Bright Idea Outdoors Weblog

Final Post of 2011: In My Mother's Words

I'm not going to bother with a Year in Review post this week.  You all know my mom died, and that pretty much sums it up.

I had thought about writing a review of the 2011 Deer Season--which was a lot better for my family than the year as a whole--but the season doesn't end until January 7.  So I'll be optimistic and wait on that.

I will, however, leave you with something I found in my basement yesterday.  It's a poem my mom wrote.  I'd seen it before and actually wanted to read it at her memorial service back in October, but I couldn't locate it at the time.  So that this untitled work doesn't get lost again, I'll preserve it here:

Travelling west toward the Blue Ridge,

In traffic, slowing,

The fading light in a narrow strip of pink and orange,

Behind the bare tree branches,

Sharp and lacy against the delicate cold sky.

 

NPR on the radio, All Things Considered,

A voice begins to read Goodnight Moon.

Not from Goodnight Moon,

You understand, but the whole book,

To commuters in their cars.

 

I was one of them, enthralled,

Lulled by the quiet well-known words,

Once read to us, or by us,

To our children.

Goodnight to the mouse, goodnight to the house,

Goodnight to the stars, to the balloon,

Goodnight to the moon.

Goodnight to the world.

Quietly we moved westward toward home.

 

Listeners were angry.  They sent curt letters.

Wasting our time!  What were you thinking?

We expect substance, not a baby story.

That doesn’t even make sense.

 

But how quietly we moved westward,

Toward Home.

Judy Coughlin; April 8 1947-September 26, 2011

A Week Off?

It seems like the deer around here are taking the holiday week off.  I hunted Christmas Eve and didn't see anything, and this morning the only deer I saw were the bedded does I jumped up on the way out.

It's going to rain the rest of the day today and be windy the rest of the week.  Guess I better head for the post office and get  a duck stamp!

A Christmas Letter

Dear Friends and Family:

We got a very nice Christmas card from one of our best high school teachers yesterday.  It included a Christmas letter, and she mentioned how much she enjoyed the one that I wrote last year.  That made me a little sad.

We didn't send out letters with our Christmas cards this year.  Letter writing is my department, and I didn't have it in me.  Last year I sucked it up and wrote the letter as a difficult year came to a close.  But this year, with the death of my mother still at the forefront of my thoughts, I just couldn't do it.

And in truth that wasn't the only reason I was having trouble getting into the holiday spirit.   Some demons that have been chasing me for a long time had caught up with me again, right about the time I should have been writing that letter.

Luckily, I've once again given them the slip.  Maybe this time, if I focus on  what I know to be true, I can leave them permanently in the dust cloud of the last three years.  

This is what I know:

The reason we're celebrating is that Jesus Christ came to Earth a couple thousand years ago.  He came here to save us--that means you and me--from the sins and sorrow that can keep us from doing the things we know we should.

I know  that my family is due for a run of good luck after the rough few years we've had, but I know too that being due something doesn't mean you're going to get it.  If there's one thing I've learned since 2009, it's that nobody is entitled to anything.

I know, however, that whatever happens my family will prevail.  Jake, Nick, Brett, Kim and I will take what God gives us and say goodbye to whatever He takes away.  Come what may, we can't lose as long as we're together.

Finally, I know that I'm looking forward to Christmas and that right now I'm eagerly awaiting the end of one of the longest nights of the year.  Because I know that one of the greatest gifts God has given us is the Promise of a New Day.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Sincerely,

Matt

HuntingLife.com Joins Blake Landscapes in Effort to Help Feed the Hungry

Thank you so much to all who have joined Blake Landscapes in our efforts to help the Loudoun Interfaith food pantry by "Liking" our FaceBook Page. For each Like we get, we're adding three dollars to a donation we will make tomorrow, Tuesday December 20.

Kevin from HuntingLife.com got in on the project over the weekend when he posted this on his blog.  Thanks Kevin!

Help Blake Landscapes Help the Needy This Holiday Season

In this prosperous area that we call home, it is easy sometimes to overlook the poverty that grips many individuals and families in our region. The truth is though that, not only will many families not have presents under the tree this Christmas, many of them won't even have enough to eat!

 

Interfaith Relief is a Leesburg food pantry that lends area residents in need a helping hand by providing nutritious food. The organization needs our help all year long, but this time of year can be particularly difficult for people struggling to make ends meet.

  

Please join Blake Landscapes in our efforts to help during this season of giving. Interfaith relief needs donations of food and money, but all we're asking you to do is click a link on our FaceBook page. For each FaceBook user who "Likes" our page, we'll add three dollars to a donation we will make on December 20.

Just go to the page, click "Like" in the upper right hand corner, and we'll do the rest. Happy Holidays and thank you for your support!

Blake Landscapes Lands Airport Contract

I'm proud to announce that I've re-joined the staff of Leesburg-based Blake Landscapes. I worked for the company from 2001-2005 and this new opportunity arose when Blake Landscapes won a big new contract. Here's our related press release:

December 9, 2011

Leesburg-based Blake Landscapes announced this week that, based upon a competitive solicitation, it has been awarded the contract for landscape maintenance and associated services at Washington Dulles International Airport.  The contract, awarded to Blake Landscapes by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), took effect December 1 and also includes a separate landscape maintenance contract for the Dulles Toll Road.

"We're excited about this partnership with MWAA and to have the opportunity to showcase our services at one of our region's most important facilities--and on one of its most important highways," Said Blake Landscapes President Jay Frye.

As part of the contract requirement, Blake also enrolled in the Federal Government's E-Verify program, which verifies new employees' legal eligibility to work in the United States.  E-Verify is administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  Participation in the program is voluntary for most businesses.

"E-Verify is a great addition to our ongoing efforts to assemble and maintain the best team in our industry," Frye said.

Blake Landscapes, which is locally owned and operated and has been in business since 1951, will operate a facility and satellite office on the airport property.  The company's operations center is located on 10 acres on Samuels Mill Court in Leesburg.  Blake Landscapes employs more than 80 people and serves local government clients, including the counties of Loudoun and Clarke, as well as some of the region's premier residential communities.

Living Nativity at Church of the Nazarene

Over the weekend we had the pleasure of driving through the Living Nativity at Church of the Nazarene in Leesburg.

I wish I could tell you when you could go see this before Christmas, but you'll have to wait until next year.  It was only Saturday and Sunday.

A Little Hunting and a Lot of Running Around

It's been a couple weeks since any of us tagged a deer, but the boys and I have definitely covered a lot of ground in pursuit of those rascals.

Nick, Jake and I made a one-day trip--2.5 hours each way--to King William County on Saturday to hunt with my Uncle Jim and his club.  None of us shot anything, but one of the club members knocked down a big buck while we were there, and Nick really dug the deer dogs.

Meanwhile, Brett has been, to a large extent, left out of the hunt this year.  He and I drew horse feeding duty at Camp Cowboy this evening, so I decided to take him out for the last 45 or so minutes of daylight.

We didn't see anything, but I'm pretty sure Brett is hooked!