Had to see the ‘crooked bush’

From our February 2013 issue

By Irene DegenstienBattleford, Sask.

My daughter recently visited me from Ottawa and she took us to see the ‘Crooked Bush’. It was on my list to see or visit while I was still able. She calls it my bucket list.

I’m sure many of the folks around North Battleford have seen these, but I’ve never seen them mentioned in The Senior Paper.

The Crooked Bush is a group of wild aspen trees that don’t grow straight up as normal trees but rather they twist, loop, and bend into the eeriest of forests. Not 10-meters away from the Crooked Bush is a group of normal aspens that grow straight and tall.

University research has all but concluded that these trees grow crooked as a result of genetic mutation, but the catch is what caused the mutation originally?

There are various folklore stories supposing the initial cause, but nobody knows for certain. Locals know, however, a full moon lights up the Crooked Bush irresistibly, but courage of stone is necessary to visit it at night.

Wonder of nature – Irene Degenstien and the crooked bush.


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