7:10 a.m.  dropped my truck off at the shop for repairs, estimated cost  $300 -$400.00.

7:30 a.m. returned home, no truck means the day off, $240.00 in lost time

10:15 a.m sold a stock in my account for a loss of $330.28

10:16 a.m a thought crossed my mind, could the day possibly get any worse? I had already lost $970.28 and it wasn’t even noon yet.

Yes, it was time to get outdoors, I’d had enough. Something about being outside always cheers me up.  I’m not quite sure what it is, the solitude, the wildlife, the scenery, fresh air ……… maybe it’s a mix of them all. Whatever it is, I love it.  I packed my camera bag threw the tripod over my shoulder and headed for the ridge out back. I figured I’d try to get a shot at the deer that bed down in the Balsams seeking a little break from the winter wind.

11:37 a.m. I hit the mother load!….. I found gold.  No… not that shiny yellow stuff that’s really heavy. I mean, you can’t buy anything with this gold but none the less it’s gold to me.  Twenty five yards off the trail of deer tracks I was following something caught my eye. It just didn’t look right,  a little to much shine maybe, the color, or maybe that the point just looked to rounded.

Antler!!

There’s just nothing quite like the excitement of finding a shed antler. If you’ve never experienced it you just wouldn’t understand. Here in the Adirondacks finding a shed amongst all the blow down and fallen pine branches is akin to finding the proverbial needle in the haystack.  So is this one worth $970.28?  No, in dollars it isn’t worth much, you could sell a single shed for maybe 10 bucks on Ebay. I learned long ago that everything doesn’t have a monetary value.  This piece of bone is worth much more than the cash I lost today.  Twenty years from now when I hold that antler in my hands, I’ll look back in my mind and I’ll be 48 again. I’ll be working my way up a that ridge, pulling my collar a little higher to fight the chill, smelling the Balsam that brush against my sleeve. Clearly in my mind it lays there,  a glint of sunlight on the tine. I’ll relive the excitement of my find. I’ll remember, I’ll remember and I’ll  smile.

Today I lost nearly $1,000.00 but I made a memory, a priceless moment that will last forever.  I found a bone, an antler, a piece of nature, an experience. Something money can’t buy and I’m all the richer for it.

Enjoy the Outdoors