Riverine Chronicles

The greater part of hunting is still and silent, waiting, looking, and hoping, living inside your own head and your field of view. Most of hunting is waiting in anticipation of action.  This is the way for deer hunters.  Some hunters have their minds made up before they leave the house.  They have always used the same blind, or the same tree, because it always works. Until I found myself immersed in thinking about deer and their habitat well after the hunting season ended, I hadnt yet realized what hunting was all about.  I always knew it was about pursuing and killing an animal for food, but only recently have I realized the depth of experience I would find through hunting.  It is quite unlike the images of enormous bucks printed in the magazines, or the seemingly constant action portrayed on the latest trophy hunting shows.  These deer do exist. Even here in Michigan where most believe that if it’s brown, it’s down.  I have seen only a few that gave me involuntary convulsions.  Too o

It had been months since she pulled me into her gardens.  I hadn't forgotten her.  I could never manage to forget her after all we have been through.  Having come to know her so closely, I realized that while she was master of the woods and waters around me, she also now lived inside of me, her spirit shining through.  Her scent hit me immediately when I opened the lid of the gray tote.  Everything was as I left it.  My backpack was on top and I quickly opened the zipper to grab the trigger release.  As I handled it, I was overwhelmed by her fragrance.  Memories and experiences flowed through my mind.  I vividly recalled all the moments we were all alone, and the secrets she revealed. It was like the feeling when you see an old friend after years away when I noticed the strong and distinct smell.  As the thoughts of all my hunts passed through my mind I wondered if anyone else recognized this her musty scent.  Was it my own scent, maybe a little, but mostly it was hers. It was the