An Unpleasant Sight
Yesterday was beautiful. It was warm and sunny and as lovely as any day has been this spring. To take advantage of the weather before the rest of the week was marred by daily rain, I decided to go for a walk. I brought some tinder and some dry wood with me and set out for one of my favorite fire pits -- one that is pretty set back and secluded feeling, especially since the trail is being slowly reclaimed.
My plan was to set a small fire and soak in the beautiful sights and sounds of nature. However, I encountered one sight I didn't expect. Right at the entrance to the clearing, maybe 10 feet in front of the fire-pit was a fresh deer carcass, its black eyes still staring at the trail, at me. I won't supply a picture, of this or any other dead deer, but I think its enough to say that this was a little bit unsettling. It was obviously a fresh kill, a day or two dead, tops. It still had most of its fur and only one large wound.
My first reaction was, of course, sadness and a certain amount of disgust. I considered backtracking and finding another fire-pit, but then I got to thinking about why I was out there in the first place. I had gone into the woods to feel closer to nature, but nature isn't all fresh air, green leaves, and birds chirping. I went looking for nature, and there it was.
Giving the body a wide birth, I went around it to the fire-pit and had my fire. Every now and then I'd look up and be reminded of the circle of life, basically. It wasn't incredibly pleasant to have that visual reminder of mortality just a few feet from me, but it made me think a lot, about death and about life. Vision is a powerful sense because it allows perception from a distance and allows a certain detachment. If I could have smelled the deer, I probably wouldn't have felt comfortable remaining in its presence for very long. Instead, however, I was able to view it, from a distance, as a sort of reminder that although we associate Spring with rebirth, death is still a very much a part of that cycle.
My plan was to set a small fire and soak in the beautiful sights and sounds of nature. However, I encountered one sight I didn't expect. Right at the entrance to the clearing, maybe 10 feet in front of the fire-pit was a fresh deer carcass, its black eyes still staring at the trail, at me. I won't supply a picture, of this or any other dead deer, but I think its enough to say that this was a little bit unsettling. It was obviously a fresh kill, a day or two dead, tops. It still had most of its fur and only one large wound.
My first reaction was, of course, sadness and a certain amount of disgust. I considered backtracking and finding another fire-pit, but then I got to thinking about why I was out there in the first place. I had gone into the woods to feel closer to nature, but nature isn't all fresh air, green leaves, and birds chirping. I went looking for nature, and there it was.
Giving the body a wide birth, I went around it to the fire-pit and had my fire. Every now and then I'd look up and be reminded of the circle of life, basically. It wasn't incredibly pleasant to have that visual reminder of mortality just a few feet from me, but it made me think a lot, about death and about life. Vision is a powerful sense because it allows perception from a distance and allows a certain detachment. If I could have smelled the deer, I probably wouldn't have felt comfortable remaining in its presence for very long. Instead, however, I was able to view it, from a distance, as a sort of reminder that although we associate Spring with rebirth, death is still a very much a part of that cycle.
I should note, that although the experience was marked by death, it was still a lovely day and I saw plenty of evidence of life -- hoof prints, a whole lot of scat, and I even saw a big bird run across the trail about 20 yards in front of me. I'm really curious what it was but I couldn't get a closer look! Anyway, Happy Spring, everyone!
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