A cold chill hangs in the air during the predawn hours that slowly saunter by as I creep cautiously towards that one towering tree that will be home for that fateful opening day. The frigid textured steel greets my exposed hands with a rough hello as the ascent to my treestand begins. Finally, as my body shudders from lack of warmth the platform is underneath my feet and I begin to layer on camouflage clothing. Without archery hunting or any type of hunting I lack stress relief as I meaninglessly drone along in life with one day slowly blending into another. For during those special hours on a fall Saturday, I am at ease, separated from the fast-paced world, experiencing nature by meticulous observation as I sit patiently to fill my tags. Fondly remembering that first hunt at the age of 8 years old I sat down with my father next to an old tree in Little Buffalo State Park outside of Newport, I can remember him telling me, "You may not get a squirrel today and that is why they call it hunting and not killing. "
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I understood little about what it meant to hunt. Hunting is not about sitting in wait to end an animal's life; however, it is about experiencing nature at a primal level while being able to see nature awaken from its slumber, slowly coming back to life as the sun shyly peeks of the horizon, and other details we normally cannot as we go about our daily lives. In an office or at home, I do not get to watch a squirrel gracefully hop from one limb to another, and cannot have one close enough to see it's chest move from it breathing hastily. Killing is the last thing on my mind when hunting because it is merely a necessity to take part in population management of whitetail deer, squirrels, and many other game animals down so my grandchildren can enjoy
I understood little about what it meant to hunt. Hunting is not about sitting in wait to end an animal's life; however, it is about experiencing nature at a primal level while being able to see nature awaken from its slumber, slowly coming back to life as the sun shyly peeks of the horizon, and other details we normally cannot as we go about our daily lives. In an office or at home, I do not get to watch a squirrel gracefully hop from one limb to another, and cannot have one close enough to see it's chest move from it breathing hastily. Killing is the last thing on my mind when hunting because it is merely a necessity to take part in population management of whitetail deer, squirrels, and many other game animals down so my grandchildren can enjoy