Between running some pre-season arrows through my bow, setting my sights on a lofted orange disc, and tossing a few flies and jigs for crappies, the past week has reminded me that the outdoors allows us to train our focus — or lack thereof — on so many different things, especially this time of year and as summer drifts into autumn. My outdoor life is pulled in so many different directions and these unique viewpoints come together to create a fuller picture of what’s going on.

With both hunting and fishing, I’m free to focus on what strikes my fancy in the given season, be it hunting, fishing, or preparations for either, or simply just staring off into the sunset while on a hike. One week, it could be tying some complicated dry fly I grabbed off a website which brings with it the likely end that it’ll never see some pristine stream surrounded by granite cliffs I lay out in my mind, but it still conjures up the thoughts of a journey to the west for trout. In all likelihood, I’ll toss it to the bluegills or some surface-eyeing bass some summer day on the nearby pond and watch the elk hair wing get shredded by fish after fish in the warming water. When the weather cools in a few weeks and I’m up for another workout, trekking through the grassy hills will draw my attention when sharptailed grouse season opens. I could do that all morning until my lab has had enough and is loudly slurping down a half gallon of water from his dish back at the truck, signaling the end of our trip. But, as I so often find, I get ahead of myself thinking of what’s to come while trying to stay in the current moment, even at times with a fish on the line.

In the meantime, I’m occupied with crappies, making sure my firearms for fall are set and shooting straight, crafting a few more foam flies in hopes the weather warms for the last of the shallow bluegills of summer over Labor Day weekend and maybe making up a few bigger bucktails if the water cools and pike become more active. I guess I like to take my focus in one-hour sessions, and that’s what works for me. Hopefully you have found the options that work for you too this time of year and throughout the calendar. And if not, there’s no better time than now to get focused on something new, or lose focus and just try a bunch of activities, pursuits of different species, hunting options, and outdoor experiences.

I’ve always said that variety has made me a better hunter, angler, conservationist and ultimately, person, and the experiences often come together to make a total that’s greater than its parts. Knowing how our birds and fish benefit from cleaner waters, diverse and preserved landscapes, and how those better places make for better time on the water or in the field helps bring the bigger picture into focus through the little moments of clarity we find in an hour of casting or an evening of sitting on stand. Don’t be afraid to lose focus to see the little things and try different options, the snapshots you get willl all come back together and do so with greater clarity as a result of every second spent shifting and finding your focus … in our outdoors.