January 10. 2011

It¹s Good To Be A Woodsman

We¹re in full blown winter routine and attire in this neck of the big woods.

It¹s cold! I mean, I put on more layers than a rouge cakebaker or aging beauty queen. The wind is not just whispering in the pine top sit¹s singing, howling like a love sick wolf. And I love it.

That¹s not to say I love it more than summer or spring,and certainly not more than fall. But that doesn¹t mean I don¹t love it too.It¹s like the fourth hunting dog in a four dog pack. He doesn¹t chase too well,or tree too well, or in general hunt too well, but you sure like the rich, powerful tone of his bay.

Cold, deep, deep cold that hangs over the Namekagon River Valley this time of year is part of what I call, The Filter! It¹s just part of why so many people visit here but don¹t live here.  Mosquitoes, wood ticks and the wild and mysterious northwoods itself are also part of this filter.

There is no time of year when I have so much of the woods to myself from other human beings. Not even the deer or turkeys run very far from me this time of year. I guess they figure, if  I¹m out here at this time of year when it¹s so cold my nostrils freeze closed, when the moisture in tree branches freeze and snap like rifle shots, I surely must belong here.

I never need a reason to lose myself in the woods, but just for the record wood cutting, blue berry picking, scouting hunt and photo locations, and great exercise are all good reasons to get out in the woods anytime of year, but except for a forest fire, there is no reason I won¹t go into the forest. In fact, I go there every day, whether it¹s cold, or buggy or down right spooky.

It¹s good to be a woodsman!