Life Happens – Ups and Downs of an Elk Hunter

A friend and I were recently comparing notes about the elk hunting applications we had recently submitted.  That reminded him of my website and he asked if I had been working on it.  I had to admit that it had been well over a year since I had submitted a blog post or shared any new information on my website.  His response:  Life Happens.

Reflecting over my life of the last couple of years, a lot of life has happened.  I started this site after retiring, to share my love of elk hunting. There was time to write, learn the ins and outs of the internet, and was able to devote mental energy to thinking about elk hunting.  But then I volunteered to take the lead on a big project. I was asked to manage another huge project. I had surgery and radiation therapy for cancer. And I had to complete several large projects around the house.  But worst of all, I didn’t draw an elk tag for the last two years.

Many people will probably want to throw virtual tomatoes at me for feeling sorry for myself.  But after having an archery elk tag for 25 years in a row, two years without chasing bugles left me somewhat depressed.  25 years of successful elk hunting applications is much better than average, and I shouldn’t complain.  I know of many people who have been unsuccessful for many years in a row.  But knowing that I wasn’t going to be able to pursue my passion, added to all of the other things going on in my life, I just didn’t put in the effort required to update these pages.

But now I’m back!  Needless to say, Life Happens still.  But the cancer prognosis is good, the projects are not all-consuming, and I have submitted my elk application for this year.  Results won’t be available for a couple of weeks, but I do plan to spend time pondering the many things I learned during those 25 years and get back to sharing them on this blog and website.  I’m looking forward to elk hunting being a big part of my life when I say Life Happens.