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Outdoors

Annual seedling sale underway

As January winds to a close, it becomes reasonable to consider we are over the hump of another winter. I say that guardedly and knowing full well that February is entirely capable of serving up a stint of the harshest winter weather we can get in Pennsylvania. But February is also the shortest month, and as the days grow steadily longer over its duration, a small measure of cautious optimism for winter’s demise is in order. It’s not the end of winter that most of us yearn for, however, but rather the return of springtime weather and the chance to do more things outdoors. For ...

Opening day still up for debate

There was so much opposition to changing of the opening day of deer season from the Monday after Thanksgiving to the Saturday after that most hunters knew the issue would rear its head again. And so it has! Most decisions about opening days, bag limits etc. are made by wildlife professionals who have the good of the wildlife at heart. This issue, however cannot be determined by the wildlife. After all, if they could talk or vote, they would go for no opening day at all, obviously. So what are the problems for hunters? For starters, some people just don’t like change for any ...

Don’t overlook your reel’s drag

In a column last month discussing some routine offseason maintenance of fishing equipment, I suggested backing off the drag settings on your fishing reels. At the grocery store last week, I ran into a friend who asked me about my reasoning for that recommendation. I explained it was a practice I adopted decades ago when I was first able to afford some top-quality reels. Back then, the drag systems of certain better models included leather or cork washers that compressed slightly as the drag was tightened. To maintain the resiliency of those components, some manufacturers recommended ...

Venison delicious and good for you

“How do I cook venison? My husband got a deer and I don’t know what to do with it.” This is probably the question most often asked of me, especially immediately following deer season. My answer is always this: “exactly as you do beef, only not as long.” The next question is inevitable. “What do you do about the “wild taste?” This one raises my hackles. Venison has no “wild” taste, it simply has its own taste. Venison does not taste like beef any more than chicken tastes like pork chops. Frankly, I have often — and I do mean often — served venison in the form ...

Wildlife adapted for winter weather

A light coating of snow made it a white Christmas throughout most of our region this year. A blast of frigid Arctic air also brought single-digit temperatures and high winds for some brutally cold weather over the holiday weekend. During such harsh winter conditions, spending an evening on the couch, wrapped in a blanket with a good book or just watching TV, can be a simple and satisfying pleasure. But while enjoying those basic creature comforts, my thoughts often include the plight of the wildlife enduring the hazards of our Pennsylvania winters I think about deer bedded on the ...

It’s tough for wildlife in winter

Area hunters are complaining bitterly about the deer season just past. Even after fresh snow fell in some areas, hunters reported seeing few tracks. The conclusion: the same old one, that there are no deer left anymore. While most of us will spend the next few days surrounded by warmth, food, friends and parties, wildlife is engaged in a hard struggle for survival. The snow and ice storm late this week made life much more difficult for wildlife than for us. The “pretty” deer we admired last summer, that were standing in the middle of a far off field grazing on clover are now holed ...