In The Wilderness With a Gun and Camera

When I hunt I carry a gun and a camera. With the gun I harvest food. With the camera I capture emotion and document a slice of what my eyes have seen. I am glad that most people on this planet will never see these places so one can be alone. I am a long ways from the nearest person. In both pictures the Big Timber wolves are closer than people judging by the tracks in the snow. I was really hoping for deer instead.
A lot can happen in  few days. From a glittering below zero November sunrise to a foggy 45 degrees. Creation does sparkle, dispense gloom and mirror every mood imaginable depending on the weather     The moods of nature could reflect every one of our relationships. I could write names (as could you) on these pictures but I won’t. 
Each individual tree might well reflect even our deepest emotions. The strongest oak may have broken branches. 

Only people get a graveyard (and some pets). In nature there is life, death and decay all in the same place. It’s no secret that we live in a very damaged world. What I see from the deer stand, looking at the forest, is not much different than what I see on the news around the world, looking at people.

Like the forest we sparkle, grow, thrive in good environments, get cold, experience depression, feel broken, get sick, bask on sunshiny days, lose a part of us in life’s storms and seasons of life including death. Generations later will probably not recall what the dash between dates meant to us on our tombstone.

All I know is that life is much better when the sun comes out. No matter the season, the sun comes out sometime. In my world it’s not far-fetched to not see the sun as representing the Son. It’s the same testimony of millions around the world that Jesus Christ was who He said he was, The Son Of God in the flesh who came to die for our sins that we might have hope beyond this life. There are more myths about the Son than there are about any forest creature including the wolves. All I know is that life is much better with the Son in my life.

As I put the camera in the bag a deep reddish mink trotted out on the ice in front of me. He seemed to grin at me scrambling to get the camera and disappeared. Most moments in time will never be captured to be shared. In reality we are the captured. The sun captures all of nature (and us) and gives life. So too the Son would capture us to share all of eternity. now that’s Life!

Gary

The Porcupine was not as fast as the mink!