Wrong Side of the Tree

On Sunday afternoons Jenelle and I usually do something. It used to be more of a family day but anymore it seems like the kids all have their own friends and things to do, so Jenelle and I will go for a hike or whatever, just the two of us. This past Sunday Jenelle wanted to go for a walk with a friend, which left just me to figure out what I would do with the afternoon. Having a Sunday afternoon to myself, well I didn't really mind that. So I grabbed my pack and headed for the woods. I don't remember the last time that I've been bored in the woods. Sometimes waiting in a tree stand for too long can get old, or walking on a designated hiking trail. But exploring and looking for sheds or deer sign or signs from other critters never seems to get old. Sure, l often see the same places twice. The Savage River State Forest is big. There are so many places that I've never been too. On the other hand, I tend to be a little lazy and tend to just hang out in my neck of the woods. Every year is a new year, a fresh canvas of miles of terrain. Generally the buck sign will be in the same places as it was the year before. Often I'll find sheds in the close vicinity of where I found them the year before as well.

So I headed for a place that I hadn't been to yet this spring. I headed down a ridge that drops into a creek bottom. Bucks like to lay on either side of a little knoll above the creek bottom so that they can watch and smell for danger, and then quickly escape to the other side if necessary. When the wind or the thermals switch they just spend their day on the other side of the knoll and they will feel safe again. Since they spend a good amount of time there, there's a good chance that that's where you'll find their antlers.

As I was going down the ridge, I looked to my left and there was a chalk white antler that had rolled up against the base of a tree.  Chalk white means that it's been there for at least a year. I was certain that I had walked close to this spot last year as it's steep and not a lot of options for walking. I have an app on my phone with a tracker on it. I turn it on to mark my track every time I'm shed hunting. That way I don't go to the same place twice. At the end of each spring I'll put all of the tracks into a folder. Why not? It's fun to look back at to see where all I've been.

So I turned on the folder from last spring. Sure enough, I had walked just a couple of yards from that tree. Not sure how I missed it.

They say that coyotes will drag antlers around and chew on them and then drop them somewhere new. I don't really believe it. Sure it happens, but not often. I've found dead deer in the woods that have been totally chewed up by coyotes and critters, but the antlers are always intact and rarely chewed on. Let them lay there for a year and rodents will chew on them, but coyotes? Maybe. 

I looked closer at the tree and the GPS track. Looks like I walked up to the tree, but just stayed on the other side of where the antler was. Close but no cigar. Just one more step and I would have seen it last year. 

The shed wasn't anything special, and whether I found this one last year or never found it, it wouldn't have made a difference in anything. It's just something that I like doing. It doesn't make sense to most people, just like playing solitaire or putting a puzzle together and then tearing it apart doesn't make sense to me. But I love spending the time and looking for antlers. And I always get excited when I find one. Some of us are just wired that way.

Most mornings I start out the day reading my Bible with a cup of coffee. I don't read a lot, maybe a page, maybe a chapter, or maybe just a verse. I like to let it ruminate in my mind while I'm drinking my coffee. Over the years I've read it through several times. Now that's a lot of coffee. 

Sometimes I'll read something that I don't remember reading before. Or while just sitting there I'll think a thought that I never thought before. Maybe I had just looked at it with the wrong perspective. Sometimes it's so visible and refreshing and I wonder how I ever missed it. 

I've often wondered about the people that read my blogs. Do they like them? Are they reading, hoping to find that occasional nugget? Are they critical about what I write? Is what I write OK?

The conclusion that I've come to is that if you're reading my blog, we probably have something in common. It's ok if not everyone reads it. But if you are, well I'm glad you're here.

I started writing this blog as a discipline, more for me personally and a way to keep our website active. I'm not sure how effective that was. But I've found that I enjoy writing. It's fun to look for nuggets of truth, especially in the out-of-doors, and then share them with you. 

So this week, if you're looking for something, or puzzled about what you can't find, keep looking. To that I'll tip my hat. You might be closer than you think. Maybe just one more step. Maybe you're just on the wrong side of the tree.