As far as getting as close to nature as possible, the extent of my experience has been one successful cucumber plant in my backyard last summer. I remember how triumphant I felt as I carried my prized possessions into my kitchen. This planted a seed for me, and I began yearning for more. When I had the opportunity to go on a girls-only fishing trip, I realized I was finally going to go fishing for my own food!
Throughout my childhood, I grew up eating canned green beans and corn, as well as packaged dinners. This was primarily due to how picky of an eater I was, and I didn’t have a garden or grow up around hunters. I was really out of touch with how the food on my plate was manifested. When I went deer hunting with Scott this past fall, my whole entire perspective was drastically shifted. I had always been pretty freaked out about thinking about where meat came from, but seeing the natural process from start to finish really changed that for me. It suddenly seemed so clean, simplistic and how it was meant to be. Which scenario would you prefer-eating food that came from someone else, or having your hand in it the entire process? I would choose the latter.
So back to fishing for my own food! My fun girlfriends Shala, Heather, Jennifer and I all had the amazing opportunity to go fishing with Blaien Friermood as our guide. If you are not familiar with Blaien, check him out at http://www.BlaienFriermood.com. He is absolutely fantastic! We were lucky enough to stay at a house on the bay and woke up at the crack of dawn to be ready to go. I have never been fishing before, so my Texan gals were excited to break me in. When I saw my bobber go down the first time and had to start reeling it in, I could NOT believe how difficult it was! The adrenaline rush kicked in and I was ready for the next one!
With Blaien’s help, we caught many fish, and were able to keep 5 red fish, 6 trout and 1 flounder! I had so much fun, and I am pretty sure everyone else did too! For the first time in my life, I felt as if I were living in the times when people hunted and gathered their food. It seems so surreal now and archaic, but if you really think about it, isn’t that how we are supposed to live? Fishing for food turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I cannot wait for the next opportunity, and plan on looking for other ways to make my nutrition just as natural.
~by Kim Coventry