Blog 3353 – 01.07.2025

Another Walk In The Woods

I have come to look forward to one day a week in the Piney Woods of East Texas. As I prepare to make the two and a half our drive, the temperature here in Houston is 36 degrees F, feels like 29 and in Bon Wier, my destination, it is 30 degrees F, feels like 30. The projected high in both places is 50 degrees F and 47 respectively.

This will be the first time that I have visited the Bon Wier property, Jay’s Hundred Acre Wood, when the temperature was below freezing. There was a bit of frost on the ground early during one of my recent solo visits, but I expect a bit of ice this time. The lessons that I learned inspecting for natural gas installations crews in Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Wyoming, and Colorado in the winter months should have me dressing appropriately for winter weather as I set about accomplishing my main objective today. That objective is to replace four game cameras on the property that my son Jay recently purchased.

Jay, his long time buddy John, and I made the drive to the property last Thursday to put out some corn near the existing cameras so as to enhance the animal traffic near the cameras. It worked but sadly the cameras all did not and even the one by “our sweet pond” though it did capture some ducks and a deer, my son decided also to replace hoping to achieve better picture quality.

Jay inherited from his dad and mine and probably a long line going back to Adam this love of the land and of being in the woods. His job as a CPA for a large accounting firm in Houston, his growing family, a new home on one and a third acres, and all the responsibilities that those people and things entail, keep him busy throughout most of the year, especially up to and around the tax filing deadlines. He has told me the last couple of times that we visited the property together that his visits might be fewer and further in-between in the coming months so when he asked me if I would be willing to swap-out the game cameras on my next adventure to the woods I told him that I would be happy to.

I look forward to every opportunity to prove to my son how very much that I share his hundred acre wood dream and that I intend to do everything that I can to help him realize the fullness of that particular dream. Jay loves being able to watch our property through these game cameras and shares any pictures of interest that they capture with me. I thrill at receiving each one, like last Friday when he texted me a picture with the three words that spoke volumes, “We’ve got ducks.”

I am so glad and grateful that I get to share this dream and these woods with my son and you, dear readers.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David White

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Teach Your Children | Lyrics

Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – 1970 (with lyrics)