rainy day, a quiet walk & timeless reflections

adkmountainken · January 14, 2007, 04:52:00 PM

it has been raining here for two days with no end in sight and i was getting a bad case of camp fever this morning. decieded i need a nice, cold walk on an old trail by my mothers house that i have walked and hunted a million times in my youth. i grabbed my osage Baker selfow, my quiver and set out. as i started up the trail i went by a little brushy area where i killed my first two grouse, i was 11 and had borrowed my grandfathers single 20 guage. as i walked farther up the trial i was struck by how beautifull the trees glisted with their icy coat. not far along i came to an old decayed stump that had been my target sence i could remember, there is some much lead in that stump you only need to grab a piece off to find the old remains of lead. i grabbed an arrow and proceded to miss just right off it. when i bent down to pick up my arrow i found a nice crow feather whichi gave thanks for and put in my hat band. a little farther up the trail i came to an old oak tree which had long ago stopped yeilding acorns. i killed my first grey squrriel in this tree with my trusty Crossman bb gun, i still have that mounted squrriel at my mothers house. i still remember the blood blister i recieved that day when i got my finger pinched in the pump of the bb gun! i noticed how the woods had aged alot scence i use to hunt three. the tall, full oaks now bent this way or that and a few had fallen, made me somewhat sad. about a few hundered feet from there was a stand of pines where i had taken many a grouse. i quickly switched from sight seeing to predator mode with arrow nocked. i tooked two steps and heard the distinct thunder off a departing grouse, apperntly my predator pwas were not soft enough! it still brought a smile to my face knwing that grouse still roam in my old haunts of youth. not much farther up the trail i started going down hill towards a small lake. it saddend me to see the waste and garabage left by the new genoration that have started to camp there. i picked up the small things that i could to throw out later. as i approched the waters edge i was flooded by memories of old. fishing, hunting, trapping and swimming in this lake had kpet me out of a TON of trouble as a youth. i remember anotter family that i had sat and watched during duck season. they snorted, played and had a grand ole time, it was a privlege to watch! i remember my first pickerel caught and first duck shot on this lake. just a couple years ago a bear had backed me down to the water where 2 guys fishing in a boat had picked me up. it is beautifull here, i could sit all day and watch nothing yet be entertained by everything. as i walked back up the trail for the slow walk home i took a long shot at a beer can hung on a tree, WHACK a soild hit on the vitals! as i continued on the trial home i tried to soak the morning in, it had stpped raining and all was quiet. a sound was not to be heard yet i vocies of the past filled my head. i thought of the many people that had walked here with me that were no longer with us, my Grandfather in particular, he was a great man. a little farther back on the trail i remember where a huse buck had jumped up and ran right in front of myself and a friend, we both missed. as i walked along i looked at my beautifull bow that seemed to glow as water ran down it and gently cleansed it. it was a fine morning. i had saw nothing yet evrything. the times, people and woods may change here but the memories off youth just grow stronger!

Osagetree · January 14, 2007, 05:00:00 PM

Memories & the friends made, is what hunting is all about!

Check your PM's!

Rich LaBombard · January 14, 2007, 05:00:00 PM

I enjoyed this one. well said.

Benha · January 14, 2007, 05:08:00 PM

I had a similar experience Friday. Thanks for sharing.

Huntrdfk · January 14, 2007, 05:18:00 PM

Sounds like a pretty good walk to me Ken.....

David

Weekend Warrior · January 14, 2007, 05:32:00 PM

Good Read!

Sometimes it does good to take a trip back down memory lane..
I hunt alot where I grew up..
Where I took my first rabbit. Even killed deer where our old house stood years ago..I took my best deer with a rifle in 05, he would have been standing on the front porch...
Sometimes the memories flows with things I had forgotten...
Those were the days!

Mr.Vic · January 14, 2007, 05:43:00 PM

Awesome Brother!! uplifted me this dreary afternoon, and made me search the archives in my mind for a lost youth.

Carbon Caster · January 14, 2007, 06:33:00 PM

I too enjoyed the walk. I look forward to walking the woods of my childhood this november. As for now, I am making new memories te relish in the future.

Thank you for sharing my friend!

Chuck Mullaley · January 14, 2007, 06:45:00 PM

Thanks for taking us along on your walk!

Al Kidner · January 14, 2007, 07:26:00 PM

I was there with you my friend.

OzarkRamblr · January 14, 2007, 08:04:00 PM

A day spent in reflection is never a wasted day..Thanks for sharing.

CheapShot · January 14, 2007, 08:43:00 PM

I just got home from working three straight 12 hour shifts. Thanks for helping me unwind while I walked with you.

Killdeer · January 14, 2007, 09:42:00 PM

A thoughtful walk is healing for not only the walker, but for those lucky enough to be invited along. Thank you, Ken!

Killdeer

swamper · January 14, 2007, 09:53:00 PM

great reflections..thanks for sharing

jcsnapshot · January 14, 2007, 11:07:00 PM

Thanks for taking us along my friend.

Mark Baker · January 15, 2007, 12:31:00 AM

Right there with you, Ken! Thanks, with the cold, there's been a bit of cabin fever here too.

Shaun · January 15, 2007, 12:42:00 AM

Our first snowfall tonight, strange weather this year. All I could think about as I looked at it falling this evening was taking a bow on just such a walk tomorrow morning. Thanks for the tale.

adkmountainken · January 15, 2007, 06:51:00 AM

Thanks for all the kind words. i'm glad i had the chance to get out a bit as the weather has really changed now! in the last couple years just being in the woods has changed for me. i use to be just tuned in to the hunt, worried about being quiet and not so much the beauty around me though that was still a big part just more so now. now i just seem to slow down alot more and notice litte things and suttle changes i had never noticed before. it is a huge privilage to be able to do whati do and i give thanks for that.

woodchucker · January 15, 2007, 10:18:00 AM

Ken,I wish I had seen this sooner.....(I don't know how I missed it :confused: )

We are never alone in the woods,for the Spirits of the Old Ones are with us.They guide us on our journey and show us things that otherwise would be missed.

The Tradition of "Story Telling" is as old as time itself.It allows one to share thier experiance with others so that they can experiance and enjoy it also.

Thank You for sharing your walk with us My Brother

May The Great Spirit Guide Your Arrows