When Trees Talk

Brad Gill recently made this unusual discovery in an area he has hunted for 10 years.

I had a sad day recently.

A piece of property that I’ve hunted for 10 years sold, and along with it went some fantastic deer hunting. A powerline runs through it that is a highway for whitetails. Over the years, I’ve killed several nice bucks and plenty of hamburger on that right-of-way. I believe that easy access to freezer meat is what I’ll miss most.

Three weeks ago I had to retrieve my behemoth of a double ladder stand. I needed help getting that thing off the tree and into the back of my truck, but I was about an hour ahead of my company. I did what I could safely do and then sat down on the edge of the powerline. I looked up through the woods to a spot maybe 50 yards away where a young buck stood back in November. Since I was just killing time, I decided to walk up there and have a look.

There was an old ravine that started about 30 yards from my stand and continued south. I was surprised how steep the ravine actually was. It looked so much shallower from my stand. Continuing on, the ravine got even steeper, and there was a deer trail where I’d watched deer cross many times over the years. When I got to the head of the ravine, I climbed out. On the bank stood an old hardwood tree that I’d never seen. It had an opening through its base so large that I could walk through it. I stood back and marveled for a couple of minutes at something I thought was pretty rare for the middle Georgia deer woods. Beyond the tree I could just make out the steps on my ladder stand.

I was almost mad at myself. In 10 years of hunting this spot, I’d never taken the time to walk up and make this discovery.

The older I get, or I’d like to think the more mature I become, the more I find the Lord speaking to me through things on the outside. As the years tick by, is there something within sight that I’m not making the time to see? Probably so.

While I only got a few minutes with an old tree that I’ll never see again, it spoke a pretty good message to me. I only wished I’d heard it speak 10 years ago.