The joys of green leaves and such

Nature is everywhere and it is often not all that hospitable toward us.  Bugs, heat, bacteria, pitfalls - they can put a damper on a picnic or a lovely walk in the woods.  Someplace Eric Hoffer says that some literature praising the joys of nature was written by Europeans that had not experienced the American wilderness and its rigors. 

Once, I tried going on a wilderness skills experience. It was only one night in the woods, in October.  I had brought a backpack and a good sleeping bag but little else.  I made a lean-to for myself as our guide showed how to do.  I slept fairly well that night but it wasn't all easy.  He showed us how to make a fire using a firebow but only he could do that.  Several of us tried and a couple people tried repeatedly but none of us succeeded.  He did the cooking and it is a good thing since I would have done it poorly or worse. 

When dawn came, we needed firewood.  I walked among pines snapping off low dead branches.  One of them was thicker and I leaned into snapping it.  When it did break off, I fell onto another broken-off branch and got speared in the upper lip.  I had breakfast and lunch with a little blood seasoning but it eventually stopped.  I had the slashed lip but I had no other problems.  As a Boy Scout, I camped many times but I never hankered to be out in the wilderness.

Mosquitoes buzzing around my head and stealing small bits of my blood, getting stung by yellowjackets, having our very limited dinner fall into the fire embers and ashes -- such experiences confirmed my pleasure being at a well-set table with good food, good drinks, good music and good company.  I am quite content to look at the beautiful wilderness on tv and the National Geographic website.