Wild Wisconsin: Things I get to see in the wild.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Things I get to see in the wild.

I spend countless hours in the woods and waters in my little corner of the world hunting, trapping, fishing and picking mushrooms both spring morels and fall honey mushrooms. I get to see alot of things the average person doesn't. Most of the time I'll have a camera with me, but there are times I don't and regret it later, it helps in adding to a memorable moment.I had a young buck sneak up behind me to get a drink from the river I was trapping beaver on. I heard something breathing behind me and turned to look and heres a little buck walking in not 10 yds away. The funny thing is, I just came in on that trail with my trapping gear and was at my portaged canoe loading it with the gear I needed that day, banging and clanging. Here's the few shots I took of this seemingly unaware critter.

Another time I headed out to do some trout fishing on the Wolf and as I approach the edge of the river by jumping from cover out onto a rock to fish, a black bear was across the river. I guess I startled him as he jumped in the river and started swimming across to my side, why I don't know, or it was just a coincidence .

At any rate, I've run into bears on a few occasions, especially when out hunting for morels in the spring. Most times it'll be bears with cubs foraging for morels too. I have yet to get a pic and someday I will, just not willing to end up like a Timothy Treadwell at this time.

Mother nature always seems to present special experiences all the time if you watch for it, like the many times calling coyotes and end up calling in Bald Eagles looking for that bunny it hears being torn to bits.

Being outdoors makes me feel connected to the world,not the civilized world we all know but the spiritual world of life and it's cycles, the seasons as they come and go and meld into the next.It makes me feel alive. Even a porcupine on a warm spring day or a mallard duck or shorebirds migrating through, they remind me that life doesn't stop for a minute for anyone or anything to catch up, it's just there moving along at it's own pace, not caring whether the stock market is up or down. I pity the people who can't experience these things in their lives, life and death are intertwined not having a beginning or end, just perpetual motion the way nature intended.