Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Instead of Shopping

I know it sounds strange, but one of my favorite activities since moving to Pennsylvania involves walking the woods in search of shed deer antlers.  The deer in our woods shed their antlers right around this time, so it's fun to hunt for them.

Shed Deer Antler
They blend right into the forest floor--like some dropped bare branch from a tree--and discerning them from their surroundings makes for a supreme challenge.  Plus, rodents immediately come and eat the antlers.  If you find them, it feels, like my neighbor said this morning, "like serendipity."

Serendipity!  A happy and unexpected event! Some women feel this way about finding a great pair of shoes on sale.

I get it from antlers. 

I keep an antler by my writing desk.  My brother-in-law gave it to me after he found it in North Carolina.  I love this little antler.  It's always symbolized the deep hope that I can find a remnant, some beautiful and mysterious thing, if only I'm devoted to the search.  

We'll go back out into the woods this afternoon.

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What objects in nature have you hunted?

2 comments:

  1. Heather, I share your foraging preference for nature vs. big box.   These days, I have been collecting maple sap in the woods.  The real hunt will begin in about six weeks, when the morel mushrooms begin to peek up between the leaves.    Happy hunting!

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  2.  Dear BuckeyePatty,
    I haven't experienced a moral mushroom hunt, but I want that to be my next adventure!  How yummy! 

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