Relative Something

It’s a curiosity that lingers. I walk past it every day, often times not even noticing it. This morning, as I made my approach, it glowed brightly in the direct rays of the low morning sunshine. It is a blaze orange stocking cap. (That seems like a strange name for a knit cap, but “stocking” cap is the common lexicon in my head.)

It hangs on a branch in our neighbor’s woods just a few yards beyond the boundary of our property. The lower band appears to be a bit dirty, leading me to believe it had probably been on the ground for some time. One day it just appeared on the branch.

Why?

My first thought was that whoever found it probably hung it up conspicuously in case the person who lost it came looking. But who? I have never seen anyone in these woods. Not even during hunting season, though I don’t tend to walk back here so much during the hunt. It is private property, so only family or someone who was given access by the family would likely be hiking through these woods.

If someone found the hat, why wouldn’t they have just taken it back to the house so it could be returned to the person who lost it? This is not at a spot where someone (other than people hiking on our side of the fence) might just happen by and notice it. This is a long distance away and isolated from our neighbor’s house by a big hill.

Was it put there as a signal? A warning? I’ve contemplated multiple scenarios. None of my imaginings have made any difference. The hat continues to just hang there, blazing away.

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