Pages 139 - 159 Summary and Analysis

In "Mending Harness," Hill explains the pains he goes through to mend, test, and simply spend time with all of his hunting equipment in March, prior to spring and the hunting seasons. He cleans and oils everything, does a few practice casts with his reel, sorts his shotgun shells, and organizes his fishing flies, among many other things. Hill calls these "nothing days," and (as the reader can probably guess by this point) he thinks these are essential and very valuable days in which true living is accomplished.

In "It's All Relative," Hill brings the reader back to the days when there was an American West to explore, a time when hunters had to hunt to survive, and by going someplace new, a frontiersman put his life in his own hands. He envies the adventure and thrill that must...