Teaching Outdoor Skills

Recently, I had the opportunity to take a friend’s son out hunting and help him harvest his first deer and process it. I get requests from people all the time asking about hunting, fishing and horseback riding. However, very few of these requests are truly serious. I may need to open up a class though for the ones who are!

Things like hunting and fishing are becoming a bit of a lost art. Our society doesn’t have time to go outside and learn the skills necessary to become proficient let alone skilled. We have turned into a people of instant gratification. Noise and constant motion are our companions. Outdoor activities are often the opposite of this, they feel unnatural and confusing at first. Even I have moments where I feel squirmy and bored when sitting out in the woods.

Does this mean that we should just forget about the world around us? Absolutely not! I hear people talking about how stressed and anxious they are all the time. It makes me wonder the last time they disconnected and went outside? Personally, I can’t remember a single time I was out in the woods or out horseback riding when I was stressed and worried.

This is a huge reason why I was thrilled to have my husband and I teach someone about hunting and gun safety. Luke and I got to spend a fun afternoon teaching gun safety and basic shooting skills. It was so enjoyable to watch a youth pick up the skills necessary to become proficient. Not only that but answering questions! Luke and I got to have our brains picked and were able to pass on valuable knowledge to a new hunter.

Then came the actual trip out to the woods! Sharing a tree stand with someone who has never had the experience of waiting for deer to come through was great. Listening to the different woodland sounds from the screeching of raccoons fighting to the flocks of black birds flying through, there were teachable moments at every turn. Watching the deer and deciding which one was appropriate to take and if we had a clean shot were also great learning moments.

To top it off, once you harvest an animal there is a process that goes along with it! Cleaning the animal and dragging it to where it can be hung for processing takes time. I loved the fact that we were able to walk this young hunter through every part of using the animal he had harvested. Quartering it out and then cutting up the meat and bagging/wrapping the meat for the freezer is just as important as making a great shot.

All of this came together as a perfect first experience and introduction to hunting. This was a hands-on experience from start to finish. I can’t think of anything better than having the opportunity to teach someone the building blocks of lifelong skills and creating good memories! Part of me wishes that I could spend all my time teaching others and giving them the same opportunities. However, I believe that it is best to mentor a few students well rather than too many and spread yourself thin. I want to encourage anyone else who has unique outdoor experiences to share that expertise with those around them! The payoff is great memories and lots of smiles!

Fishing

There is nothing more relaxing than an early morning on the water. My brain might complain loudly at 5am when the alarm goes off and I’m half asleep for the first few minutes as I wander around trying to get myself ready, but it’s worth it! As my body wakes up and I see the sun peeking over the horizon something sparks inside of me. The birds sing and the wind rustles through the trees creating a wonderful wake up symphony.

            Grabbing a bite to eat while watching the outdoors magically turn from night to day still enthralls me. A new dawn never gets old. When you walk outside into it, you can feel everything waking. Even the animals seem to have a happier attitude in the morning. My horses certainly love a breezy summer morning. They whicker at me as I go out to feed them. Animal care is always first even when going out on an adventure.

            Long pants and boots are a must when fishing. Whether you’re in the boat or on the shore they make a big difference for protection! Some of you might scoff at this but, time and time again I have been very happy I threw on my knee highs instead of going in tennis shoes. Preparation is important! Writing is very much the same way…prepare your characters for what they will go through. It makes them much more believable if they actually geared up for that long journey versus just starting off.

            Having the right tools for fishing is the same as giving your characters good tools. Having a variety of poles and lures can take you from a slow day of no biting to catching the monster fish! Fish have different tastes, smells, and even sight makes a difference. You want to cater to what the fish want in order to successfully catch them. The same can be said for your characters. What would they want? If they are out in the cold make sure they have proper clothing and something warm to sleep in at night. Otherwise, realistically they would die…which would make for a very short story!

            Feeling the tug of a fish biting your lure is a thrill. You have succeeded in finding what the fish want. The fight and splash of a big bass gets my adrenaline running similar to a good storyline. Why do you think we call it being “hooked” when we read something, and we just can’t put it down? The author has caught you and is reeling you in exactly as a fisherman does. An expert angler and an expert writer have more in common than you think!

            So remember the next time you go out fishing you can learn a lot from the experience AND you might even catch a good storyline in addition to some great fish.

Taste in Your Story

We all have favorite food’s right? Favorite sweets, favorite snacks, favorite entrees….it’s a big list if we really sit and think about it. Smell and taste are so important to us even if we don’t realize it. If this is important for us, they should be important to our characters too! There are dozens of cozy mysteries out there about food. Who wouldn’t want to read a book with a cover emblazoned with a giant cinnamon roll?

            I’ve already written about smells and how they affect our memory. They take us right back to that special moment with family or the first date you went on. Taste goes right along with that! First, let’s take a look at some of the foods that have strong flavors and evoke some different feelings.

Bread is a common food that comes in many different flavors. Bread is a part of life that has been a staple in our diet since the beginning of time. Fresh bread out of the oven not only smells incredible, but it tastes fantastic. Whether its gooey cinnamon rolls or a regular loaf you can taste the yeast and other ingredients. Each type of bread has its own consistency, whether flaky or porous. Almost all bread can be enjoyed with a dab of butter and perhaps a bit of jam. The sweet yeasty bread pairs well with the mildly salty and fatty butter. The texture of the smooth, creamy butter also goes well with the flaky or possibly grainy texture of the bread. Anyone hungry yet?

Let’s try something different now, BACON. I know there are many bacon lovers out there like me. It’s a delicious food! Bacon has so many great aspects for a writer. When you cook bacon it sizzles, pops, is greasy and makes a mess. You can almost write an entire chapter just about your character cooking bacon! To top it all, bacon smells AMAZING! It’s a scent that permeates the house or the air if you’re cooking outdoors. Bacon has a unique taste. It can be either very crispy or softer and melt in your mouth. The fat is what makes the flavor so great. Thick bacon is the best in case your wondering, more texture, more flavor! This is a great detail for you authors.

Now that everyone is starving, I want you to add this to your story! Put food in your stories. It makes your characters relatable. Add all of your favorite foods, but make sure they are realistic for the time period and genre you are writing for. As much as we might love something like smoothies, they didn’t have them in the middle ages, but a good cup of wine could be used instead!

Hope this was helpful for you writers out there. Details are so important! Keep using your brain to add little things that you notice around you.

Wisdom from Bush Boy

My brother has a ghillie suit (fake leaf camouflage) that he borrows from my dad. It is his favorite thing to wear when he goes turkey hunting. The ghillie suit isn’t even a fully body jacket. Originally it was part of a turkey vest, meant to unroll over you when you sat down. Because of this, the suit covers your front, but flaps open in the back like one of those awful hospital gowns.

            The suit is long with a hood and arms that cover your body extremely well…until you turn around and see the backside. The material is very lightweight, meant to be rolled up and stored in your pack. It’s great for warm hunting or wet conditions as it doesn’t get hot or soak up much water.

            My brother has been proudly wearing the ghillie suit out in the field for a number of years now. He fearlessly dons his suit and strides across the field, edges flapping wildly around him. The ghillie suit does not have strings or ties of any kind on it. This makes securing the suit a challenge. It also makes the suit look completely ridiculous. Super camo and covered in the front…nothing but human in the back. If the suit was white the wearer would look like a half-dressed ghost.

            Often times we tie up the edges of the ghillie suit in the back as best as we can for my brother, but it doesn’t like to stay tied. It won’t be long until it’s back to flying around like a backwards cape in the wind. Personally, I wouldn’t be caught dead in anything so ridiculous. My brother on the other hand has decided to rock it. This last spring, he even wrapped it around himself like some sort of bizarre toga, posing for pictures.

            He has earned the name bush boy for obvious reasons. Now as much as we make fun of him for his fashion faux pas he is probably the best hidden of all the hunters when it comes time to actually hunt. When he is nestled up against a tree or other shrubbery he blends in with astonishing ease. It takes his sharp unnatural outline that looks terribly human and turns it into a natural part of the forest. I can’t tell you how many times he has had critters of all sorts walk past him without a second glance. Quite amazing!

            So what is the lesson to be learned here? Is the ghillie suit fashionable? Does it make the wearer look rugged and strong? No! But it is functional and IT WORKS. The ghillie suit is proof that functional is more important than looks. This is something that we should take to heart. The path to success is rarely pretty. Sometimes we need to allow ourselves to do things outside of the box. We might tease my brother, but none of us can deny that the ghillie suit is effective. Bush

Being Tired

            These days, you hear a lot of people complain about how tired they are. Tired from work, tired from stress, tired from not enough sleep, the list goes on. Everyone wants to feel refreshed, but overdoing it seems to be the name of the game. Being tired slows us down and makes life harder. Tiredness is therefore a bad thing, right?

            I just came back from a weeklong out-of-state hunting trip. Three-thirty in the morning was our normal wake-up. A few days of this and you start to really understand what tired means. Add anywhere from two to fifteen miles of walking up and down mountains, and you will really start to feel weary!

            The thing is, even though my body is exhausted, there is a special kind of joy to working hard and waking early. At night, you sleep like the dead because you’re desperate for rest, and you wake more refreshed because of it. You might drag about for a bit before you’re really awake, but once you get going you have a special kind of energy that you can only get from deep slumber.

            As I recover from my vacation, am I tired? Absolutely! However, in many ways, I feel ten times better than I did before I left. Not only did I have the peace of an awesome trip, but I can count on great sleep to help me recover. I am going to make a strange argument here… I think being tired is good for you now and then. We seem to be going about our tiredness all wrong, though.

            We let stress, overwork, anxiety, and a multitude of other problems be the things that make us tired. Likewise, we fail to take time for the fun things that should tire us out. Long walks, beaches, swimming, hiking, hunting, paddling, whatever it is that you love doing outdoors! Fresh air and some hard work mixed with fun will give you a healthy tired. The kind where you sleep well and feel better because of it.

            So, what kind of tired are you? Are you burned out and done with everything, or are you joyfully exhausted from having too much fun? Make time for joyful exhaustion and see what it can do for you!

The Valley

              There’s a beautiful valley in the Black Hills where we hunt that has been dubbed ‘The Windmill with the Purple Flowers’. Not the most creative name. The valley is exactly as described. It has an old rickety windmill that is a working water pump and purple flowers (usually!) This is possibly my favorite place in the entire world.

              To get to this valley, you need to be willing to drive a decent distance. It is not a quick or easy drive. It has many twists and turns on roads that you question have earned the name. Sharp curves and rocks dare you to go on, telling you it’s not worth it, to turn back. This is not a place to bring your shiny new truck. Tree branches reach out to gouge your vehicle, while rocks stick up from below to remove critical parts of the undercarriage. To me, all of these obstacles make the valley all the more appealing!

              This special valley is truly a hidden gem. Even when the wind howls and the pines bend, you can always find turkeys tucked away in one of the many fingers that branches off. They love hiding in the sheltered meadows or meandering along the dry runoff beds. We have two methods to find them, glassing from above or driving slowly then stopping and calling. The valley never fails to produce birds even in the toughest years.

              Another thing that makes this valley special is the elk. The Black Hills has a growing elk population, something that would have been a rare sight twenty years ago. Now I am disappointed if I go out and don’t see any. Ranchers have a love hate relationship with the elk. Elk tear down fences as they are too lazy to jump them. A herd can destroy fifty plus yards of fence in one crossing, causing hours of frustration and labor for the ranchers. The flip side to this is that the money made off of elk hunts is a good income which acts as a salve for irritated landowners.

              I almost always see elk when we come to the valley. One of my all-time favorite memories was an evening hunt there. I sat on a hillside overlooking the windmill and water tanks, hoping to catch birds crossing the green meadow as they headed to roost for the night. While I didn’t see any turkeys, I did see elk. It started out as a pair coming down across the valley from me to the water. Then three more behind them. After a while, I saw another five come from the hillside to my left. Next four bulls came out from the far finger. After that, I quit counting! Elk literally came from every possible direction down to the valley to get a drink of water in the twilight hours. They would slip down, drink, graze for a few minutes and then disappear back into the trees. In the end, I think I saw around twenty to twenty-five elk, cows, and bulls alike. It was magical.

              Few places are this unique to me, but this valley in particular holds so many great memories. Between the elk and incredible hunts we have had, it will always be important to me.

Soundtracks

As I sit here listening to the original score of Top Gun from my boombox (yes, I’m a nerd) I let the opening song wash over me. The guitar riffs make my nerves buzz with excitement making me wish I could soup up the bass even more on my boombox to get the true movie feel out it. There’s nothing else out there like the 80s guitar sound and I love to blast it from the car or from my boombox.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m very musically minded. I can literally listen to a soundtrack and the entire movie will play in my head. Now, I have to have watched the movie quite a bit, BUT it doesn't take long for a catchy movie to stick with me especially if it has great music. A favorite for me is How to Train Your Dragon. It’s great on long trips, I just turn on the soundtrack and let the movie play out in my head. As I sit here typing, listening to Top Gun, I can tell you which part of the movie the songs go with. Soundtracks are always playing in my brain!

I could make a long list of movies that I have recorded in my head…The Lion King, Balto, The Hobbit movies, and many more. I am most partial to soundtracks from the 90s and on down. I really wasn’t sure why that was until I recently learned that a majority of current movies do not have songs written specifically for them. A lot of the music comes from other places and is then tailored to fit the movie. Somehow, I had unconsciously picked up on that because a lot of movies didn’t have soundtracks that were as personal. Weird right?

Soundtracks are extremely important to me for my writing. Some composers are definitely more my vibe than others. I’m enough of a nerd that I can watch a movie and recognize who wrote the soundtrack after just one or two time watching (no I don’t peek at the box!). James Horner is by far my favorite composer! I can almost always identify his music. Many of my stories are written to one of his soundtracks.

Another composer that I easily recognize is Basil Poledouris. He wrote the music for the Hunt for Red October, my favorite movie. He has a certain sound that he likes to use in his music, it’s like a signature or DNA. Most composers have a certain sound that you can recognize them by if you listen to them enough. John Williams does, Alan Silvestri, Hans Zimmer they all do.

Writers are the same way. You can feel their identity through what they write. We have a style that makes us unique. You can try to mimic others, but in the end the more you write the more you find your own voice. I love that everyone is unique! To me its honestly very comforting because I know what to expect. There might be different twists and turns, but the story still carries the signature of the author. I want to encourage anyone who is starting to write to not worry about finding their own voice. The more you practice it will come out on its own. Let your love of the craft be the most important part! Always strive to improve, but don’t let perfection be the goal because we should always keep learning.

List of Awesome Movie Soudtracks to Make Your Writing Better:

• Top Gun (original score) and Top Gun: Maverick

• How to Train Your Dragon

• The Lord of the Rings

• The Hobbit Movies

• National Treasure

• The Rocketeer

• Ford v Ferrari

• Balto

• Jaws

• Indiana Jones the Raiders of the Lost Ark

• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

• 13 Hours

• Avatar

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

• The Hunt for Red October

• The Magnificent Seven

• The 33

• Enemy at the Gates

• The Legend of Zorro

• Spirit Stallion of the Cimmaron

• White Fang

• Guardians of the Galaxy

• Stand By Me

• The Sandlot

Smells

Smells….are Important!

            Smells are important. We don’t think about smell because its such a basic part of our life. We take it for granted. Yet, smell is intricately linked to our lives. Smell is what helps us make memories. Crazy right? Try to remember your best and worst memories, you will find that smell is a critical part of them!

            Using smell in your writing is extremely important. Just writing the word cinnamon elicits visions of cinnamon rolls and French toast in my head. I smell apple cider and apple pie wafting from the kitchen. My stomach rumbles making my mouth water and ALL I DID WAS WRITE THE WORD.

            What other words jump out at me? Bread. Sage. Grass. I make my own pizza crusts and homemade bread from time to time. This requires yeast. Rising yeast has a fabulous scent that warms the whole house. You walk into it and feel home. It’s such a comforting smell! It makes me want to curl up with a book and a blanket and not leave the house for a week.

            Sage is a scent that evokes a sense of wildness for me. Sage sends my heart racing, I breathe deeper, a shiver runs down my back. I can hear the soft yelps of turkeys roosting in the trees. Rough prairie grass crumples underneath my boots. I can see the sagebrush bushes stretching across the prairie and under the pines. The bushes scraped against my clothes leaving behind their pungent aroma. Sage sends me straight to the Black Hills.

            Fresh cut grass makes me want summer to never end. I love to mow the lawn. It’s relaxing, plus you are being productive. How often do you get to be relaxed and get stuff done? Grass reminds me of country songs on the radio. It reminds me of the swimming pool. It reminds me of walks down the road in the evening. Fresh cut grass smell also makes me want to run outside in my socks…. I know… you get stains all over the socks, but have you tried it? Soft grass plus socks is incredible!

            These are some of the things that come to my mind with smell. I am just as guilty as anyone for forgetting to use it in my writing. It adds such a level of quality when I do remember it though! What are some smells that are important to you? What jogs your memories? Is it bread? Or maybe something not so nice like wet dog? Use this! Let your imagination take you on a wild ride with whatever smell is important to you.  

Books, Books, and more Books

Books

            My husband says I have a problem. He thinks I may even be a hoarder. I have a problem with books. I love books, like REALLY love books. They make me happy nestled in my hand or sitting within reach. I have a book in almost every room in the house. I need them close to me. They are my friends, my adventures, my comfort. Most of the books in my house I have read many times. A few are still waiting for me to open them, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

            Books seem to follow me home. I am an expert at finding free books. I enjoy walking through the big name bookstores, but my money stays in my pockets unless I find a great sale. Secondhand stores are a different story! There are all sorts of treasures to be found there! Let’s not forget library sales and giveaways too. Books seem to pile up in my car, waiting to be brought in the house.

            I am a firm believer in rescuing old books and copies of classics. So what if I have three copies of Tom Sawyer or Misty of Chincoteague? Someday these books may be hard to find. My heart jumps when I see original copies of Trixie Belden or Spin and Marty. Old books will never be turned down. I recently picked up a paperback copy of A Journey to the Center of the Earth from 1965. The pages were brittle and yellowed with age. I took special care to not tear the pages as I reread this wonderful classic.

            My favorite book to read when I’m sick is the Lord of the Rings. It’s my old standby, my dear friend that takes me on a well trod adventure. Isn’t it hard to read, you ask. Not when you know the story almost by heart. The descriptions of Tom Bombadil and the stinking fens of the Dead Marshes don’t deter me. Friendship, struggle, and good vs. evil make this one of my favorite books. The courage of hobbits gives me courage.

            When I bring home a stack of books checked out from the library, I rarely read only one book at a time. I’m afraid that the quality of writing has declined over the last few years. I can devour a book in one day if it keeps my interest, but often I start one book at breakfast and by dinner have read from two others. I think I have book ADD.

            Some books I read for the thrill, the Cryptid Hunters series makes me laugh while keeping me full of suspense. Hero’s Song keeps my heart racing with its twists and turns. Other books fill me with bravery like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. My Side of the Mountain and Snow Dog are stories about battling the odds, swelling me with their staunchness. Some are more somber, like the Redwall book Martin the Warrior or Where the Red Fern Grows.

            Whether happy, sad, thrilling, or more sedate, books are a part of me.

Horses and Dragons

            What’s the difference between horses and dragons? I volunteer there is very little. Though a horse does not have wings to fly across the sky, to gallop over the earth is just as powerful. The rolling thunder of hoofbeats matches the mighty wing beats of a dragon powering through the air.

            To touch a horse is like touching the wind itself in solid form. Feathery whiskers and a moleskin soft nose breathe warm puffs of air against your cheek. Silky hide covers coiled muscle that bunch and loosen with each stride. Sunlight dapples the haunches, giving the false impression that beauty is more important than the strength hidden under the shine. When your fingers cling to the heavy mane, feeling the roughness, an impulse wells up inside you to run this creature to the ends of the earth and feel the ground slide away beneath you.

            I imagine a dragon to have a similar effect on you. A dragon is much bigger than a horse, but just as majestic. Eyes bright with intelligence, full of deep wells of magical knowledge. Scales that shimmer vibrantly in the sun, magnifying the tiniest movement. Though a bit cumbersome on the ground, an airborne dragon’s wings are fantastic sails filled by the wind. Sinewy muscles stretched across its back power the wings slicing through the air at incredible heights and speeds.

            I think I would be just as exultant riding a dragon as I am on a horse. To race the clouds at the very highest heights! Yet running across a field full throttle with a thick mane whipping in my face is a shot of adrenaline one cannot easily set aside. The wind would sting your face in both cases, you are partly clinging on for dear life, and each would have an incredible rhythm whether from wings or hooves.

            There is also the feeling of power that would come with either creature. To watch a horse rear and paw, snorting wildly, you can easily envision fire coming from his nostrils. He trumpets a whinny over the grass, calling out a challenge to any who dare to cross his path. A dragon has real fire to breathe. A fiery blast, engulfing anyone foolish enough to anger it.

            So, is there much difference between a horse and a dragon? I think not. Though dragons live only in our imagination, they are no less real to us who imagine them! I believe the closest thing to experiencing a live dragon is a horse. Horses give us a chance to feel the incredible power of wing beats, even if we never leave the ground. The speed of a running horse is the closest you will ever get to flying.

            If you love dragons, then go to your closest stable with a pocketful of treats. Visit the wingless dragons that live there, with the speed and power to give you a sense of flight. Let their soft noses and tickly whiskers whisper their secrets of earthbound flying to you as you enjoy their company.