Featured

As a photographer drawn mostly to small subjects like bugs and flowers, it can be hard to find much to photograph after the end of the growing season. Most invertebrates die, migrate or go dormant. Plants wither and turn brown. It’s fun to seek out interesting texture and patterns after a fresh snow or on a frosty morning, but those opportunities are relatively uncommon during most winters. When I start to feel especially stir crazy, one of my go-to remedies …

The Not So Plain Plains Onion Of our state’s six species of native onion, the Plains onion, though small in stature, has the largest, and in my opinion, most elegant flowers. Unlike the other onions, its flowers are scented, a sweet fragrance reminiscent of hyacinths or cloves. Unfortunately, hidden among the prairie grasses, this uncommon little onion is rarely seen, except when exposed by its colorful May blooms. Rose-colored Petals Aptly named, the Plains onion (Allium perdulce) grows throughout the …

“Other than family and close friends, this is what I love and had made me who I am.” – Scott Smathers, Nebraska Sportsmen’s Foundation When Scott Smathers’ social post came in front of me, it resonated. He’d shared a hunting poem that has been circulating on Facebook since at least 2018, but the original author has not been tagged in those shares. However, the author’s words are worth reading and sharing, and that’s why I share them below.  Because this …

Nebraska’s most popular hunt is the 9-day firearm deer season (Nov. 14 through Nov. 22). This is one of the absolute best times of year to be outside and participate in it with the deer breeding period called “rut” happening. My lovely wife of well over 30 years, Polly Wagner, says that everything comes to a grinding halt in the Wagner family with the “rifle deer season.” It’s a terrific event, though. For many of us in the hunting lifestyle, …

Taking the best photos of you and your deer. One would think in this age of cell phone and digital cameras that it would be pretty easy for hunters to get a quality photo of their harvested deer. However, whether it is the excitement of the moment or the rush to get the animal field dressed, many hunters just flat out fail to successfully capture the hunting images of the day. The opportunity is there though for you to properly …

There might be a few high school kids who hunted more than Blaine Dorn and Kobe Clevenger. Or harder. Or more passionately. But there can’t be many. From the start of the archery deer season in September through duck and goose seasons to the end of goose season in February, these two members of the Chase County High School class of 2020 in Imperial hunted every chance they could. They were back in the field for the spring turkey season, …

I remember getting my first “real” duck call. It was a gift from a friend, and I couldn’t wait to give it a try. After several failed attempts to make it sound like a duck, I realized that maybe it wasn’t the right call for me or maybe I just wasn’t very good at blowing it. It was then that I went on a search to find the right call for my skill level and my budget. I forged ahead …

One morning last July, I was riding in a UTV down a trail at Indian Cave State Park with ecologist Krista Lang, when I blurted out “Stop, stop, stop!” What had I seen? What had so excited this botanist? There, deep in the oak woods, growing on a log, was a beautiful crown-tipped coral mushroom. One of our missions that day was to photograph mushrooms, and this was a perfect specimen — fresh, big and immaculately shaped. But there was …

‘Tis the wingshooter’s favorite time of the year. With quail, pheasant and waterfowl seasons open, why wouldn’t it be? Keep these tips in mind this month: Know the loads you’re shooting. Pellet count, energy and velocity are big deals when wingshooting. The more you know about what you’re firing from your gun, the better you can make adjustments when you’re afield. It’s much easier to diagnose your problems of the day when you know what loads you’re firing. Shoot the …

Most hunters think that an accident won’t happen to them, but anyone who has fallen from a tree stand thought the same thing. Those who have had the misfortune say that it happened so fast they had no time to react. At the end of the day, returning home safely should be every tree-stand hunter’s top priority. Falls account for the vast majority of injuries and deaths that involve tree stands. Although modern tree stands are made better than ever …