Need

     Down time...I guess there is something to be said for having down time. Most people enjoy it. But for someone whose mind never seems to be at ease...there's not much good to say about down time, especially when it's forced on you.
     
     February is forced down time for me. It's a middle, a no man's land, boring. Too far removed from the joy of the holidays and not quite close enough to the new of spring... Sure, I can hunt for shed antlers or maybe even try my hand at predator calling, but it just not the same as being in a tree, watching and waiting, listening. Being part of nature..I suppose the silver lining is that it's only 28 days of seasonal pergatory...During a normal February, at least there's some snow, some cold, some chill to go along with the beauty of winter...Not so this season. Gray, damp, lifeless...sunless, rain, clouds...

     I find myself craving the outdoors, longing for my time in the woods. I look forward to walks through the winter and my dormant hunting grounds and this "forced" down time doesn't sit well with me. I can bend my bow, fletch some arrows, read, write, but it all draws me back to my need of the outside...

     This wet, dank, dark February forces me to be a captive to the indoor life and I want the freedom of my treestand and the deer trails...I want to hunt! To sit motionless, to feel the breeze...I need that outlet...that escape from the everyday February with it's hearts and chocolates and cards and Presidents Day...I need to be set free...