Nature and the Pursuit of Life: Getting “The Feeling” on a Hunt

It was a chilly late October morning and the wind was out of the northwest, it was a perfect morning to hunt. The sky was so clear that I was able to navigate my way through the dark, using my flash light only minimally. I was hunting on a ridge in the hardwoods above an area we call Rolling Fields. I had two mature 8 point bucks together on camera several times not far from my stand. As I crept through the woods, I was mindful of any noise I was making. I knew that both of these bucks were mature so one mistake and it was bye bye bucks. As I clipped my bow to the rope hanging from my tree, I had “the feeling”. When an avid bow hunter has “the feeling” it can be almost indescribable how amazing the walk to the stand, the climb up the tree, and the sit can be.

As the sun began to rise, a doe and three fawns funneled up the hill which I sat atop and walked directly under my tree. I was in the zone and I knew it was only a matter of time. The silhouettes of the two bucks appeared down below where the woods met the field, and the endorphin rush hit me hard. I somehow knew that those two brutes were going to make their way to me. As if almost on a string, they started coming. The lead buck looked a year younger then the trailing buck, but both were unquestionably shooters. I mentally prepared myself the way my man Michael Waddell tells me to do it. I visualized myself smoothly pulling my bow back, aiming small and gracefully releasing my arrow.

No longer than five minutes from my first sighting of the bucks, they were within 40 yards of me. The first 8 point made his way across the hilltop and caught a faint trace of my scent and he froze up, his body language clearly displayed discontent. I remained calm and totally focused on the second buck. He started to trot until he came to the top of the hill and stopped just as the other buck had. I drew back my bow on the quartered-away buck who was 42 yards from my stand. As I released my arrow I was so intense that I could see it fly, and it hit him hard. He ran about 50 yards and went down. For the next 15 minutes I sat back in my stand and replayed the memory several times. This was an October morning that I will not forget, oh how I love to hunt!

David Farbman

The only thing typical about my life is the non-typical nature that I appear to live in. I firmly believe in the natural order of the world, and I find that this belief helps to navigate me through life, business, and relationships, resonating with my soul. I am in flow with nature and the universe in this way. I blog in an effort to pass on a message about the connections between nature, hunting, and life. Within that realm lies an authentic, clearer path to universal connectivity that I try to live in. The answers to many of our desired outcomes can be found there. My desired outcome is to successfully pass on the ideas, wisdom, and karma that come to me because of my connection with nature and the universe. As this script unfolds in my life, I want to share and help others while adding to the greater good of the world. Many people claim this, but I truly mean it and I bring it into action every day I am on this earth--or at least I sure try. I learned to hike, camp, canoe, horseback ride, fish, and sling arrows at a very young age. A spiritual connection with the outdoors came to me as a little boy and the power of this connection has greatly increased over my lifetime. As a hyper-active person since birth, nature has always settled me down and focused me in while helping me tap into thoughts and ideas that exist within the ether. By thinking, feeling and then willing something to happen after first opening our minds and our vision in a neutral state, we can achieve that which is otherwise unthinkable. I turned 40 years old last October and this past year has served as my catalyst year to promote change. I am in a process of self-actualization as I try to live present in each moment of each day. As part of this process, certain feelings must be turned into actions and done so with complete authenticity. I often write thoughts that come to me and in turn help others--and I believe the greatest return in life is to successfully give. I founded Outdoor Hub in 2007 along with a talented bunch of people and together we created something special. For as long as I can remember I have dreamed of doing something that would help to grow the outdoors and grow hunting--earning it the respect it deserves amongst those who choose not to hunt. I am so excited to be on this journey and I invite you into the field, to climb up a tree, to crawl through the swamps and be one with nature together. Thank you for joining me, the hunt is on...