This year marks the 16th anniversary of my first published work. It's a pursuit a few of my high school friends find somewhat surprising, especially the buddies who shared time with me in English classes.

We didn't find grammar, vocabulary lists and book reports to be very interesting. Our interests, at that time, varied from participating in sports, driving our cars and hanging out at Dairyland near Jordan Park, Saturday dances at Dorney Park's Castle Garden (Castle Rock) and, occasionally, time with our female classmates.

I've always enjoyed photography. I carry my digital SLR camera with me in my car and when I'm out and about hiking, biking and fishing. Many of my favorite published nature photos were of scenes initially observed from my car.

Writing, however, was an unlikely second career alternative.

I often talked with my fifth and sixth grade students about my likes and dislikes and how they would face countless occasions during their lives when they would be asked to do things they might not want to do or times when they would not be able to do whatever they wanted.

It's not unlike the Rolling Stones song title and lyrics, "You can't always get what you want." I hoped my honesty would empower them to handle life's little bumps in the road in a more confident way.

Despite my confessions about Language Arts not being at the top of or even in the middle of my list of curriculum favorites, I still had to teach it and give it my best effort. The students' responsibility in return was to pay attention in class and hopefully learn from the lessons. I emphasized how we can't predict what part of our education we will need in the future. Now, I use this example when I present school assembly programs and curriculum workshops.

People often ask me how, when and where I started writing professionally. Writing was never in my plans. It just happened by chance.

I was archery hunting near our family cabin at Pecks Pond, Pike County. It was a beautiful autumn Saturday morning the year before I retired. I was hunting alone. My father and grandfather, my hunting mentors, had died. My longtime hunting buddies had retired and moved away.

While I sat in my treestand watching nature come alive around me, descriptive thoughts, words and phrases filled my head. When I returned to the cabin around 3 p.m. I raked leaves and did other chores.

Dusk and a cold wind combined to halt my list of chores. A hot bowl of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich relieved the October chill. I went to bed early and read for a while, but despite the energy I expended hiking, hunting and raking leaves I couldn't fall asleep. I decided to get up. I went into the kitchen.

Every piece of cabin furniture and each kitchen item triggered fond family memories: the metal buckets for carrying water from the well pump, an old manual toaster with doors, a popcorn popper equipped with a crank in the middle of the lid to prevent burning corn kernels, a mini-electric clothes washer with a wringer, the large white ceramic sink, and the gas range my mother used to cook Thanksgiving dinners and so many other great meals.

My grandfather built the 24 ft. by 24 ft. cabin in 1928. Ah, the many stories it could relate.

A lined tablet, used by my grandparents and parents to jot down shopping lists and notes, was still in the antique desk in the living room. I lowered the hinged desk door and began to write.

I was pleasantly surprised how effortlessly my thoughts turned into words, sentences and paragraphs. Descriptions of my trek into the state forest before daybreak with my three-piece metal ladder stand on my back and the moon's eerie shadow creatures lurking about on the leaf-covered forest floor flowed from my pen.

When I returned home on Sunday I fine-tuned my journal notes. Once I was satisfied with my final version, I submitted it to an area weekly newspaper.

Now, in addition to this column, I regularly contribute to Pennsylvania Magazine, Pennsylvania Game News, Ohio Valley Outdoors, and the Baltimore Recreation News, and gallagherstravels.com.

My first children's novel, "The Mystery Of Little Bear," was published in 2012. A sequel, "The Adventures Of Bear And Buddy," will be out soon. Both books blend fascinating and interesting nature concepts into the storyline. Book order inquiries and questions can be directed to the email listed below.

I feel my writing is an extension of my teaching career, but instead of teaching in a classroom, I'm attempting to pass on interesting, as well as educational information in my newspaper columns, magazine features and children's novels. In retrospect, I haven't changed careers, I've simply changed my method of facilitating education.

That's the way I see it!

To schedule programs, hikes and birthday parties: 610-767-4043; comments: bbbcole@enter.net

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&Copy; 2015 Bud Cole