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 .   .   .   .  .   .  .   .  .   .           "A Morning For Aster"
 .   .   .   .  .   .  .   .  .   .
  . . .  .   .   . . .  . . .  . . .               by Oregano


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        Her day begins with the saddling of Hollyhock, a Peruvian upland
 llama.

        Aster gives Hollyhock a big hug - how can you not want to hug a
 llama?  The llama seems indifferent to the hug, but Aster sees a sparkle in
 Hollyhock's eyes.

        Aster throws on the saddle and tightens the straps on the llama's
 underbelly.  It is a cool day in Seattle, and here, up in the mountains,
 Aster's breath becomes fog in the cool air.  Down below is Seattle proper
 where it is 20'F warmer, even this early in the day.  

        Aster goes back in her house and gets her napsack, with her books and
 lunch, and grabs a bag of feed for Hollyhock.  She kisses her father goodbye
 but only hugs her mother, who protests that she has a cold and must keep her
 little Aster healthy.  Aster's brother and sister will leave a little later,
 they not yet being in high school, at a more normal time.  

        There are roads where Aster lives, cars can drive to and fro.  But it
 takes a toll on cars, and they are not as reliable as pack animals in this
 terrain.  The roads are not paved, concrete cannot set at this altitude or
 in these humid, moist conditions.  Aster lives at what is the equivalent of
 Base Camp for Mount Everest.  Helicopters cannot fly at this height, at
 least not without great risk.  

        Aster secures the bags to the llama, mounts and starts off to school.
 Even though Aster is only three years old, she is in high school.  The way
 one does math calculations in the mountains is different than at sea-level.
 This is much like how it takes 45 minutes to boil an egg here that takes
 only three minutes in say Kansas City.  We leave the math and the theory of
 mountain aging to the experts and move on with our essay, Aster now on the
 trail to school.  

        On this morning, though the sky has been bright for over an hour,
 only now is the sun able to fight its way free from the clinging grip of
 Mount Ranier.  Aster looks over at the grand mountain and takes in the pure
 beauty.  Maybe 6:30 in the morning is not the best time to appreciate such
 wonders, especially since they fight in the brain with the strange images
 conjured in dreams only left an hour earlier, but Aster takes it all in and
 yells out in delight.  

        The ride down the path is tricky, but Hollyhock, the llama, knows the
 way quite well and Aster has complete faith - one learns to trust an animal
 with one's life in the harsh mountains as much as a close friend or
 relative.

        There are many farms on Aster's path to school.  Many grow hops for
 brewers in Saint Louis.  Others grow grapes for champagne, this part of the
 state being at the same latitude as the northern part of France.  Aster
 waves hello to any farmers or farm hands she sees.  Everyone knows everyone
 else up here in the mountains.  

        About three miles down the path Aster dismounts and leads Hollyhock
 to to a stream.  The water moves fast, but here it is shallow where a fjord
 has been built with rocks now smoothed by the current.  It is for this
 stream that Aster wears knee-high boots.  They protect her from the numbing
 cold water.  The current is always tricky, were Aster to fall she might
 catch a very nasty chill, it still being a few miles to school.  And at high
 stage, she could get carried away in the current, so she is always cautious.
 She crosses now easily.

        Clouds start to form off the peak of Mount Ranier, clouds like these
 can often mean a storm, rain in the summer and icy rain, now in the fall,
 making travel impossible.  Aster wonders if it will be safe to go home after
 school or if she will have to sleep in the smelly cafeteria with other
 stranded students.  But she'll worry about that later.  

        The rest of the trip is uneventful, and Aster arrives at high school
 with plenty of time.  Aster ties up Hollyhock in the pen-yard.  She takes
 off her napsack.  She will come by in the mid-afternoon to tie a feed bag
 around Hollyhock's snout.  But for now Aster is ready to go inside for some
 warm air and a day of learning.  

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  .           anada 133                    by Oregano  (c)2000 anada e'zine .
      
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