A night out

The last few weeks have been intense and I've had to expend a lot of time, effort and energy into bringing it all together and doing what's required to move situations forward - with so much riding on it I have been focused. It's meant I've neglected other things, first and foremost of which has been my own needs so with that in mind I decided I needed a night out.

This is where I went tonight although it was 'this afternoon' when I initially arrived. What, did you think a night out for me meant clubbing in the city? Nope, fuck that, I go to places like this to reconnect with myself, relax and find space.

I hiked around before deciding the spot you see below would be a good place in which to sit back and relax - You see, it's in places like this I feel most comfortable and where my shoulders drop, where I relax and find space to breathe and just be me.

It was very peaceful for a while and that's what I needed...no human noises, just nature...my secondary purpose was to hunt to be honest, but I wasn't really that much into it tonight so I let nature take hold and allowed the stresses of the last few weeks to dissipate somewhat...and then I saw a deer.

The fallow deer was right on the fence line in the distance of the photo below. It was only 380 metres away, a pretty easy shot, but beyond the fence line is the next property so shooting and missing would mean my bullet would travel into that property and hit...who knows what, so taking a shot was not possible; I'm a very responsible shooter after all. I'll have to track and stalk the deer, I thought to myself, so stood up pulled on my backpack, slung my rifle and set out.

It was well over an hour later and I'd had no luck. I'd seen the deer a couple times but was unable to get into a position from which I could take a shot even at longer range so did the only thing I could...sat down and took a break. That's where I took the shot you see in the very top image right before the sun went over the horizon.

I stayed at the property until well after dark looking for targets and even found some, but I wasn't really into it to be completely honest so everything survived intact; I didn't take a single shot and was happy with that.

I can be an intense fellow at times, results-oriented, driven and focused; I like to feel like I'm performing at my best also whether it's a work-related thing or my personal life...it can be draining, but I've always been this way and don't really know how else to be. Being that way has meant I've also needed to understand when to, and how to, pull back, find a gap, and let things fall away for a time and that's what I needed tonight: Relaxation, quiet time, nature, no other people and the fresh air that can only be found in places like this...That's what the five hours out upon this awesome property wandering about in nature permitted me to do and I took full advantage.