From The Editor May 2010

The signs of spring are abundant from the trail, the smells of the damp forest with the occasional whiff of perfume from emergent wildflowers soak pockets of warm air and invigorate. A conscious effort not to think about the everyday world is usually the first agenda item on the trail, but this time the surroundings come crashing in, obliterating the need for conscious effort. This is a hike that really needs to happen, a need for a breather and a time to clear the mind and reflect on what is important.

A storm settling in the distance looks ominous and threatening at the trailhead, but the three mile loop trail is far too enticing to be dampened by threats of rain. This is the kind of weather that insures solitude on the trail during an unsettled month of the year. Today there is a noticeable lack of reflection on the water of the large lake that the trail encompasses; it is turbulent and choppy, unable to reflect like glass the beautiful mountains surrounding it. The water is deep and the lake has many burdens, sustaining life for all it is responsible for and giving life to what receives its outpouring. It has a depth that no one knows better than the lake itself and all that are closest to it. The storms will rush in and make things difficult on the surface, but provides the strength and bounty the lake needs to survive and continue doing its part; after all, this is how the lake came to be.

As the storm passes, as they always do, the surface will immediately go still and quiet once again, and the first thing the lake will do is reflect. Everything within it will benefit from the experience but will subside while the lake takes a deep breath and reflects. Perhaps the lake is wise in knowing that turbulence, storms, depth and responsibility for sustaining life are all part of the cycle, but when the storms pass the first order of business is to calm and reflect on what is around it and positively impact all life that is in contact with it.

Today I will take a lesson from the lake, even though the storm is an impending event, my own storms and turbulence need to subside within and allow an opportunity to reflect. Perhaps today I will get to share this experience with the watery giant.

Welcome to the May issue of the Water and Woods Online Magazine. We were blessed this issue with a couple of contribution pieces from readers, and we greatly appreciate it. One contributor tells the story of a successful canoe trip in Florida that involves the best of both worlds all at once, hunting and fishing. If optics are on your list of must-haves, check out some of the suggestions from our second contributor, a scope guru, who talks about some of the offerings from Burris and Simmons.

As always our Staff Authors have come up with some interesting and entertaining material; we have the first in a three part adventure with the Puma 92, a bridge fishing piece for Silver Kings, the chronicles of making a bow from scratch and the skinny on survivalsignal mirrors.

It truly is a pleasure to bring you this publication and again we want to thank the staff and the contributors for their effort and expertise. We hope you enjoy it and wish you a safe start to your outdoor summer.