The Queen of the Forest
“Do you remember her name? She’s been here for a long, long time. She has the magic power, to make it rain or sunshine.
She got the power to turn off the lights. She got the power over day and the night!
You best hide when she’s angry, because she can level your town. When she throws a temper tantrum it’s like the sky is falling down.
She got the power to turn off the lights. She got the power over day and the night.
She’s the queen of the forest. Queen of the forest! Queen of the forest.
She takes care of all of her creatures. She supplies all of their needs. She provides a much better life, to be happy and free.
She’s the queen of the forest!”
Now there’s a killer all American rock-n-roll song, my fellow boogie chillin’!
That little roustabout ditty was first recorded on my Cat Scratch Fever album way back in 1977 and we still perform the uppity rocker to the delight of real music lovers everywhere to this day.
In fact, on our award-winning Spirit of the Wild TV show on Outdoor Channel for more than 30 years, this high energy, fun song celebrating Ma Nature is the powerhouse theme song for everybody’s favorite prime segment of the same name featuring my dangerous wife Shemane in all her effervescent queen of the forest outdoor glory.
In my lifetime of gungho outdoor hunting, fishing, trapping, shooting, conservation adventure, there nothing is more thrilling to me than witnessing the incredible explosion of increased recruitment of women into our sport.
I’ve always figured the more women in anything makes for an improved quality of life every time.
When I first began hunting way back in the early 1950s, you could say that it was clearly a male dominated activity, if not downright exclusively male controlled.
There are always exceptions and I happen to know for a fact that Lois Nicholls and her female companions just so happened to have joined their husbands on the very first opening day of the very first Michigan archery deer season on November 1, 1947 at the Allegan State Park, but it was indeed extremely rare to find a female in the deerwoods back then.
And glory, glory hallelujah, how the times have changed! And changed for the better, that’s for sure.
I am convinced that Shemane’s and my experience reflects the average system by which millions of women have made the decision to join us in the Spirit of the Wild outback and become some of the best, most dedicated and happiest hunters out here.
Slowly but surely us men-folk came to the realization that our soul mates, with but a modicum of enticement, would quickly fall in love with our nature as healer hunting lifestyle if we would gently push and just share with them the deep and meaningful fulfillment that we derive from each and every hunt.
The defining power of the motherhood instinct to protect, provide, nourish and care for the child and family unit is, in my estimation, best served and ultimately fulfilled by the hunting urge and accomplishment.
In my experience, the simple mechanical aim small miss small marksmanship discipline of gun handling and archery is instantly mastered by gals. In every instance, a new female shooter gets the hang of it and excels much quicker than guys do.
Women, those intelligent, gentle souls, so it seems, are more pragmatic and pleasantly void of the macho psychological baggage of us wanna-be he-mans, and they pick up on the earthly physics of spirituality that is so beneficial to becoming one with the mystical flight of the arrow or projectile of choice!
Having the privilege and joy of filming Shemane on many bow hunts for various big game around the world for Spirit of the Wild TV, it is immediately apparent every time just how calm and relaxed she remains even in the presence of a desirable beast that would induce a tremor of nerve rattling excitement in me.
I’m envious.
I am compelled to restate what I believe to be the glaringly obvious, but necessary nonetheless, few simple truisms to know and adhere to when introducing our favorite gal into the world’s greatest sport and conservation lifestyle.
Firearms and archery introduction must be approached intelligently, and that means gently, patiently and conscientiously for the average woman.
The ultimate firearm baptism would be with a simple .22 caliber single shot rifle, always with ears and eye protection, at close range on a simple, easily visible reactive target.
With archery, a very lightweight-draw bow that fits the person perfectly is absolutely mandatory.
If she struggles at all to bring the bow to full draw, you must make certain a graceful, effortlessly drawn bow is the bow to use. They must be guided to learn true archery form or they will never be the archer that they can and should be, and therefore, will not stick with it.
As we plow through the summer months leading up to our beloved fall/winter hunting season, now is the perfect time to dedicate ourselves to the most important role in the hunting world-recruitment of new sporters, particularly those gals in our lives.
Get them out there, be gentle, be patient, but be diligent in bringing them into our lifestyle. It will cleanse their souls like it cleanses ours, and the relationship with the women in our lives will soar to new heights, I assure you.
We need all the queens of the forests we can get! Sing it!