William Lee Boyd

White Wing William Lee Boyd

The adventures of White Wing are not simply products of my imagination alone. On a small lake near my sunporch, I have observed all the creatures this book describes. A large flock of geese, numerous mallard and wood ducks, with several great blue herons are frequent visitors. A family of box turtles sun themselves on rocks close to the lakeshore. A Cooper's hawk often drifts above the lake, riding thermals without efffort. At night I can sometimes hear the mournful call of a great horned owl in chorus with rough croakings of bull frogs seeking a mate. It is curious that one large white Pekin duck also lives on the lake. I have often watched him as he swims apart from the other geese and d Often he is alone, swimming with a solitary determination from one shore to the other. He cannot fly, yet he will try from time to time with no success. Because I so often watched this solitary, self-suffficient duck, a story formed in my imagination. And so I gave the powers of human thought, joy, suffering, fear, and desire to White Wing, Great One, Lento, Chi Chi, and Artemis. Whether young or old, all these magical creatures are waiting for you to join them on Mystic Lake and among the trees of Shaman Forest.