Last year, if you’ll remember, my big brother, Woodchuck, surprised me with a road trip to Devil’s Postpile National Monument for Lastleaf! Well, this year, he got stuck in a huge scrubland development meeting outside of Fillmore, so I decided to visit Flatty up in Salt Lake City! Flatty said the leaves were just starting to turn, and since all the leaves were brown and the sky was gray in LA, I dreamed up a weekend trip to the Beehive State!
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It’s hard to believe that Flatty’s been in the states for almost a year now! After all his years working as a field medic in Thailand, he’s been having a little trouble building his patient base, considering he’s not used to the scarcity of animals in the winter. I think he may end up hibernating! He would be the only one of us to skip winter, which would be so strange! I hope he’ll be able to celebrate Solstice this year! Regardless, it’s important to focus on the present holiday, which happens to be Lastleaf!
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Flatty wanted to show me the leaves at the Willow Heights Conservation Area in Big Cottonwood Canyon, because it was a short trail that wasn’t heavily trafficked, and there was a lovely lake in a meadow that was perfect for frolic! Plus… there had been an early dusting of snow, which made the leaves extra lovely! At first, I didn’t understand how the snow made the leaves lovelier, but then, once the muddy, sludgy trail turned to snowpack, I got it!
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The leaves erupted with color! I was so excited! Last year’s Lastleaf was so humdrum in terms of color, but these were fantastic! I marveled at the leaves for quite some time until suddenly, WHAP! A snowball pelted me in the back of the head! It was on! Despite his years in the tropics, Flatty still has some wicked skills with the snowball, and I hate to admit that he got some very palpable hits!
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At last, we called a truce and headed for the lake, where I realized we could once again summon Señor Castorieti to join the fun! I started to build him in the usual way, but Flatty scoffed at his skinny size. “A proper snowbeaver needs some heft!” said my twin, who himself needs to lose a couple of ounces.
Nonetheless, he helped build the newest Señor Castorieti, who sprung to life and had many things to say about his explorations of the high Sierras and thoroughly made me jealous that he got to explore the high glaciers of Kings Canyon, while I had to sit it out thanks to the government shutdown! When his stories had wrapped, we leaped into our yearly gallivanting beneath the leaves. In the wilderness, this is the close of a season for beavers, but for those of us who have been shaped by human interaction, it’s more of a moment to let loose and have fun with those closest to us!
At least until Señor Castorieti made the mistake of jumping in the water after us, which did not end well for him… Well, another time and another snowfall!
May your days be merry and bright!
