Sunday Morning In The Woods

Since the cross race was cancelled due to concerns about doing too much damage to Seaview Park I opted to grab the longbow and head out to the woods to do some shooting. I forget how much I love the woods in winter when there is a carpet of snow on the ground and upon the foliage. Not only is it pretty but the silence is deafening, as if the layer of snow absorbs noise. It immediately puts me at peace with my surroundings and on some primal level just feels right. Note to self - snowshoes required if this November's snowfall is any indication of the coming winter weather.

My shooting range uses a deadfall's root system as a backdrop. I use an old area rug with a painted bull's eye that is draped over the fallen tree. I then cleared out some underbrush and deadwood to create a lane about about 35 yards between the trees to the target.When done I roll up the rug and place at the base of the fallen tree.

Today I experimented with my accuracy by elevating myself upon a boulder and seeing if I could thread the needle of trees to hit the target from a side view.It was a good challenge but expensive as I broke the field point off another arrow when I let loose into a tree. Guess that is why they are called hardwoods....(wink).Once my recurve arrives from Asia I will purchase some new arrows that (hopefully) will be usable on both my American longbow and the Mongolian recurve despite a slight poundage difference on the bows.

It was a good morning playing with the bow and just defragging in the quiet and solitude of the winter woods.A perfect head space before I strap on the goalie gear and head to the organized chaos that is ball hockey this afternoon.