I originally planned for this letter to reflect on safety in hunting, ruminating on anecdotes discussing the importance of always pointing your firearm in a safe position and wearing orange so you’re visible to other hunters out in the woods, even if the rule book says you don’t need to. (I’m talking to you, squirrel hunter decked out in face paint and camo silently hunkered down in the grouse woods, who appeared and vanished as quickly as an apparition, giving both me and my dog a start.)
But instead, I, like many others, find myself in self-isolation as part of the COVID-19 pandemic that is currently ravaging the world. Doing my part to flatten the curve and keep my family safe. Never in my 35 years did I think I would be living through a global pandemic, it doesn’t seem real. Yet, every day the news plays out like something dreamed up for the silver screen or an apocalyptic novel. Queen lyrics keep running over and over through my mind . . . Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality . . .
Through this, I continue to find solace in nature.
Although the seasons have come to a close here in Michigan, we are enjoying taking the dogs for runs through our woods searching for spring woodcock, spotting turkey, identifying animal tracks, and seeing our three-month-old’s eyes grow big as she takes in all the new sights, sounds, and smells. Granted,
at this age she’s quick to fall asleep on these walks, but I hope these little adventures will lay the ground work for an appreciation of the outdoors that will last a lifetime.
In these times of chaos and uncertainty and a 24/7 news cycle that seems to bring only doom and gloom, I take comfort in the knowledge that we’re all in this together. It makes me wonder what will come next? Over the last several years I’ve made small moves toward the goal of being more self-reliant: gardening, canning, and, of course, hunting. But recent events got me thinking about how much more needs to be done to be even more self- reliant which means plans that were originally on the back burner are being brought to the front.
Witnessing people wait- ing in what seemed like end- less lines to enter a grocery store only to find many shelves bare, I consider if there will be a greater resurgence of homesteading, not just the occasional tomato plant for a bit of fresh summer produce, but a real intent for each to grow enough to feed their household. Will hunting and fishing licenses, which have been in a steady de- cline, see an increase as people seek out ways to pro- vide for themselves and their families?
I think of all this as the three of us walk the trails, listening to the ringing of the dogs’ bells in the woods, dreaming of the crunch of Fall foliage and the flushing of feathers. This too shall pass.
