A Different Kind of Hunt

Early this October I got to hunt for deer. At this stage in life I'm not sitting out opportunities to try different experiences, so with a little archery experience behind me, I was off to the Mountains. I spent a glorious week in a cabin with the bare necessities; there was no internet signal, infrequent cell phone reception at best, and no television. I woke up each morning with the vibrant autumn leaves reflecting in the lake from the living room/front porch. Food and coffee tasted so much better, the air was so crisp and clean, the roads were empty, the people so friendly. I cared not for makeup and clothes, my to-do lists, or a clean house. I went to bed so early, and woke up refreshed. It was a trip back in time that opened my eyes to the life I'm living and what would be good to change when I returned. 

The first time I shot a crossbow I loved it - my success on target had a lot to do with that. My only frustration was being too weak to cock the bow myself. I knew I would have no problem with actually killing a deer if given the shot, not because I'm blood thirsty, but because I knew it would go to good use being eaten.  I had been in a car that hit a deer years ago, and it was a serious accident; also I know that deer are prone to overpopulation. Besides I wanted an excuse to wear camo (just kidding, but it was comfortable and warm!).

The hunting was peaceful - first afternoon-dusk in a blind in a farmer's field; next at dusk high in a tree stand on a very windy day, and finally in a blind on a mountain near an apple tree on another windy day. I had little problem being still and quiet, which surprised me given I hadn't thought to bring reading material to the blind. The closest I got was a buck who came to the apple tree, but the wind shifted in a split second and he smelled us despite all the scent killing soaps and sprays; he bolted and never returned.

Hunting deer is so different than hunting sea glass, yet just as meditative and thrilling. I enjoyed every cloud, every leaf, every sound, and every chance to see a living creature (I'm talking about a squirrel here) going about it's natural life, unaware of my presence.  And hey, there's always next year because I can't wait to go back!

There is pleasure in the pathless woods,

There is a rapture on the lonely shore,

There is society, where none intrudes,

By the deep sea, and music in its roar:

I love not man the less, but Nature more,

From these our interviews, in which I steal

From all I may be, or have been before,

To mingle with the Universe, and feel

What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.

- Lord Byron