By Maryanna Gabriel
As Lexie
and I came up the Malahat this week, I saw something I have never stopped to
witness. That is the good thing about a dog. They make you stop and smell the
roses, er, well not exactly in this case. The salmon run has come to an end it
seems. Gulls lined the river and the decay of rotting Coho, Tyee and
Chinook, pervaded the air. Lexie and I went to the water and when my eyes
initially began to focus on the landscape around me all I saw were the winter browns of the vegetation. As I stared, my eye picked out more and more until I realized there were salmon everywhere piled up thickly along the shoreline as I walked. They were huge, most well exceeding two feet. It kind of
startled me that this is my landscape and I have never taken the time to look.
I was happy to see such an abundance of life, albeit decaying, there in the
rainy river grey, a miracle of migration. I learned the males develop hooks around their mouths and the females
change colours as they spawn. A sign was posted saying there was a bear in the
area. I guess so! Why it has taken me all of these years to see this amazing and
powerfully moving sight is my loss. I have my dog to thank for the unexpected
places she takes me.