Story Telling of an Experience in Nature.

Growing up, I was always very close to nature. The house that I grew up in, and the house that my parents still live in today, is very well removed from town. We (my sisters and I) didn't grow up hearing the noises of the city out our window. Our nighttime lullaby didn't consist of traffic sounds and sirens. Instead we fell asleep to the chirping of the crickets and the croaking of frogs in the pond next to our house. Looking back I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm pretty sure my whole family feels the same way as well. I prefer the melody of birds in the trees to the voices of nosy neighbors. And instead of neighbor dogs roaming their way into our backyard, we had deer. They still make their way to the apple trees in the backyard in the early hours of the morning. It was a peaceful childhood, and we were always learning about the nature around us.

One of the places that I grew to appreciate nature, aside from our backyard, was at my family's hunting cabin. We used to spend our weekends out there, in any season. Winter was probably my favorite season to be at the cabin. The weather could be raging in any way you could think of, but our sturdy cabin wouldn't budge an inch. It was incredibly peaceful sitting in that little building, watching wildlife walking just outside the windows, with nothing but the wood stove to keep us warm.

My dad used to take my sisters and I on nature walks while we were at the cabin. We would leave out the front door and walk straight into the woods, in any season. While on the walks my dad would point out different things that we saw, and teach us about them. I learned to determine which animals had crossed through by the size of their trails (as animals frequently use the same trails to travel through the woods) and by the scat that they left behind. He point out the different trees, and how to tell them apart. I learned the difference between aspen and birch, oak and maple, as well as a variety of different conifers. He would even show us what the ground looked like where a deer had slept the night before. The best part of every nature walk with my dad was when it was done. Not because I disliked them, on the contrary they were one of my favorite childhood memories. The end was my favorite because my dad would lead us to the nearest road, and let us lead the way back to the cabin, without retracing our steps. It was a test of whether or not we had payed attention to the direction we were going. I am proud to say that we always made it back to the cabin.