Hunting can bring you temporary peace

Last year’s hunting season seems so long ago. So much was going on at the time, and so much has happened since, it feels like I haven’t been out there for years.

Down here in the so-called civilized world, things have been nuts for more than a year. I’m not going to mention any of the craziness by name, because it seems like no matter what you say about anything going on right now, somebody gets upset or offended, and I’m not here to anger you or hurt your feelings. I will say the silliness has caused me to seriously consider running for one public office or another, just to try to bring some sanity back to the world, but luckily, I came to my senses before I put my name on any ballot.

It’s all made time seem to crawl. I think back to last hunting season, and it seems like a lifetime ago. Last year was the first year in a while that I was able to take an extended amount of time off from work and spend that time hunting, and I took full advantage of it. I took off a few days before Labor Day and a full week after, and I spent that whole time trying to perforate the hide of a deer or an elk with a pointy stick.

While it seems like it was more than just a year ago, I still remember just about every moment of that hunt clearly. It was a welcome escape from the stress caused by all the chaos going on in the populated world. Up there in the mountains, for the first half of my hunt, it was just my boys and me, and for the last half of my time off, I was out there all by myself for much of the time. Back at camp, I had good friends to pass the time with, and we had good food, great company, and no talk about what was going on in civilization.

It was lovely. Peaceful. No cell phones, no news alerts, no angry people, no politicians. Just the serenity of nature.

With much of that chaos still going on, I’m so glad it’s hunting season again. It’s time to get back out there for another dose of peace and quiet.