October.
Hearing this word immediately puts visions in my head. I can see the changing
leaves falling to the ground; asters and goldenrod swaying in the breeze. I can
feel the frosty morning and see the monarchs flutter in the sky during their
long southward migration. Monarchs are now pretty scarce these days. Most of us
know why and I’m not going to go into the reasons again. Nowadays, most of us
have been able to count these once common butterflies that we have seen during
the summer on one hand. Things change and often these changes are unexpected
and beyond our control. Sometimes change is good; other times it is not.
I can
watch the road through town and see that hunting season is near. Pickups and
4-wheelers loaded with corn are now the norm. The anticipation of squirrel
season is now gone, too. The woods are silent. I guess squirrels aren’t cool,
anymore. Fall turkey season has become a thing for a few dinosaurs and
opportunists. Things change. Archery season is now the king of autumn. The only
October season I look forward to now; is the late-October antlerless season. I
always hope to get one in the freezer at this time. Success during this time
will hopefully mean one less day spent in the sub-zero barren deer woods later
on.
I really
cannot seem to grasp the fascination people have with gadgets. I am amazed
every time I make myself go into a store. I cannot believe the people wandering
around, oblivious to anything around them except for their stupid phones. They
will walk right into you clueless and sad. The same can be said about all of
the hunting gadgets out there. I have never owned a trail camera, deer feeder,
walkie-talkie, GPS or a 4-wheeler.I’ve never had any use or desire for any of
these. But, for so many these are necessary pieces of hunting equipment. I
often wonder why more time isn’t spent learning the animal, its habits and the
habitat it lives in; instead of relying on technology to fill the freezer. I
just cannot seem to understand the thought process. Why do you want to sit and
stare at pictures of deer taken at 4am? I just don’t get it.
I always
know that when the cold winds blow and I look back at 2014 I will have just as
much meat in the freezer as anyone else. The thing that makes me glow is the
fact that I spent a whole lot less time, money and fuel to get it. Yes, maybe
change is good but maybe we should try to good back to our roots and make life
more productive and rewarding.
Yes,
sometimes I tend to feel like that old tattered monarch desperately headed
south, trying to make the best out of a bad situation just to survive. I think
sometimes that some of us have actually evolved to the point that we don’t need
gadgets to survive. We have learned through trial and error how to make it on
our own; on our own terms. That is a good feeling. I still hope; as the monarch
does that things will get better, but my mind knows it probably will not.
This is my article in the October Print Edition of Two-Lane Livin
(c) 2014 High Virginia Outdoors Photo (c) High Virginia Images All Rights Reserved
Well said.
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