Seasonal Trophies

I had to drive a couple of towns down the road today. As I was driving, I realized it's the trophy transition season. I still saw a few deer carcasses loaded on the back of a truck, but there were a lot more of a different kind of carcass. It's tree-hunting time again.

I can understand the deer hunters. A few days ago Calvin the genius-dog caught a rabbit in the back yard. As he stood there with a large rabbit hanging out of his mouth, pride in his stance and tail wagging happily, he reminded me of people talking about their deer hunt. I can see there's a skill, and patience, and a number of benefits to the accomplishment.

On the other hand, I don't get the whole tree-hunting thing. It's not that hard to find and sneak up on an evergreen, and they hardly ever fight back once you start on the kill. And it's not a terribly humane way to kill either, hacking it apart with an axe. But killing a tree and displaying the trophy in your home is supposed in some way to commemorate a birthday. I don't get how a dead tree relates to a birthday, and I can't see the connection between the killing and the promise of salvation and eternal life. Maybe it's just another facet of death in the name of religion.