BackWoods Drifter

As was mentioned in a comment recently, it is the 3rd day of the ginseng season in West Virginia.

We are quickly approaching one of my favorite times of the year, early fall. The nights start getting a little chilly, the leaves start changing, and most animals are on the move. I have only spent one of the first three days of ginseng season in the mountains actually ’senging. I have found, since I now consider myself an amateur photographer, that if I go to the mountains ginsenging I had better leave the camera on the ATV. It would seem as if I can’t take photos and ginseng at the same time.

To be effective at finding the ginseng plant ones concentration needs to be focused on the ground. If I have my camera close at hand then I can’t help but be focused on everything. I have found myself looking in the trees, across ridge-lines, and out over scenic vistas… focused everywhere except on the ground. I guess you could say my first day of ginsenging this year was a learning experience and less than productive.

However, since I did have my camera and was fighting a losing battle on the ground concentration thing, I happened to get lucky and spy a doe that had no doubt been watching me for a little while.

Although I do like seeing the deer around my house, seeing them in their environment is always better. This doe shadowed me for a while as I made my way around the ridge. I was able to take quite a few photos of her most of which were garbage. I was using the high power lens with no tripod, blurring was inevitable. I knew this as I was taking the photos so I took plenty hoping I’d get lucky with one or two of them. It is obvious I still have a lot to learn.

I’m going to be spending this Labor Day weekend on what will probably be either the last or nearly the last camping trip of the year. Depending on where my concentration lies I’ll either tell you about it… or show you some photos.