Hunting and Gathering

"The perils of duck hunting are great. Especially for the duck." -Walter Cronkite

It is in our DNA. We hunt and gather. Our brains are structured to remember stories and sequences of traveling around so we can remember where stuff is and how to get back there to find more. This is so hard wired that you can easily memorize whatever you want, simply by putting it in story form and assigning an imaginary walkabout to the memory, leaving it like breadcrumbs along your imaginary path.

Of course we need not go off in search of some creature to kill! Many people in the modern world channel this instinct into shopping. I am fine with that when I actually need to buy food or whatnot, but not when it causes waste and environmental harm. The generating of masses of junk just to keep the consumer entertainment hunting game going is a misplaced use of our hunting and gathering urges. 

But I still find an extra little thrill hunting and gathering in my own way. I do like to shop at the used stuff stores that benefit charity. You never know what cast off treasure you will find.

I hike every day, and one thing that makes it rewarding is to be hunting for something or gathering something. Since the first time I found a big beautiful Chanterelle mushroom and went home and ate it, a part of my brain is now always on the lookout for mushrooms.

I hunt and stalk birds with my phone camera and binoculars. This requires straining and craning my neck and standing very still for uncomfortable stints, yet it is fun. When I add a new bird to the life list, the brain rewards are like bagging a big old mastodon!

(A very rare pure white wild 'purple' iris!)

I love the fact that my phone takes pictures! In the spring I might gather flower photos. Or, I might add to my collection of interesting tree bark surface pictures, which I use for making art. 

The sky half of our picture of the day is much neglected. How often do we bother to look up? My cloud collection is growing. I am especially fascinated with little openings of blue sky peeking out from clouds.

I even have a collection of photos I gather of palm trees, which are popping up here in my town in the great northwest USA, where they do not belong. It is my little global warming dipstick.

Happy hunting and gathering!