OUTDOORS AS A LIFE EXTENSION
Every large Oak Tree was once a little Nut that held its ground!
Every time I think about being intimidated or criticized for doing something different, not before done, or considered foolish or too difficult; I lean on the above nut and cultivate my thinking toward the goal without reserve about the possibilities, the excursion, the chase, the discovery, the struggle, and all the rest of the pleasures of exploring outside the box and reveling in the advantages of having that little nut and its cousins establishing great hardwood forests for multitudes to see, enjoy, and admire.
Many of my thoughts about life, about struggle, about accomplishment is nurtured by my treks in nature whether at the local parks or the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone (Teddy Roosevelt first National Park establishment), local or renowned lakes, especially Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the Badlands of ND, and even my backyard with my wife by my side.
Most of my hunting trips are accentuated by the outdoors being explored at the time and area where I am. Ah, the joys, the sore joints, the blisters, the leg cramps–all are mere nuisances to the joy of being out and among nature and its comfort, lessons, and challenges.
How do these thoughts and actions occur? Where are the sign posts and suggestions to act kept? Are they secret for only a few to share? Do we have to focus in a certain realm to draw out the destinations and the necessary preparation to assure our return? What is first? The Chicken or the Egg? Another whole new area to explore and think about, or can neither exist without first creation of one or the other?
This week will be the prelude to official Fall with its weather, display of color, jack frost maybe, children in school with all their activities, strolls downtown commenting on care or not of landscaping, tangle of hair in branches of trees not pruned to seven (7) feet clear, and the occasional hello to friend or passing people out the same as we. We will be thinking of all our friends present and past and rejoicing in the knowledge that we are, have been, and at least for now will continue our many journeys!