As others have said that was an excellent first post and straight from the heart. I have almost done the opposite thing because I grew up and played in the countryside as a young lad and then got shooting rights as a 15 year old and spent most of the next eight years shooting the land and savouring every moment in the countryside during the process. Just sitting in a hide watching animals appear from nowhere has always amazed me but that is the best way to observe them.
Then I chased a career (and a few women) and stopped shooting before settling down in a different area completely. As the years rolled by I lost interest in the countryside and before I knew it some 35 years had passed. I had also given up my shotgun licence during this time as I never used it. Then I discovered Google Earth and thought it would be cool to look at my old haunt from the air; until I spotted a very large pond that had not been there in my day. I had to investigate. And so on one beautiful June day I donned some walking gear and drove out to the land I once shot to go and take a look at this pond. In doing so all of the old smells and sounds and sights flooded me and I was hooked once again only this time there was no shooting. That was three years ago and now I spend most weekends out and about in the countryside and in recent months I have also taken up photography; shooting of a different kind and I thoroughly enjoy it.