Thursday, November 15, 2007

Welcome to my blog


It's been a busy fall in the outdoors for me and my family and friends and I'm looking forward to sharing these experiences with you via my monthly outdoors column and here in my new blog. I'm excited to use this way of connecting with people, including Catholics, who love the outdoors, whether it be fishing, hunting, hiking, biking, boating or taking pictures.

And, I want to hear from YOU! Please feel free to respond with your experiences, what you enjoy, where you've gone and how it went, whether it be catching a big fish, watching a spectacular sunrise or just experiencing God's peace and the majesty of His creation. Did you hear Him speak while in the outdoors? Did you feel His presence? Did He work powerfully in your experience? Did He do something dramatic? Answer a prayer?

Let me know. I also hope this can be a forum in which people who enjoy the outdoors can express their opinions and exchange information that can help others. I look forward to hearing from you!

In the meantime, I'll pass along a brief story about my Minnesota deer hunt this fall near Red Wing. It was a lesson in perseverance. I was trying to help my No. 2 son Andy get his first deer. On opening day, we saw one deer and Andy couldn't get a clear shot. On the second day, we split up and neither of us saw one. In the meantime, my friend Bernie Schwab and his son, Dan, went to a different farm opening day and Dan got his first deer, a 10-point buck. They were going to go back the next day, but they hit a deer with their vehicle on the way down and didn't make it.

I hunted this same farm a few days later and shot the buck in the above photo just minutes into legal shooting hours. I was very grateful for the success because it allowed me to visit my dying aunt one last time. As it turned out, it was the last good day for her and she died just a few days later. I am grateful that God helped things unfold as they did. I look forward to lots of meals of venison this winter.

Now, it's your turn. Please tell me about your outdoor adventures this fall!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you know about this book, written by a St. Louis priest, published by OSV?

Nice blog!

Dave Hrbacek said...

Yes, I have read the book and did a review on it in the Dec. 21, 2006 issue of The Catholic Spirit (you can search the archives at www.thecatholicspirit.com). Also, I went turkey hunting with the author, Fr. Joe Classen and wrote about our hunt in the May 10, 2007 issue. He is a great priest and outdoorsman whom I now consider a friend. Hopefully, he and I will get a chance to enjoy the outdoors together again. I highly recommend his book. It would make a great Christmas gift.