Grief reflections & thoughts on my next project. November 30, 2024
Cell phone image - sketch for future project ideas.
Growing up, the week of Thanksgiving always meant Dad would be preparing for his annual week-long hunting trip. You would find him making piles of thermals, clothes, and hunting gear on the kitchen table. He would then spend time cleaning his gun and packing his duffle bags. He would have everything packed up and ready to go before Thanksgiving dinner. He would go to bed early after dinner in preparation for getting up before the crack of dawn to drive to his hunting camp in Eastern Shore, Maryland. He had been going there for over 20 years. I never saw the hunting property. It was the only thing he ever did for himself away from our family. This year there were no piles of clothes or gun cases spread around the kitchen table. I never thought I would miss that sight so much.
This year I was the one doing the packing. I packed up all my camera gear and headed down to Dad’s hunting camp Friday morning. I got to see his favorite place away from home. The camper where he slept, and all the items he left behind. I’m glad that I got to witness the places he touched, slept, laughed, and enjoyed meals with his buddies. I got to hear hunting stories and even found a pile of 4x6 photo prints of our family that he kept in the camper. So even away from home, he was still thinking about us.
I didn’t get to go in the woods yet since it is prime hunting season and wouldn’t be the safest time to take photographs, but I am looking forward to my next trip down when I can walk the woods to his tree stand. I found this sight driving the road to his hunting property. For just a moment, the light was hitting just the orange tree, which caught my eye and made me pull over. There was something about the moment that made me feel a connection to Dad. It felt like he was guiding me to this spot. I got out of the car and spent a few minutes just watching the light change. As each ray of light moved and passed through the trees, it felt like I was seeing the path he may have once walked through the trees.