let it be known – loud and clear – that i am a person who respects this earth and all of it’s creatures. perhaps i just watched pocahontas too many times as a child, perhaps not. the older i get, the more health conscience and ecologically responsible i become. i sometimes look at the past few years of my life and am amazed at how quickly they have sped by.
i am startled at how aware i have become.

…aware… it is this overwhelming awareness that has both added to my troubles and opened my eyes. what i mean to say, without sounding overly poetic, is that my image of a better world fills me with energy, an energy that moves me towards making positive life choices and also an energy that sometimes forgets to remind me that in certain circumstances and on certain social platforms, i should just hold my tongue. but nonetheless, i feel as though now, more than ever, i am evolving into the environmentally-friendly lady that i was born to be, and with that off my chest, this post shall carry on..

shed hunting: [activity] searching (sometimes painstakingly) for the antlers that male deer have naturally shed in springtime months. they (the bucks) do this in order to grow a new, larger set of antlers for the upcoming mating season

. . . here was my adventurous thursday, spent shed hunting . . .

everything was going smoothly until this beast [pictured below] was rolled out of the barn…
if you must know, i am deeply afraid of being the passenger on certain types of open-air, moving contraptions. could this be stemming from an incident in mexico with my uncle and child cousin? [she was 7 or 8 at the time] it could have a little to do with the misery i felt as i was propelled about the waves on an untrustworthy jetski rental – and the terror that shook me when i was thrown off and smashed into the salty water. i don’t mind jetskis. four-wheelers are a blast! however, in order to enjoy these situations, i must be in control of them.

but alas, with the right eyes and a mind that is able to forget the 34 degree weather, everything became lovely! here is my little gallery to prove it . . .

what i have learned about tracking deer:
they can be located by looking for long marks “rubs” on trees. this is how they remove the velvet that their horns naturally come with. droppings.. no need to explain further. i also became keen on searching for the last sign- “runs” or areas where slight, trench-like grooves have been essentially trampled into the ground. look closely at the third picture and you’ll see what i mean!

and then we spotted them! and i rushed to pull my iphone out from my pocket, made difficult by the fact that my hands were nearly frozen! and then i captured this image-

when all was said and done, and we could no longer feel our faces, no antlers had been found.
there are times when a different outcome is actually the better outcome,
and i did walk away from this exciting day with a fresh mindset and a few unexpected treasures.
the most valuable gift i took from this day?
it was a simple reminder that people lead different lives and cultures sometimes clash. our cultures and our one-of-a-kind upbringings, make life on this planet wonderful and distinct. if you can open your eyes and hearts towards people who see the world differently, it can only help you grow.

“no tree has branches so foolish as to fight amongst themselves.”

and now for my physical treasures . . .

no animals were harmed during this adventure.
some turnips were uprooted, however, and my darling little binks was there to inspect them upon my arrival home,
into a wonderful warmth