Before that happened though, she wanted to take some time to walk through her bush lot. It had been a few weeks since she last walked through it and she wanted to see if the beavers had repaired the damage done by the storm. The rain had swelled the rivers and the resulting rush of water down the river had taken a good portion of the dam with it.
There were two families of beavers along the part of the river that ran through her property. Oftentimes she would bring her sketch book and sit quietly along the banks and watch them as they swam along and gathered food and branches for the upcoming winter months. The Kits were starting to grow quite rapidly now and worked alongside their parents.
Pulling into the driveway, she stopped her car and got out, breathing in the crisp fall air. Northstar reached into the back seat and got out the few groceries she had picked up and proceeded into the house where she promptly put them away.
Making herself a thermos of hot chocolate and packing a few cookies and biscuits into a backpack, along with her sketch book and pencils, she got herself dressed again for a nice peaceful walk. Checking to make sure everything was locked up, she left heading down the trail towards the lake.
Making her way along the shoreline, checking for signs of animal tracks and every now and again skipping stones along the surface of the water, she came to the mouth of the river. Meandering along the edge looking for her friends she became lost in thought. She always did find walking in the bush this time of year very calming.
About ten minutes walking got her to the pond where the beavers had built their dam this past summer. It looked as though all the repairs had been done and Northstar could not even see where it had been damaged. There was no sign of the beavers but she knew they were there. Everything was so quiet. Sitting down and enjoying a mug of hot chocolate and a few cookies, she savoured the moment.
The smell of woodsmoke brought Northstar out of her reverie. She didn't have a fire going and she knew her neighbours weren't home for a few weeks. There was no one else around the lake at this time of year as it was mostly seasonal and most of them had closed up their cottages at Thanksgiving.
Hearing branches break as someone walked into the clearing made her get up off her seat and turn around.
"Hello there." he said walking towards her and extending his hand in greeting.
"Hello. May I ask what you are doing walking around my property?" Northstar asked. She wasn't too sure what to make of this person with the long grey hair.
"Well, sugar, my wife and I are here staying at a friends pad over the weekend and I thought I would scope out the area." he replied.
*Scope out? Pad? What age did this guy come from?* North thought to herself. "Well you are actually trespassing, although I guess if you are from out of town (this world) you wouldn't know that."
"Gee, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to break any laws, but I didn't see any signs posted and saw no harm. By the way, my name is Don." he said as he held out his hand.
"Hi Don, my name is Northstar." I said as I accepted his handshake.
"Cool. Love your name. You'd fit right in with my family." he said with a laugh.
"Oh in what way?" Northstar asks. She's not too sure what to make of this guy.
"Well, I'm Don but I'm also known as Iron Buffalo. My wife's name is Lili but she also goes by Red Eagle and my daughter's names are Cree Summer and Rainbow Sun. So, you'd fit right in with your name. How did you get that name anyway? Is it real or just a nickname?"
"It's a nickname actually. I got it from some friends of mine because I live in the north and I love to gaze at the stars. My real name is Karin." Northstar explains.
"Well, guess it suits you then. So you like to gaze at the stars. Neat. I guess it must be amazing here with no city lights to get in the way. Too bright in the city to do much stargazing. We live in Toronto and sometimes when it gets to be too much we head north and stay with our friends. Right now though, we have a brief break from shooting and Red Eagle and I took advantage of the time to get away from it all."
"Shooting?"
"Oh yeah. I'm on this really neat show that is filmed in Toronto. We just started our third season. It's called Nikita here in Canada and La Femme Nikita in the US. Ever seen it?"
"No. Can't say that I have. But then I don't watch a lot of television. I have one, but I prefer to read or sketch when I'm not working." Northstar explains. "I use to live in Toronto, but moved up here a few years ago. It was too hectic for me in the ciy. I much prefer it here to the hustle and bustle and I don't miss it one little bit!"
"Well, sugar, you'll have to tune into it one day. We have quite a following on the internet. Most of the fans are gaga over the male lead star. His name is Roy Dupuis."
"Now he's a great actor. I saw him in the movie Million Dollar Babies where he played the father of the quintuplets. I also saw him in the movie Screamers." Northstar sits back and dreamily remembers this hunk of a man....
"Uh, sorry to interupt you there sugar, but how would you like to have dinner with my wife and I tonight and we can talk some more. I think Red Eagle would get a kick out of you."
"What? Oh, sorry, guess my mind wandered for a bit there. Dinner? sure, I'd like that," Northstar says "and speaking of food, would you like to share some hot chocolate and homemade cookies with me? I always bring plenty."
"Love to sugar. Sounds yummy."
Northstar and Don sit companionably as they munch away and take sips of their hot chocolate.
Suddenly the sky takes on a dark hue as clouds scuttle across the path of the sun and they both realize it is getting a bit late. They both get up and make plans for meeting later on for dinner. Northstar watches Don walk back the way he came and she thinks to herself that she is going to have to start watching tv, just to see what he is like on the program. He certainly was quite the character and funny too.