. He now enjoys retirement in a small town southwest of Ottawa, called Carleton Place.