“Things look bad out there, boys, really bad. But hey, coffee’s on! How bad can it be?
I say we coffee up, and see what the day shall bring”
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“You can deny the realities of the natural world, but you cannot escape the consequences of that ignorance”.
“Food is the natural currency of friends and family. Honest food cannot be separated from good hospitality. Great food makes for even better friends”.
“There is a place I have been that many elk hunters must eventually visit. The mountains may shine amidst spectacular landscapes and it may look like typical elk country, but somehow things are different there. It is a land of mystery and natural forces inaccessible by horseback, jeep or other conventional means. Inward rather than outward, it is a journey of the heart on a path unique to each individual. It is a place you only know once you get there…I am, and will always be, forever humbled”. From Forever Humbled.
“What’s next in this escalating hit parade of environmental tragedies? They’ve already pierced the heart of the planet and set the sky on fire. A demonically engineered plague or two might suit their purposes. Or perhaps they can pry open an insatiable black hole, and let it loose to gobble us up?” From Tears For Fukushima.
“I have a simple solution for it all. Throw away the tell-lie-vision and the virtual reality games. Get real. Take your child fishing. Throw a football. Bat a ball. Go outside and marvel at a bird soaring in the sky. Drink some fresh spring water. Breathe….”
“At that moment I see through other eyes, from some other time. A hint of memory flashes and reveals this place as it looked long, long ago. I see the ancestors there, huddled in the mist beneath heavy robes of fur, watching, waiting. I see their spears and primitive weapons, eager to sink their sharpness into hide and flesh. I hear their footfalls and their labored breath heaving in their chest. I feel the spear’s blade upon my hand, at the razor’s edge of all things. They are but a heartbeat away.” From Sacred Ground.
“We do not own the elk, the eagle or the fish. Left to their own devices, they will remain here long after we are gone. Yet, if we are not careful they will disappear on our watch, to die the death of a thousand cuts and little insults. Our race will leave behind only the foul memories of a petulant child. Our legacy will be defined by the actions of disrespectful tourists, scratching mindlessly about an improbable blue ball as it hurdles and spins through the limitless universe. How can we be so unaware of the magic at our feet?”
“My level of anger is indescribable. A bucket of cold water in the face of it would not blunt it. It burns as hot as the primordial ember of the first man, who left the trees in search of god and human destiny”. From Healthcare, At The Altar of The Black Robe.
I don’t remember pulling the trigger, yet It ends as it must if you are a hunter. A life taken. I am too young to comprehend the full meaning of the act but somehow I know there is something more. It is an end, perhaps a beginning, I do not know. The circle complete, we are bonded. It is a gift of the deer and it is sacred. I pray I will not forget, both then and now. From The Gift.
“The elk will come to the hunter when it is time to leave this earth, when they are ready, and in their own time. They will only come when you are ready to receive them and to help them with their journey to the place that the spirits live. Each wish only to carry along the respect and dignity that you both deserve. I am honored; we are free”. From “Elk In Time”.
I hunted, once, for glory…and now, it’s all about the story; A hunter by birth and DNA, and a writer, at heart.
“Mine is but the dying writhing of a resigned and lonely dinosaur. The question is, where do we go from here?”
Face the fear; be fearless! Unleash thyself, and write the world…
“Time is the hunter of all men, and no one knows this better than we. A hunter is never lost or alone within it’s ageless pursuit, not in life, nor even in death…” From A Day On The Water.
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Michael Patrick McCarty earned a B.S. Degree in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University. He has worked in a variety of capacities relating to fisheries and wildlife biology, water and environmental quality, and outdoor recreation. A lifelong shooter, bowhunter and outdoorsman, he has hunted and fished throughout North America. A used and rare book dealer for more than 25 years, he offers a catalog of fine titles in the fields of natural history, angling, the shooting sports, farming, and agriculture.
“I have a passion for old books, slow food, pigeons, the pursuit of bugling elk, fish and game cookery, heritage poultry breeds, personal freedom, and the Rocky Mountains, to name just a few, and not necessarily in that order. I consider the White River National Forest of Western Colorado as part of my backyard”
Mike writes about an assortment of outdoor and food related topics. “I am particularly interested in the nexus between the desire to provide one’s own food, and the withering array of local, state, and federal laws and regulations which often stand in the way. It is the manner in which they all relate to the cornerstone issues of personal freedom and liberty that concerns me. For me, it’s where the rubber meets the road”.
Michael Patrick McCarty – A “Warrior For The Light”
Check Out “A Little Karate Among Friends”. In the early 1990’s I was honored to assist Mr. David Massender in his 2nd Dan Black Belt Test in Tang Soo Do. I’m the guy with the long staff. I recommend at least some basic martial arts training to anyone interested in self-defense, prepping, and personal freedom. It’s great fun too!
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“The Poet is a kinsman in the clouds
Who scoffs at archers, loves a stormy day;
But on the ground, among the hooting crowds,
He cannot walk, his wings are in the way.”
—-Charles Baudelaire