Schuckman: Rolling down county roads proves yet again to be good source of inspiration

QUINCY — Throughout the majority of my sports writing career, when my creativity requires recharging or it’s time to unwind my mind, I jump in my truck and spend some time exploring the countryside on county roads.

Thursday, a walk through the woods was needed, so to speak.

And as the sun headed for the horizon, the roads criss-crossing Adams County became my playground.

Armed with a Yeti filled with ice water — in a shocking upset, I hadn’t filled it with Mountain Dew — and hard rock on the radio, I went off course and off the grid for the better part of two hours. By now, I’ve done this often enough there aren’t many gravel roads I haven’t found or don’t remember taking. There are even some dirt roads I’ve been known to tackle.

This time, I stayed on paved roads for a while until the spirit of adventure took hold.

Then, the dust trail I left behind was the only way to tell where I’d been or where I was going.

It happened to be the perfect night to roll the windows down and breathe in good, country air. The smell of the trees and some freshly mowed fields proved intoxicating. The aroma of livestock not so much, but you always take the good with the bad.

There are moments you pull to the side of the road, turn off the radio and the engine, and just listen. Close your eyes and let your ears hear the story.

Songbirds chirped. Canada geese flying overhead honked to their own delight. There might have been a turkey yelping, but it was distant enough I couldn’t be sure.

What came through loud and clear was the squirrel hanging upside down in a nearby tree barking at what proved to be another squirrel. Moments later, the second squirrel appeared and two chased each around the trunk of an old oak tree and back up to where a nest had been built.

The only thing missing in that moment was a whitetail deer strolling across the field.

Luckily, that came later.

As daylight turned to dusk, the nocturnal animals began stirring, which meant deer were on the move in search of food and water. Some made themselves visible, working their way to the middle of a field before darting back to the tree line. Others refused to leave the cover of the woods.

But they were active and curious and skittish all at the same time.

Lock eyes with one and you wonder what is going through a brain that is about the size of an adult man’s fist.

Eventually, the sounds and sights of the countryside fade along with the setting sun. You hope the lack of creativity and the writer’s block you’ve been experiencing fade with it.

You sit at your desk, stare at your laptop screen and close your eyes for a moment.

You hear the squirrel barking and the robins singing and see the rabbit race to get into a thicket while a hawk circles overhead, and you realize inspiration is never far away.

It’s right down the road.