A Moment in the October Woods

A Moment in the October Woods

It is one of those crisp and clear October days when the leaves are turning bright orange and yellow right before the first killing frost, a sign that winter will soon follow. As I walk my feet crunch like I am walking on crunched up newspapers. Here I am in a place I love where nothing else seems to matter. A walk in the woods is always peaceful and calm bringing me to places that don’t require explanation. I can be in the moment and take in all the sights and sounds of nature that make this the special place it is.

As I walk I think about so many things. I feel connected to my past and to my future. I think about things that have already been and things that may happen. I remember walking in these woods the day I killed my first wild turkey or shot my first buck. The walk in the woods reminds me that centuries ago Indians and settlers probably walked these same hills in this woods seeing the same sights and taking in the same creatures I see in action. Am I where they walked and doing what they did in this very spot? This October woods is as majestic and peaceful now as it was centuries ago and it provides a great place to immerse myself to think and just be. I do not have to talk or explain; I can just be and take in the scenes of this magnificent place that brings me to my happy place. Perhaps the Indians and settlers of long ago had the same feelings and thoughts I have walking here now in this October woods.

As I walk a little further down my trail I see a rabbit run as fast and furiously as it can to dodge me and hide, fearful I might harm him. Now I know what they mean when they say someone is as “scared as a rabbit”! He is safe as he runs into the biggest blackberry patches with so many thorns he definitely is safe and I surely will not come after him. Maybe my Indian ancestors would kill him with an arrow to be in the evening stew and he would not be as lucky as he is today. How fortunate he is to live here amidst the bushes and suddenly I hear something! It is a gray squirrel running around a giant oak like he wants me to play hide and seek or like he is saying “catch me”! Little does he know, I would have no way to keep up with him as he runs quickly up the tree and down the other side without purpose or a specific place to go. He must think I want his acorns as he tries to get them up the tree to a safe shelter for winter.

As I look ahead, I see a buck with his head bent down and he is pawing at the ground near a decaying stump. His antlers are massive and they are shiny just having lost their velvet at the end of the summer growth. He turns and sniffs. He does not see me yet. Will he smell me? Will he hear me? He lowers his head again and resumes his work with the stump. I step on a twig and the crack is enough to send the buck running straight toward me in a full leap. Quick, out of the way and he darts past me just a bolt of lightening! He is gone as quickly as he came. I am sure his hide would be tacked to someone’s teepee or his pelt would make a fine leather outfit for a brave!
As I enter the end of the trail I see signs of turkey scratches. They have been here alright in this place and feeding from the tracks. I am confident the turkeys who recently visited this place would be the feathers for an Indian headdress or for some decoration in the Indian lodge. I think about it must have felt to be an Indian centuries ago hunting these same woods where I now walk and seeing the same animals I see! Did we walk in the same footsteps and have the same experiences in these October woods? No one will ever really know but there is a spirit that connects us even now.