Student of the Woods (eBook)

Dustin DesLauriers (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022 | 1. Auflage
140 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-6678-5888-3 (ISBN)

Infos

'Student of the Woods' follows one young man as he embarks on a journey through life as a hunter. Deep in the woods, life's hardest lessons were learned from firsthand experiences and the natural process of searching for answers. Inevitably, these lessons learned in the field have profound effects that help mold philosophies to the questions many of us ponder throughout our lives. So, join along and turn the pages through a series of memories outlining the journey of life. Through the experience of one man, understand what it means to have a deep, genuine conversation, what our role in the circle of life is, and what the process of becoming a steward of the land really means.

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"e;Student of the Woods"e; follows one young man as he embarks on a journey through life as a hunter. Deep in the woods, life's hardest lessons were learned from firsthand experiences and the natural process of searching for answers. Inevitably, these lessons learned in the field have profound effects that help mold philosophies to the questions many of us ponder throughout our lives. So, join along and turn the pages through a series of memories outlining the journey of life. Through the experience of one man, understand what it means to have a deep, genuine conversation, what our role in the circle of life is, and what the process of becoming a steward of the land really means.

Textauszug

Chapter 2

Spoiled Fruit

I can remember many moments in my life, hunting, and fishing with my dad. Some stick out more so than others. This is one of those stories.

We were up at the family cabin. Back then, there wasn’t a cabin. Just the trailer we would pull up to the property. My dad had this twenty-four-foot Nomad trailer. Boy, do I have a bunch of stories tied to that. Some other time. It was super cold that year. I think I was ten or twelve years old. I’ve never had “proper” hunting attire. We would always just make do.

Oh, sure, I had long underwear. I had some pants that my mom made to keep me warm. I would use ski gloves for my hands to keep them warm. They worked as long as you were moving. If you sit still, though, your body gets cold no matter what you’re wearing.

We’d get up so early that my dad would have to drink an entire Stanley thermos just to leave the house. We’d get all dressed up; Dad had already made up a plan of where we were heading that day. We took off; it always felt like we were heading off on some great adventure in the dark with a couple of flashlights. As a new hunter, you’re constantly following the person in front of you and trying not to break any branches or step on any twigs. Basically, your whole day is spent trying not to ruin the hunt.

Keeping quiet is one of two jobs, and it’s the most important job at that. The importance of staying quiet just barely edges out the importance of keeping up with the scout. Which brings us to the second job you have, making sure you stop when the scout stops. They move, then you move. Much like actively stalking an animal, except I was literally trying to follow in my father’s footsteps.

As we headed into the woods, we crossed over a fence that separated our property from state land. Our stride and pace changed. We would walk about five to six steps and stop to listen. This method became even more important as the sun would come up. Once we got closer to our destination, Dad would again change the stride to three to four steps and a pause to listen.

Finally, we made it to the spot. We sat, and we waited. Looking slowly from side to side and patiently listening to the woods. As time passes, you begin to hear the forest come to life. Birds start chirping, squirrels start squeaking, and chipmunks become your enemy. They have this alarm sound they make when notifying the forest that someone or something is in the area, and they aren’t happy about it. We sit, and we wait.

When I’m on a long sit, I will usually fall asleep. One time, Dad and I were hunting, and we had decided to sit under two different trees. I was so tired that I fell asleep. My dad would later explain to me that while I was sleeping, a doe walked up to me and sniffed my hat and walked away. I didn’t believe him at first, but he showed me the tracks and scat leading right up to me. You could tell he wasn’t lying. No cell phones back then, so there was no photo evidence. I just had to take his word for it.

This time, however, we were sitting next to each other, shoulder to shoulder. It was so cold! My hands were freezing, and my butt had fallen asleep. My body was beginning to grow restless. I was shifting constantly, trying to stay warm and comfortable. My dad would lean over and say, “Dustin stop moving; you need to be quiet.” “Ok, Dad . . . .” A couple of minutes would pass, and I’d start moving again. Finally, I couldn’t stand it. I started to rub my nylon gloves together to keep my hands warm. It was working, but it sure was loud. Woosh, woosh, woosh. My dad leaned over, looked at me, and said, “Dustin! Stop.” “My hands are so cold, Dad!” I explained.

At that exact moment, the whitetail of a lifetime came bursting in and stopped on the other side of a log, just 40 yards away. He just stared at us. As I looked up and saw this massive buck, so did my dad. Dad turned his attention toward the buck and saw the massive whitetail staring back at him. Knowing he didn’t have much time to capitalize on the opportunity, he immediately began to move his rifle into position. He could tell that the buck had the drop on us and was nervous. His tail was raising; his ears steadily turned toward us as he just stared at our bright orange clothing.

By this point, Dad almost had his rifle ready to go. Dad whispered, “Cover your ears.” I knew this was going to be a fast shot. He quickly raised his rifle, and just as he was crossing the body line, he squeezed off a round. I remember his rifle being really loud. In the early hours of the morning with the fog, all I saw was a flash, a puff of smoke, and the record-setting buck was gone. Like some magic trick you’d see on TV. One second he’s standing there in front of us, looking larger than life, and then BANG! He’s gone and nothing more than a faint memory. A now sad thought of a proud moment that could’ve been.

I felt pretty bad in the moment. It wouldn’t be until the following year that we would learn about a local guy we knew that shot the deer later that very day. The deer had set a new record for the Okanogan area. That was like adding salt to the wound. The buck was as beautiful as the fruit from a tree, and the result of the hunt was sad, to be sure, but compounded with that information, it made the memory spoil in our minds like a rotten apple.

Some lessons in life don’t come easy and this one was hard to swallow, to say the least.

Chapter 3

My Mother’s Thoughts

It is interesting what we will hold on to in life, physically or emotionally. In this case, my mother kept in her possession a hand-written account of her thoughts about an issue she struggled with as a young mother. She recently passed this piece down to me.

“The question I struggle with is simple. What age should a child be allowed to have or carry a firearm? This does not include the day-to-day carry discussion. This is only particular to the carrying of a firearm, specifically a rifle in the woods, for the purpose of harvesting animals (Hunting).

“It has been my belief that he or she should wait until they are at least 12-years-old. This is because carrying a firearm is a big responsibility! The level of responsibility can be equivalent to driving an automobile or operating farm equipment. I’ve heard that it is legal in some states for youth to drive farm equipment at a young age, 12–14 years of age. Operating heavy equipment and carrying a firearm are inherently dangerous. Both are potentially deadly endeavors with serious consequences if handled improperly.

“An eight-year-old, for instance, wouldn’t be allowed to operate farm equipment, as these types of tools should require a test and obtaining a license in order to carry and or operate. Just like there is a driving test for motor vehicles, there is a hunters education and safety course for hunting. I believe that carrying a firearm for the purposes of hunting should also require a designated age.

“It seems reasonable that a person under the age of 12 may not possess the mental maturity to understand the rules and importance of adhering to them when it comes to firearms. The following is a story of two young boys who are close in age but who are brought up with two different expectations of firearms safety. One is my son (ten-years-old), who has been taught firearms safety and education on a regular basis and has been given reading material that clearly explains good firearms practices and behavior. The other is my nephew Derek (eight-years-old), who has been taught how to identify and clear a firearm, how to shoot, and the importance of not aiming it at other people.

“My Nephew, Derek, at the age of eight, received a BB gun as a gift from his grandma.

One day, I was at his house, and while I was walking through the garage, stepping over the kids’ toys that were strewn across the floor, I noticed the BB gun laying in the middle of a pile of, what would otherwise be considered forgotten, toys. I didn’t move it, and I didn’t say anything to my son, Dustin, about it either. I simply left it there for them to find. It made me recall my original thoughts of Derek being too young for the gun when his grandma gave it to him.

“It may sound like such a simple thing, but the treatment of the gun speaks to the treatment of training in regard to firearms in the home. Though it’s not technically a firearm; it is usually the first type of gun a young boy or girl is given to teach them the basic principles of firearms safety and responsible gun ownership. Here, was Derek’s, lying on the floor, where any one of the other kids could get to it.

“I stayed close by, waiting for the boys to come back. Later I would hear the two boys talking in the garage.

Dustin – ‘Derek, you shouldn’t leave your BB gun on the floor like that in the garage! Do you know that it is dangerous? Do you know what would happen if any of the kids picked it up? They could get hurt.’

Derek – ‘It isn’t loaded, Dustin!’

Dustin – ‘No, but you should always assume that a gun is loaded and keep it locked up and away from little kids.’

Derek – ‘But, you won’t get hurt cause it’s not loaded.’

Dustin – ‘But, you don’t know that cause you have to always assume that it is.’

Listening to this conversation convinced me that I had been right in making him wait. Dustin has just turned 12 and has proven that he is mature enough to handle himself. I...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 20.8.2022
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
• ISBN-10: 1-6678-5888-2 / 1667858882
• ISBN-13: 978-1-6678-5888-3 / 9781667858883