When I turned ten, my parents bought a cabin tent with screen door flap and we began camping in style at various places within the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge near Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In those days there weren't a lot of controls in place preventing close proximity of larger wildlife and humans recreating there. That's when I became enthralled by all things outdoors and natural. One morning after sleeping comfortably and deeply in the tent with my family, the sound of a lantern being...

When I turned nine, my paternal grandmother took me fishing with her at Baker Lake. I wasn't keen on fishing so before evening faded to nighttime I asked if it was okay for me to go walking around the lake. She agreed and off I went to explore a favorite place during a favorite time of day. Scaling the slope up to the top of the dam, I walked its length at a leisurely pace then turned and walked back a bit more quickly as darkness began wrapping around everything. Near the end of the dam a...

Feral hogs had the dog all worked up in the wee hours of the morning. Chased them away twice. They balked the second time after moving away from me into ground tangle. At first I cursed at them. Then I wondered at my arrogance. They're here by no fault of their own, just like me. Just like everyone forced into a place and time. So I whispered conversationally to let them know I don't hate them for being who and where they are. A low grunt from the thicket near the stream bank signaled...