In all our lives, we fail fairly frequently. Sports, academics, spiritual lives, jobs, and hunting/fishing are the things that come to my mind quickly. I was stunned when I saw the first ”participation medals” to evade the issue of failure. If failure ruins your life then you aren’t living. There should probably be classes in all grade levels about dealing with failure. 

You’re going to get your butt kicked really hard in every aspect of life at one time or the other. How we deal with it is the only thing we can control, and our lives essentially depend on that response. The element of fairness doesn’t exist in most of these situations. It is what it is, and you have to make a personal decision about going forward. The natural world is the best teacher with living and dead examples every day.  

I thought a lot about these issues last night about 8 when I was walking through brush with my buddy looking for a deer. Its amazing how small your world becomes under a flashlight in the crisp cold darkness. My shot looked good and the deer ran, jumped a fence and disappeared into the bedding and traveling area along the river that we absolutely hate to disturb since it is their home territory where they are essentially safe. 

We spent several hours on a very thin and scanty blood trail. I found part of the shaft of my arrow. We eventually stopped seeing blood and called off the search until morning. It made me feel bad — I don’t lose many critters and am careful about taking ethical, sure shots to harvest the animals. It happens to all of us – that doesn’t make it any more palatable.  

The processes of hunting and fishing are pretty standard. There are lots of things we can do to increase our percentage of success. Carefully sighting in a rifle and getting comfortable with the trigger pull and feel are necessary. 

In the archery world, nothing beats practice.  Traditional archers practice ritualistically to be successful. Compound shooters have some of the most amazing contests that require physical steadiness, intimate knowledge of your bow and it’s range—they work on those skills year-round. We have some amazing archers in our community. I admire them a lot. Sporting clays and trap shooting makes us all better in the field.

Physical exercise is one thing that makes or breaks lots of hunts. Altitude and poor conditioning kill hunters every year in the excitement of elk or deer hunts when hearts and lungs can’t accommodate the stress of the moment. 

Go to the gym or training facility and try to stay fit. You will hunt better and live happier and longer lives if you are physically able to do what you chose. 

Let me repeat — go to the gym at least three to four days per week. Just do it and make it part of your life. You will be a better person. Our Activity Center is such a gift. Don’t make a stupid New Years resolution — just do it. I never said it was easy. 

It is the time of eagles and short-eared owls in the marsh. If you have never seen a short-eared owl please go to Quivira at dusk and watch their show. They are graceful busy hunters and are stunning to watch. You can also see lots of geese and sandhill cranes. Dusk in the marsh is magic—better than Christmas lights which I really enjoy also.

I hope your holidays are happy and successful. Love your family and friends- they are all we have. I am so grateful for mine!

Doctor Dan Witt is a retired physician and nature enthusiast. He can be reached at danwitt01@gmail.com.