[Snarlingiron]

4:30 tomorrow morning will find me dressing and loading my car for the last dove season hunt. My friends and I will be on the field in the sunflowers with the Bois d'arc creek to our backs just before sunrise. Hopefully there will be some birds. If there are none, we will walk the 25 yards back to the creek bed and walk the heavy woods and look for some squirrels or maybe a cotton tail. We may take some game and we may not. That is hunting.

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter. I will see the sun creep over the horizon. I will see the critters awaken and start their day's work. I have seen a hawk take a dove. I have seen a Grackle eat a snake. I've seen a Bobcat looking for breakfast. You can't buy these things. They are a gift for those willing to be there.

If you doubt there is a God, if you can't quite find your place in the world, get a friend, get your shotguns, and walk the fields and woods. Whether you harvest game or not, the rewards are great.

For the last 30+ years every time I have brought the subject of hunting, fishing or camping up, my wife has always said, "Go...you always come back with a smile on your face, you are more centered, you are calmer... just go, you need it."

She's a perceptive woman. She's right, I do.

So, my advice is, "Just go. You need it." Whether you bring anything home or not, you will be richer for the experience.

[JKimball]

Well said, Snarlingiron.

I just took a walk along a river today with my brother and his 4 year old son. It was a beautiful afternoon/evening. It was looking like we were going home empty handed, but maybe 10 minutes before we ran out of light we jumped some ducks and both got a double. That was the icing on the cake.

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks, you just made my day better.

Long ago, I stood in Canterbury Cathedral and watched the sun pour through a beautiful stained glass window while the organist played Bach.

I get the same feeling sometimes in the woods with geese overhead singing their Hymn.....

[Jeff F]

Excellent post Snarlingiron, and so true. Thank you.

[throdgrain]

Long ago, I stood in Canterbury Cathedral and watched the sun pour through a beautiful stained glass window while the organist played Bach.


I did the same only a few years ago and it felt the same :)

[Dave McCracken]

Throd, I was stationed in Essex then. I liked England greatly.

Back to topic, the leaves here are near peak. My favorite time of year....

[Craig9802]

Very well put, Sir! Thanks for bringing a smile to my face at the end of this day. We all need more quality time with friends, with nature, and away from the noise and distractions.

You are a very lucky man. :)

[Len S]

Mornings in a duck blind are like that. You see the sun come up, the mist swirling over the waters surface. The deer and other critters moving around the waters edge, ducks and geese moving through the air low enough that you can hear their wings wooshing in the air. Sit back with a cup of coffee and enjoy. One of the deacons at the church where my kids take CCD asked me why he never sees me in church in the fall. I tell him I am in church every Sunday in the fall. The first church of the duck blind. Being out there you seem a lot closer to the powers that be than siting in a building listening to the busy bodies talk about the people that are not there. I took him out one Sunday. His wife is not to fond of me anymore.:)


Len