With reference to my job as a conservation agency public information officer and participating in outdoor activities, I’ve always held myself to this motto: “If you’re gonna talk about it, you darn well better do it or have done it!” It should be noted though, if the truth be told, that I thoroughly enjoy a myriad of outdoor activities here in the Cornhusker State (you regular readers of my blog posts know this!). Time spent outdoors in the field is truly “priceless,” in my view, and it is the absolute best overall learning experience one could have in the conservation world regarding nature and the outdoor activities associated with nature! Time spent outdoors goes far beyond all of your Internet (Google) searches for specific pieces of information about the environment in which you and I live, trust me! Time spent outdoors enables me to identify with and better answer questions from you – the outdoor enthusiast! I guess you could say that I’m pretty ‘old school’ when it comes to gaining knowledge about what happens outside in different ecosystems as my fur trapper and pioneer relatives did! That being stated, I spent some time going ‘old school’ this week in the field late season firearm deer hunting for antlerless deer in western Douglas County, NE along the Platte River.
I was curious to check on the amount of whitetailed-deer sign in the area.
What wildlife would I see and hear on the walk to the deer hunting blind?
Strings of Canada geese and a small bunch of trumpeter swans overhead.
What beautiful scenes of nature would I experience and capture on camera?
A flowing tributary of the Platte River.
A nice grassland stand of edge cover adjacent to woodlands and a flood control dike.
Would I see any antlerless deer from the box blind window and if so, how many? If I harvest one, how healthy would it look?
Fast forward. Success! I harvested a healthy, big white-tailed doe – a definite gift from Mother Nature! Here I am notching my tag and cancelling my permit.
Look for me, I’ll be out there … “Walking the walk” so I can “talk the talk” to assist you in your outdoor pursuits and because I love Nebraska’s great outdoors!