Travel

Unfortunately, it’s the time of year when many hunters start hanging up their gear for the season. Maybe they have already harvested game or are tired of trying to do so. Perhaps they are just not interested in being afield during bitterly cold weather, gale force winds and deep snow. Whatever the case may be, that hunting gear should not be put away! It’s time to bundle up and take advantage of little to no hunting pressure, colder weather, a completed crop harvest, concentrated and …

Do  you really need water, pumps, pit blinds, lots of expensive decoys and to be part of a high-priced hunting lease to successfully hunt Canada geese in Nebraska? No, not necessarily. Field hunting for Canada geese is a ton of fun and can be very effective! It’s also much cheaper, easier and quicker than trying to establish a goose hunting spread with a boat blind on a pond, lake, reservoir or river. Waterfowl hunters establish a field spread for Canada goose hunting in a harvested corn field in …

Dearest Jackson Edward, Today is your birthday, your second birthday. My grandson, this is the day we celebrate you. I’ve been thinking back about the interesting directions on how my love for you has continued to expand this past year. Yes, you’re two, and it’s occurred to me that my love for you actually goes far beyond your connection to me. I see it when you continually say: “Ouuutsiiiiide!” There’s no place you’d rather be in any season than outside, on our porch, on your deck at home, at …

It is like no other form of hunting. It is exhilarating, action-packed, and humbling to even the most practiced shotgun shooter! I should know. I grew up with it on our southeastern Nebraska farm. What kind of hunting is it? IT is hunting the northern bobwhite quail. Have you ever hunted quail? It’s awesome! You need to try it. And, their numbers this year look outstanding! Flushing a covey of quail is as exciting as any outdoor activity gets! However, from years of first-hand experience I will …

It’s very unfair. Spring and its morel mushrooms get all the limelight, but hard-core nature enthusiasts in Nebraska know that autumn rains deliver a mushroom bounty in the woods that’s far more diverse, robust and rewarding. Fall mushroom hunting offers a bunch of benefits, and not just for fairy tale goblins and witches! It offers a refreshing, cool walk in the woods amid fall foliage colors, a chance to better understand forest ecology, and an opportunity to see a variety of woodland wildlife, as …

I know, I know. There is nothing like spring wild turkey hunting in Nebraska, and the fall hunting season for wild turkeys, well, it just doesn’t rise to that level. Or, does it? Hmm. I don’t think you can call yourself a true turkey hunter until you have willingly and eagerly accepted the fun challenge and vivid excitement of hunting North America’s largest upland game bird during the fall season in Nebraska. Hunters who have never experienced fall hunting are …

The morning air is crisp and cold. Hardwood trees stand motionless and silent — faint brush strokes against the slowly lightening predawn sky. As light emerges, wild plants still green are bejeweled with dew. Small sounds begin to carve the creek bottom. A raucous calamity of crows can be heard in the distance. An assertive, vociferous blue jay appears on a limb. Two fox squirrels squabble amid the leaves on the woodland floor. The insistent nasal yammering of a white-breasted …

Are you gearing up and getting excited for the historic spectacle on Monday, Aug. 21st, when a total solar eclipse will race over Nebraska from the northwest to the southeast? Good! Thought so. Me, too! Here are some last-minute notes to assist you in safely and enjoyably experiencing The Great American Eclipse in The Cornhusker State. Plan ahead. Buy your state park permit ahead of time. Take additional supplies (water, food, insect repellent, sunblock, etc.). Carry park brochures and a road map. Fill your vehicle …

It will undoubtedly be among the most stunning sights you have ever witnessed. It has been labeled as one of the most awe-inspiring events in nature, and it’s coming! For the first time in 26 years, a total solar eclipse will occur in our great country, and we, in Nebraska, will play host to the world’s eclipse-chasers along with eleven other states on August 21st for about a minute or two around the lunch hour depending on local time. To find out exact times of 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 farmers for permission to pick and eat ripe mulberries in their woods and along their fence rows this time of year. It marked the start of summer for us. Ah, those were the days … Fast-forward to present-day. Our mulberry trees, at least in the Omaha-metro area, have just started dropping their …