Featured

The calendar indicates that it is not fall yet. I believe that after Labor Day, the fall season begins. What do you think? For me, unquestionably, fall in Nebraska is one of the best times of the year to spend outdoors. Truth be known, it is my favorite season! The days are definitely getting shorter, the air is getting a bit crisper, the crop harvest will soon start, before long the leaves and other foliage will transform into canopies of …

I love to eat, but admittedly do not cook much. I am the chef’s sampler indeed, but not a chef. There is one thing connected to the great outdoors regarding cooking that truly intrigues and amazes me though – Dutch oven cooking. The lid is lifted off a Dutch oven containing an Apple Butter Pecan Cobbler dish ready to eat! MMMmmm … Photo by Tara Marrero of Ashland, NE. I have been around Dutch oven cooking for some time, but …

Maybe it’s because I am a lifelong Nebraskan with deep farm roots and help my brother manage his farm. Maybe it’s because I am a person with an outgoing, assertive personality who thoroughly enjoys interacting with people. Maybe it’s because of what I do for living and my employer. Maybe it’s because I pride myself on being a legal hunter and an ethical one at that. Maybe it’s because I really work at it. I don’t know for sure. But …

It is a season that is open here in eastern Nebraska. It is an unusual season, but one that just flat out reeks of adventure, challenge and tremendous entertainment value. It is a season tailor-made for kids. And, trust me, this is the season that will create memories and stories like no other! No, it is not a hunting season. “It” is Nebraska’s bullfrog season. “Bullfrog season,” you say, “really?” Yep. Look at the size of this adult North American …

Why do some people get perplexed when they see someone release a massive, master angler-sized catfish? After all, catfish, even the larger ones, sure taste good, don’t they? So why is it every time we see an angler report or a social media post mention or show a picture of a large catfish they have put back in the water, a spirited discussion most likely ensues over what should or should have not been done with that whopper? So how …

We are in the “dog days” of summer. In fact, it was so hot in Nebraska the other day I saw a coyote chasing a rabbit and they both were walking! Just kidding. On the serious side of things, wildflowers are in bloom, ears of sweet corn are being harvested and elderberries will soon be ripe. The start of school is also just around the corner. Boating, swimming, tubing and fishing are being widely enjoyed now on the hot weekends. …

Chug bug. Jitterbug. Hula popper. Creek chub knuckle-head. Zara spook. They all have very creative names and designs by the companies that manufacture them. They imitate every conceivable critter that could be on, around or just under the surface of the water in a wild environment from baitfish or bugs to mice or lizards to frogs, toads or even small flying mammals. They are the “go-to” fishing lures of mid to late-summer. They are top water lures or surface lures, …

I always get rather impatient this time of year. Is it because of the weather being so hot, humid and hazy? No. Is it that the hunting seasons are just around the bend? No. Then, why? Well, I am a gatherer, a prairie wanderer, and I am anxiously waiting to harvest elderberries during these dog days of summer. However, it’s not quite time yet. Here I am checking out wild elderberries for ripeness on a Saunders County, NE farm in …

I have been sidelined with an injury. I would like to tell you that I wrestled with a badger and lost. I would like to tell you that I was chasing a coyote, stepped in a hole and wrecked my knee. I would like to tell you that while wade fishing, I was reeling in the biggest fish of my life, lost my balance and twisted my knee. None of which would be true. Not by a long shot. The …

Maybe it’s just the kid in me, but I love to pick and eat mulberries! Growing up on the rural western edge of Gretna, NE, my buddies and I would always bug the area neighbors and farmers for permission to pick and eat ripe mulberries along their woodland edges and fencelines this time of year. It marked the start of summer for us. Ah, those were the days … Mulberries on the tree. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks …