Jan

11

The deer season ends on January 15th, but my season ended last Sunday morning with my last hunt of the year. It was a great year with many adventures and many new stories. Time spent in hunting camp with friends is an experience that you simply must have at least once in your life.

There's something about hunting camp that makes the food taste better, the jokes funnier, the stories more entertaining, the laughter hardier, the friendships warmer, and the cares of the world almost non-existent. The warmth of the barbecue, the cold crispness of the air, coupled with the howl of the coyote's and the endless haze of the stars in the backdrop.

Laughter, jokes, and stories are the main course. Stories that are retold every year … and are always just as funny … seem to be more embellished with time. We would stand around the barbecue pit and listen to music in the background…maybe a Ted Nugent song (Fred Bear, or Great White Buffalo), or South City Midnight Lady (The Doobie Brothers), Cats in the Cradle (Harry Chapin), Time Passages (Al Stewart), Indian Summer (Poco), anything from the Eagles, a Toby Keith song or a George Strait one, maybe Alabama, mixed with an occasional Elvis and a Bee Gees … an eclectic mix to be sure … but it all sounds so perfect and seems to fit.

There is the beautiful dark night sky before the sunrise, and the symphony of colors as the sun breaks a new day. You can hear the sounds of the day coming to life. The beauty of this wonder world is seen in all its glory.

The ability to turn the problems of the world over to my subconscious and just let go of them … trusting that my "inner mind" will continue to mull them over, looking for solutions. Then when it finds a solution, it will reveal the solution to me as an epiphany … but otherwise, it won't bother me.

This past weekend, I was walking out of the woods with a client (Gary) I took hunting. A transformation took place over the weekend and he became more than a client … he became a friend (that's just what hunting camp does). As we walked out of the woods on this particular evening in the darkness, broken only by the 3/4 moon and star light, I stopped and just took in the moment. He stopped next to me … and I could tell he was doing the same. I took a deep breath and just held it in. I closed my eyes and concentrated on what I was feeling inside.

I let out the breath and watched it float upwards in the moonlight. I said to Gary, "I just love being up here." He said, "I know what you mean!" He then said, "Why do you love it so much?"

He then told me not to answer now, but just to think about it. You see, I believe that Gary and I knew both the same thing. Gary has his own farm and has experienced the same thing. What we both have experienced is the answer to his question. Although the answer may vary from person to person, the feelings it exudes are the same.

There is a sense of contentment, a sense of inner peace, and a sense of accomplishment. It's a symbol of success that only comes from hard work and dedication … the literal fruit of my labor. It is a place to rest from the daily battles fought to achieve material success, yet at the same time, it is a place that challenges and tests me … a place that doesn't just give me its respect, but makes me earn it.

There are so many connections between hunting and investing. There is so much to learn from spending time in the outdoors trying to tame the land and outwit that smart old buck, that savvy old doe, or that wily turkey … I consider myself blessed from having experienced it first hand and having the ability to experience it on an ongoing basis.

The next season coming up is the spring turkey season. I'll renew the Brooks Farms Hunt Updates then.

In the meantime, I want to express my gratitude for having this wonderful forum of the spec list to express these thoughts. I've learned from the introspection that has come from making these hunting posts and from having to delve deeper into my personal psyche and see things that I've never seen before and learn lessons that I otherwise may have missed.


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