Natural Woman

July 20, 2017 Holly Hertel 2 Comments

I have always had the pull to be in nature. But the opportunity, knowledge, or courage was lacking. It was difficult for me to get out in the wild since I lived most of my life in corn country. I didn’t feel the sense of safety to explore that people with functional families usually have. However, without thinking very deeply about it, I managed to “accidentally” get myself closer and closer to the wilderness by moving north and eventually had the opportunity to study wolves in northeastern Minnesota.

During the early days of my study, I decided to confront my fear of the dark. While walking into the forest dump where I watched for wolves and bears at night, it seemed that every dark bush held a potential monster and no amount of rational thinking would prevent my gut reaction of terror. But as I persevered and learned to breath and take a closer look at the shadows, I made friends with the night and consequently reaped the benefits of watching eerie wonderful aurora borealis or spectacular starfields.

Being out in nature almost 24/7 during three summers and falls, I experienced a lot of the different joys and discomforts that Minnesota wilderness could bring — a closeup look at a black bear on a slope covered by blueberries or the dreaded black flies with bites like tiny rusty saw blades. I learned to marvel at nature in its entirety and in its intricacy, and observe so much that is amazing. To this day, I sit down in my folding chair out in nature and simply “zone out.” I feel that I rise to a different level with a very gentle kind of ecstasy.