Sitting down at the computer this evening I was stuck for a topic as the deadline loomed in a few short hours. This is not an uncommon occurrence and impending journalistic doom always starts the meager creative juices flowing in Yours Truly.
Stuck for a theme and having only spent a mere hour in the woods this week, I really had nothing special to comment upon such as a new method by which to seriously injure yourself while attempting to light a camp stove. A bit confounded, I stepped outside to get some fresh air and perhaps stumble across a topic lying in the yard.
The evening was clear and cool, bordering on chilly. It was apparent from the deepening coolness that the first rays of tomorrow would melt a light frost. The sky was a deep indigo near the horizon but transitioned seamlessly to black overhead where airplanes five miles high blinked along their journey to the coasts. It was a fine night.
I wandered out behind our house and took a brief walk along the fencerow. A rabbit scurried away as did several small birds that flew as a squadron from a large bush after I startled them in the blackness. Off in the swamp to the north, a family of coyotes called with their lunatic howls echoing in the still evening.
“There is nothing to fear from a pack of coyotes,” the intellectual part of my brain casually mentioned. “Are you sure?” asked my guts in reply. A small chill scampered up spine like a chipmunk. Maybe it was time to head back home.
After a moment, intellect won and the calm of the evening flowed inside to quiet all the thoughts and cares of an otherwise busy week. Even the white noise of the interstate highway, a mile to the west, seemed pleasant instead of aggravating.
As I begin to backtrack myself the orange waning moon rose over the horizon, fitting perfectly into the last of October with Halloween only a few days away. While sauntering along I noted the evening star, the big dipper and the Pleiades high overhead. For the 1000th time, I vowed to learn a bit more about astronomy.
The night sky has always been a special treat for those going outdoors. Whether sitting in a frosty deer stand before dawn, drinking coffee in a duck blind or floating on the ocean, the absence of man-made light pollution turns the black heavens into a special treat.
Life is never more magical than when sitting in a boat on a calm, clear night. The stars overhead seem almost artificial in their beauty, as if they were a Hollywood creation. Moreover you find yourself suspended on a mirror reflection, halfway between the moon and stars, flying along like Peter Pan. If you are unable to ponder big thoughts at such moments, you should go home.
Even if you can’t see the night sky, a walk outdoors at night makes everything different, new, mysterious. Sounds are magnified and even most jaded are just the tiniest bit spooked by those unidentified rustling noises in the brush. Things look very different, like the old snag this summer that turned out to be a black stump rather than a black bear.
Being stationary in the woods is even better than walking at night. The passage of humans through the woods sets off a thousand silent alarms but once you remain motionless for a few minutes, the area becomes alive again. Puny human eyes useless, your other senses are heightened and record everything.
There are noises of animals, the night shift, moving around while practicing their various trades. A bat flits overhead in the moonlight and there is the spicy tang of damp earth, a reassuring and calming sensation that is now pretentiously known as “aromatherapy.” Fortunately, you didn’t have to pay ten dollars for a special tea to experience this singular pleasure.
You remember the night when a buck walked within three feet of your ground blind. As he slowly fed past, coming within three feet of your boots, you could hear his breathing and smell the sharp barnyard odor of his rutting musk. Soon after daybreak, you made the greatest running shot of you life to bring him down. Thereafter the deer has been remembered as the most extraordinary buck yet taken.
Walking into my backyard, I tried and failed to remember all the treasured outdoor moments that had been experienced under the black cloak of darkness. It seemed so unfortunate that many have never felt the chill, the mystery or witnessed those transcendent scenes that only occur under the cover of night in the wild places. I felt sorry for such poor souls.
Reaching for the back door, I realized I had just written a column.
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A Night Walk
Posted by Brent on 9/05/09 • Categorized as Out in the Open columns
Sitting down at the computer this evening I was stuck for a topic as the deadline loomed in a few short hours. This is not an uncommon occurrence and impending journalistic doom always starts the meager creative juices flowing in Yours Truly.
Stuck for a theme and having only spent a mere hour in the woods this week, I really had nothing special to comment upon such as a new method by which to seriously injure yourself while attempting to light a camp stove. A bit confounded, I stepped outside to get some fresh air and perhaps stumble across a topic lying in the yard.
The evening was clear and cool, bordering on chilly. It was apparent from the deepening coolness that the first rays of tomorrow would melt a light frost. The sky was a deep indigo near the horizon but transitioned seamlessly to black overhead where airplanes five miles high blinked along their journey to the coasts. It was a fine night.
I wandered out behind our house and took a brief walk along the fencerow. A rabbit scurried away as did several small birds that flew as a squadron from a large bush after I startled them in the blackness. Off in the swamp to the north, a family of coyotes called with their lunatic howls echoing in the still evening.
“There is nothing to fear from a pack of coyotes,” the intellectual part of my brain casually mentioned. “Are you sure?” asked my guts in reply. A small chill scampered up spine like a chipmunk. Maybe it was time to head back home.
After a moment, intellect won and the calm of the evening flowed inside to quiet all the thoughts and cares of an otherwise busy week. Even the white noise of the interstate highway, a mile to the west, seemed pleasant instead of aggravating.
As I begin to backtrack myself the orange waning moon rose over the horizon, fitting perfectly into the last of October with Halloween only a few days away. While sauntering along I noted the evening star, the big dipper and the Pleiades high overhead. For the 1000th time, I vowed to learn a bit more about astronomy.
The night sky has always been a special treat for those going outdoors. Whether sitting in a frosty deer stand before dawn, drinking coffee in a duck blind or floating on the ocean, the absence of man-made light pollution turns the black heavens into a special treat.
Life is never more magical than when sitting in a boat on a calm, clear night. The stars overhead seem almost artificial in their beauty, as if they were a Hollywood creation. Moreover you find yourself suspended on a mirror reflection, halfway between the moon and stars, flying along like Peter Pan. If you are unable to ponder big thoughts at such moments, you should go home.
Even if you can’t see the night sky, a walk outdoors at night makes everything different, new, mysterious. Sounds are magnified and even most jaded are just the tiniest bit spooked by those unidentified rustling noises in the brush. Things look very different, like the old snag this summer that turned out to be a black stump rather than a black bear.
Being stationary in the woods is even better than walking at night. The passage of humans through the woods sets off a thousand silent alarms but once you remain motionless for a few minutes, the area becomes alive again. Puny human eyes useless, your other senses are heightened and record everything.
There are noises of animals, the night shift, moving around while practicing their various trades. A bat flits overhead in the moonlight and there is the spicy tang of damp earth, a reassuring and calming sensation that is now pretentiously known as “aromatherapy.” Fortunately, you didn’t have to pay ten dollars for a special tea to experience this singular pleasure.
You remember the night when a buck walked within three feet of your ground blind. As he slowly fed past, coming within three feet of your boots, you could hear his breathing and smell the sharp barnyard odor of his rutting musk. Soon after daybreak, you made the greatest running shot of you life to bring him down. Thereafter the deer has been remembered as the most extraordinary buck yet taken.
Walking into my backyard, I tried and failed to remember all the treasured outdoor moments that had been experienced under the black cloak of darkness. It seemed so unfortunate that many have never felt the chill, the mystery or witnessed those transcendent scenes that only occur under the cover of night in the wild places. I felt sorry for such poor souls.
Reaching for the back door, I realized I had just written a column.
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