“Ah, sir, you dwellers in the city cannot enter into the feelings of the hunter.”
That’s the quote that popped into my head this morning while I was out hunting. Curmudgeons hunt.
I had to put it front and center because it’s so delicious. Anyone who can tell me the source (in comments) gets a Curmudgeonly gold star.
I have a great deal to say on the subject of hunting but I’ll defer it to a later date. A pleasant morning filled with nature’s beauty does not motivate one to stay inside hammering text into a computer.
That’s a quote from Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”
Excellent! You have won a gold star and a no-expenses paid hunting trip with me and Dick Cheney to my hunting camp located in an ancient and dilapidated Romanian castle.
(BTW: The quote is below. Everyone remembers the wolves but forgets the rest. I’ve been delighted whenever I’ve heard wolves in the wild too. Hmmm…)
We were both silent for a while, and as I looked towards the window I saw the first dim streak of the coming dawn. There seemed a strange stillness over everything. But as I listened, I heard as if from down below in the valley the howling of many wolves. The Count’s eyes gleamed, and he said.
“Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!” Seeing, I suppose, some expression in my face strange to him, he added,”Ah, sir, you dwellers in the city cannot enter into the feelings of the hunter.”
Living in Alaska, I know well the wolf song. Hearing them nearby while snowshoeing in the dark several miles from anything but trees, streams and frozen lakes is an experience that will sort out very quickly in your own mind the issues of “hunter and hunted”. (even if the wolves have no intention of tracking down a stinky human). Thanks for gold star – many, many moons have passed since my last one.
I agree. When wolves howl your mind instantly calculates your distance from the nearest vehicle or cabin with solid doors. The rest of the brain takes over shortly but indeed the predator/prey thought pattern runs deep. I’ve only rarely heard wolves in the wild and I loved it.