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Real Answers™
jd32
Copyright: © ©2006 Jill Darling
700 words

OU TDOORSMAN IS GOOD STEWARD OF GOD’S CREATION

By: Jill Darling

When the phone rings I answer, "Sorry, he's out in the woods." It's the typical reply I give callers asking for my husband Pete. In the woods--that's where he is when he's not in the house.

When God created the world, he did it for Pete's sake. Our country home in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania is bordered by a sanctuary of pines, hemlocks and maples that beckon him. Pete is a minister and prepares weekly sermons on his hikes through the woods. He even has a "prayer tree," a cluster of four trees grown together with just enough sitting room on a naturally-formed ledge in the middle. That's where he goes on Sunday mornings.

Pete grew up down the road and these woods served as the backdrop of boyhood life on the farm, raising chickens and dairy cows. With a panorama of trees etching the sky and mirrored in the water, he spent hours batting stones across the pond to prepare for baseball games played in the field with the Abell boys when chores were done.

As a youngster Pete used to take his shepherds, Shy-Boy and Chester, in the woods along with his shot gun and fishing pole to bring home rabbits or fish for supper to help feed his family of ten. Starting at age thirteen, Pete brought home a deer each year to put in the freezer.

Boy Scouts was the rage in the 1950s. His surroundings were a haven for activities like tying knots, building fires, crafting lean-tos and setting up tents for camp-outs. Pete taught our boys these same skills on father-son camp-outs. I'd walk to their site to visit and roast marshmallows and find ready-made log benches around the campfire or a wooden raft in progress.

We heat our home with a woodstove. Pete's favorite exercise is cutting and splitting logs for our winter supply. He also hauls wagon load after wagon load for his parents and uncle and stacks extra loads for selling.

He made a fire pit in a grove of trees in our yard with flagstone from the stone quarry on his family's property and then cut log benches and wooden tables from tree trunks with his chain saw.

His latest project was single-handedly clearing four miles of walking paths in the woods. He removed sticks, cut down small saplings in the way and used a weed-whacker to clear brush. Then he hauled heavy stones from creek beds to place them as stepping stones across creeks and muddy areas.

Pete dubbed his trails "Pete's Paths" and marked trees by nailing white can lids painted with "P/P" to mark the trails. We ate Bush's Beans by the case-load to get those lids.

Since cows graze in the pasture next to the woods, Pete made two "cow gates." These are log-constructed openings in the fence wide enough for people to pass through, but narrow enough to keep the cows in.

"We all thought this was really ingenious," said his sister Susie, "as opposed to a gate.that had to be constantly opened and shut, with the.threat of someone forgetting to close it properly."

He also built a rugged 20-foot log bridge with railings across the creek. The bridge leads to the "swamp," a dense area of hemlocks with eerie wetlands.

"The swamp.is actually my favorite part," said Susie. "Being grown up now I am no longer afraid of it and it is really quite cool looking...primitive."

Pete's love for the woods and his hard work in constructing the walking paths are gifts to his family and friends.

"I love the path and appreciate all the work and vision that went into making it," said his sister Norma. "When I'm on it I feel so blessed to be able to get exercise while experiencing so many of my favorite childhood places."

God said in Genesis, "Take charge! Be responsible for every living thing that moves on the face of the Earth. I've given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth and every kind of fruit-bearing tree.”

From the hill-crested view among the pines overlooking the pond to the cushy moss-laden swamp, Pete has been a good steward of God's creation.

"Real Answers™" furnished courtesy of The Amy Foundation Internet Syndicate. To contact the author or The Amy Foundation, write or E-mail to: P. O. Box 16091, Lansing, MI 48901-6091; amyfoundtn@aol.com

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