Trapping and Thanksgiving

Last week I was on Thanksgiving break vacation. This meant that we didn’t have school, so I was able to check traps every single day. This was quite the experience, as I had never been able to do before. I went out to check my traps on Monday of last week, and I have some great success. At the first trap that I checked there was a very large and very muddy raccoon. This raccoon was the biggest I have ever seen and I estimate it to weigh between 25 and 30 pounds. After I loaded up this raccoon I went home and skinned it, a process that was made much more difficult due to the fact that the raccoon was so muddy and the temperature was so low. My friend inspired by the thought of catching more raccoons went with me to check the rest of them. The next two traps that we checked were empty, and the last one was a foothold trap. For those of you who do not know of foothold requires much more effort to set, and much more skill is required to successfully catch an animal. As we approached the location where the trap is set, we were very apprehensive, We did not know if there would be anything in this trap. We walked down the hill and around a couple trees to find that we had caught another raccoon! The surprise of catching this raccoon was tremendous. This was the first time I had set a foothold trap, and it was the first time I had ever caught a raccoon in a foothold trap. The excitement aside we had been hoping that we would catch a fox, the scent that we used in that location was specifically designed for foxes. And although we were very happy that we had caught a raccoon, we still wish that we would’ve caught a fox. Once we dispatched the raccoon, and unattached the trap from the tree we brought the raccoon and the trap up the hill and watched and waved as cars passed by. This was a very fun experience for me, to capture something in a way that I had never done it before. And that I was able to share this experience with a very good friend, and lastly that I was able to look at the funny faces people made when they saw two teenage boys walking along the road carrying a raccoon. This experience reminded me that outdoor experiences are among the best experiences there are. Just the feeling of cold or of hot on your skin and your face, makes you want to do something big, or something small. The thing is that things don’t to be large or important to be special, or even to be of worth. Things just have to be with others, and done with all of your heart. In this world where most things are done seemingly without effort or true feeling, it is so refreshing to get outside and to enjoy something with all your heart with someone who you care about. I do not have any brothers, and this friend is like a brother to me. These experiences that I have him are so much fun, and they help us grow even closer. I am very grateful for the season of Thanksgiving, and for the wonderful people in my life, as well as the wonderful experiences that I have with them.

Reflections on Summer

Summer already seems long ago. No more are the green leaves on the trees, The days when you can just sit on the porch doing nothing. For many students the end of summer also represents the start of the school year, and therefor a loss of freedom and the varied opportunities that only accompany summer. This change is always very gradual and sometimes hard to notice, but it does have some very noticeable effects. These effects or symptoms as some would call them include the leaves changing color and falling down, the air getting significantly cooler in the mornings, and of course the plague of fatigue that always follows a late night doing homework. These things are not all bad, and some of them can be quite enjoyable, like the leaves for instance, but these things all represent the end of summer.

To get things straight I feel like I should talk a little about what summer is like for me and many of my peers. We have very little responsibility aside from the typical summer job. This lack of responsibility gives anyone the opportunity  to truly let go and enjoy the moment. I made a goal at the beginning of this past summer that I would enjoy some if not the majority of the experiences that I could truly let go and live for the moment. I did a very good job with this goal, and gained a variety of experiences from it. One of my favorite experiences was stargazing. My itinerary for 3 or 4 nights during the summer had this in the program, and I would suggest it to anyone looking for something to do on a clear summer night. Staring up at the night sky, full of lights and potential,  is a guaranteed way to make you smile and look into the persons eyes that you are sharing the moment with. Another thing that is a must do in the outdoors in-between the months of May and September is watch a sunrise. When I say that I don’t mean getting there in the middle of the miracle but being there from the beginning, from the moment that the sky first starts to light up to the moment when the sun first starts to poke over the horizon. This process is so gradual, and yet so quick at the same time, like a clock with no second hand. At first it appears that the clock is unmoving, but if you glance away for just a little bit, the minute hand moves further than you would’ve imagined. These moments are more valuable than I can express, and made even more valuable by the fact that they are seasonal. I would give anything for it to be summer year round, but that wish in and of its self would be self defeating, because we cannot appreciate something to it’s full potential unless we experience life without it, even though the time without it is sometimes long, and not nearly as pleasant as the thing which we love. Summer starts on the 21st of June, and although it is a long time away I’ll do my best to enjoy the seasons in between.

The Way Things Change

This Sunday I was able to go on a drive with an Old Timer, someone who is just old enough to see how things have really changed over the years. We drove by a housing development that he remembers was a corn field, past the house that he helped his father to build and then lived in for 20 years. The drive then continued past a quarry, “was that there when you were growing up?” I asked.

” Yes it was, it was a lot smaller then though, and they sure did use different blasting techniques back then.” He then explained how they would close the road we were driving on when they were blasting in order to prevent any injury from the boulders that would occasionally fly the 400 or so yards to the road. He told me of his favorite spot to camp during the summer, and then pointed it out to me, it is now surrounded by homes. These memories that he shared made me think of how fun it would’ve been to grow up roaming the woods and the creeks, swimming and fishing  and exploring on the river.

I am lucky enough that our city hasn’t changed so much that a teenager can still access the same things that he did, and that I can still feel the freedom that he felt. That I can still feel like I can leave everything behind to just go and run around in the woods, or lay down on a sandbar in the middle of the river, look up at the summer sky full of blue and white with a little bit of yellow feeling completely care free and loving the feeling of being young. I am also lucky enough that these places are close enough that I can ride my bike just a couple miles to reach them, and the bike ride is part of the fun as well. I guess I’m lucky, or maybe just smart enough to take advantage of these things in my life. That I can go out, and really appreciate things for how they are, and how they were, because of how they will be in the future. I don’t know if 10 years from now there will be houses along my favorite stretch of river, if for some reason the creek where I trap raccoons will be put under the ground. I just don’t know how long these things will last, but I do know that I will take advantage of them while they are here. And even though they will eventually fade away, I will always have them in the fondest of my memories.

Trapping Season is Almost Here

The Leaves are changing color, we can start to feel a nip in the air, the days are getting shorter and shorter, and the first day of autumn was yesterday: It’s almost trapping season. This time last year I remember it being a little bit colder, and even though I really don’t like being cold the thought of the fur thickening on the raccoons made me love it. I waited and waited and finally the day came, and all my hopes and expectations came true. I had caught my first raccoon, and then I needed to process the skin, in other words the work portion. To avoid grossing anyone out I will simply say that it took a long time and was not remotely pleasant in any way shape or form, but it was gratifying. To know that I had obtained the animal, and cleaned it up to the point where I could begin to tan the fur into a usable hide made me feel like I had truly accomplished something, like I had done something of lasting value. I then proceeded to preserve the fur and skin so that they could be used for clothing and other things in the future. After this long long process of many many hours was complete many would imagine that I would have no desire to do it again, they would be wrong. Even though the process of going from animal to pelt is time consuming, tedious, and somewhat unpleasant, it provides a way for me to go back to the roots of my ancestors. My great-great grandmother, Dellia Rainwater, was full blood Cherokee, meaning that I am approximately 1/32 Cherokee, a nation who’s very foundations rested upon hunting, fishing, and trapping to provide food, and clothing. These innate passions and ways of going about life are part of me, and cannot be separated. Yesterday I was able to go with my mom to look for places to trap this year. Although I did not find the results I was looking for, we were able to experience a beautiful clear, warm, autumn day together. This scouting expedition was not completely fruitless, we were able to find a couple sets of raccoon prints, and of course the ever-present Iowa deer.

After this picture was taken we were also able to see a young buck, just beginning to get his antlers, bound off into the forest, and disappear without a trace. Every time I go out inyo nature is something that surprises me. Whether it be the spunkiness of a woodchuck, the beauty of a bird, or more typically the wonder of a sunrise or sunset. Once again I challenge you all to go out into nature, and to experience the wonder and beauty that it presents, trust me you will see something that makes you smile.