Hunting

Synchronicity is not just a Police album, it is Psychologist Carl Jung's notion that things in the universe are connected.  More to the point it is the observation of the human psychic phenomenon which allows us to see connections in the universe.  Things that happen randomly fit into patterns, some might call it fate or destiny, still others the will of God. Personally, I feel God's involvement is akin to that of an artist, rather than an engineer, there is a skill to creative use of synchronicity that is beyond technical superiority.  Thus, this morning, as I was conducting my daily, and increasingly gut wrenching perusal of the news of the day, a friend shared Wendell Berry's The Peace of Wild Things on Facebook.  I took a break from stories about the pipeline and politics to listen to that crusty old curmudgeon tell me something that was already on my heart, as poets are wont to do.
See, Friday I went hunting for the first time since I was about 15 or so.  The last time I went deer hunting was with my Grand-dad in the Poconos.  I wore the blaze orange Woolrich hunting coat that he gave me, remarkably it still fit.

I have spent a lot of time outdoors in the past 20 years, most of it unarmed. But on Friday, I had a gun, and purpose.  The first half hour I spent in the woods was a bit strange, I was very aware of the gun, its deadly potential, and the odd feeling of invulnerability that carrying it gives.  If I had any real thirst for the killing part of the hunt, it was probably then.  But there was nothing to kill, just some little birds and a lot of quiet.
Then the woods started to do their work. Normally I walk through them with the intention of getting from one place to another, hiking or walking the dog, I can breathe in the forest and experience the grace and peace of nature, but I don't really have to pay attention.  Hunting slows you down.  You slow to be quiet, you slow to look for little signs of the passing of your prey, tracks, bedding areas, rubs on the trees, even spoor. You sit still in a spot for a good long while, listening as the forest forgets you're there.
Since I live in Southern Maryland now, the rivers are always near.  The scenery is a different kid of beautiful from what I was used to in the mountains, but it will distract you from your quest pretty easily.

These are what I actually caught. I saw a Bald Eagle and a Red Tail Hawk, hunting along with me from the skies, but no Deer. I saw the evidence of their woodland routine though, I marked their tracks and saw the places where they lay down in the tall grass.  If I wanted to, I know where they go and when to wait for them there, but I don't actually need to follow through on that for the "hunt" to be a success.  

I was out there for about 5 hours,  I walked maybe 2 miles, which is not really much of a pace, but I got somewhere that I really needed to go.