The Aurora Borealis, also known by many as the 'Dawning of the North', is one of many mysterious wonders of our wild places.
Aboriginal Peoples have believed these swirling apparitions to be travelling spirits, drifting across the winter sky. Spirits who entice us with their beauty and their tales, while drawing us further and further north.
They are said to inspire us to watch endlessly as their stories unfold...
While silent, you would swear on occasion that a crackling of sorts can be heard on the most quiet of nights out there during this dawning of the northlands.
Some say the breaking of the spring and this contrast of cold and sun brings out the most vivid of these swirling images.
The darkest nights seem best for these dancing lights and perceiving their intense colors.
When I stand quietly out there and turn my eyes to the sky in the dark, I remember...
These mystical lights while deep winter camping among our frozen northern lakes; when snowshoeing in the calm of a cold late night; while dog sledding down a snow bound valley; and when seeing images of animals, like birds, wolves, and bears, dancing with one another across the fabric of an old canvass tent as I stayed up almost all night, for no other reason than because I could - so I could muse for hours while feeding and watching that small stove fire.
Our more scientific colleagues would describe these phenomenon as the collision of moving electrons, molecules, atoms, and other particles in the coldest winter air.
Still others believe that further elements are in play among these visions of mysterious colors, movement, and perception.
And that is what I believe too, in this dawning of our north..... DSD
