NEBRASKAland Articles

In the December issue of NEBRASKAland Magazine, I have a lighthearted article on page 44 about my failed attempt to repair my beloved waders given to me as an anniversary gift by my wife years ago. As stated in the article, patching waders can be a futile effort. If you want to just make it through the season it can often be accomplished with some success, however. As a fisheries biologist with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Joe Rydell …

People have come from all over the world to drink coffee with Elsie Eiler in Monowi, Nebraska. Not only does she own and operate the only business in the village —working six days a week as a cook and bartender at the local tavern — the great-grandmother also serves as mayor, village board president, librarian and local historian. Why does she do it? As the lone resident in the nation’s smallest incorporated village, she is the only one who can. …

Smoking your own meat, especially when the meat comes from an animal you harvested, is a rewarding and satisfying experience. Here are a few steps to take when smoking a deer roast with a dry rub: Rinse and dry the meat. Always rinse the meat off after it has been thawed and dry it with paper towels. This helps get some excess blood off and out of the meat prior to applying a rub. Adding vegetable oil to the meat is optional …

Before Plains Indian tribes developed the complete written form of their languages, oral tradition was used extensively to preserve tribal histories. Pictorial accounts painted on bison hides, also known as a “winter count,” include symbols arranged chronologically. Each image marks a single year and depicts a collective, memorable event of the tribe. For the Lakota people, a year of the winter count measured from first snowfall to first snowfall. Oglala Lakota visionary Nicholas Black Elk referred to his December 1863 …

It’s the time of year when the fish are filling their bellies as much as they can, because like us, they know what’s coming. The conditions the past couple of weeks have been great for getting on the water, and with the first cold snap came a great bite. It’s time to capitalize on it while you can. There were some great days to be outside in October. I believe one day we even had record highs near 90 degrees! This …

A special group of workers completed four and a half weeks of sprucing up Nebraska Game and Parks Commission properties in northwestern Nebraska this week. The seven workers of the team were enrolled in AmeriCorps, the federal National Civilian Community Corps program that provides intensive service learning opportunities for adventurous workers ages 18-24. The group joined Commission staff in completing a variety of projects to improve Walgren Lake State Recreation Area, Chadron State Park, Metcalf Wildlife Management Area and Chadron …

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is planning a prescribed burn to improve wildlife habitat on Basswood Ridge Wildlife Management Area near Homer, Neb. on Thursday, November 6. Approximately 150 acres of this site will be burned to reduce the presence of undesirable plants. Area users should expect the prescribed burn to start in the late morning and last the remainder of the day. This prescribed fire is expected to be a low intensity burn, primarily consuming leaf litter and …

One day this week I set out early looking to capture photos of migrating sandhill cranes which commonly stay over in our area on their journey southward this time of year. Even though I had heard promising reports from the previous night I didn’t find where the cranes had roosted. I did, however, capture the above image which I believe is worth keeping. One of the challenges in landscape photography is recognizing the portion of a scene that makes it …

The 20th annual Historical Christmas Dinner at Fort Robinson State Park is set for Saturday, Dec. 6. To mark the special anniversary, the dinner’s theme will step back 100 years with attire and the menu from the 1914 Christmas dinner at the Fort. Only 200 tickets will be sold for the dinner, and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 8 a.m. Monday, Nov. 3. Tickets will be available by cash or check at the Fort Robinson …

Fall can be a magical time for photography. But when the last of the golden leaves fall from the trees, some photographers find themselves wishing for a white Christmas … or Thanksgiving, or any day for that matter … and waiting impatiently for spring and the return of green to the forest. But wonderful fall color can be found long after the leaves fall. In fact, the trees aren’t even the first vegetation to put on an autumnal display. Native …