The Rowan tree in my yard is at its brightest these October days, the berries untouched until sometime in February when the yearly flock of Cedar Waxwings will swoop down and devour them in a few blurred minutes. By then I will be up to my neck in my next book--a historical set on the wild coast of Nova Scotia in the late 1700's.

Alexander James Mackenzie would have been quite familiar with the Rowan as he roamed the Highlands of Scotland as a young man. When he landed on the eastern shores of what would become Canada, ready to begin his new life far from home, perhaps the sight of a Rowan tree was a sign that all life is connected, that distance means nothing to the heart.

The Rowan has long been accepted as a symbol of protection. http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/forest/mythfolk/rowan.html.

Are there symbols in nature that you carry within?