Tag Archives: General Outdoors

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. …

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 …

All of us who love to fish have a story or two about the one that got away, don’t we? Invariably, the tale involves hooking the fish of a lifetime and losing it to unforeseen circumstances or mistakes. Trust me, I have made my share of mistakes when it comes to large, prized game fish. Your blogger mishandling a nice-sized channel catfish. Photo by Rich Berggren/Conservation Officer with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Without question, these stories, however embellished, …

Topside photo of a dryad’s saddle, a.k.a. pheasant’s back or hawks wing, in Nebraska. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Along with finding and picking morel mushrooms, there is another edible wild fungus growing in your moist woodlands that you should know and consider harvesting and making for dinner — the dryad’s saddle. The Dryad’s saddle. What the heck is that? The dryad’s saddle (Cerioporus squamosus, formerly known as Polyporus squamosus), and referred to as the pheasant’s back or …

We are in the the first portion of spring on the calendar. Green grass shoots are sprouting in my Omaha, NE yard. The days are getting longer. Water temperatures are warming. The time is now to get ready for some early spring fishing action! Emma Wagner-Nichols, your blogger’s daughter, caught this crappie in chilly, sunny weather in a private sandpit lake in Dodge County, NE. Photo courtesy of Emma Wagner-Nichols of Elkhorn, NE Have you put new line on your …

When I was kid, I always looked forward to taking a drive with my grandparents during the March thaw to see the spring migration of birds along the Platte River in rural Sarpy County, Nebraska. We never had to travel very far from our homes in Gretna to see the migrating birds either. It’s those drives that helped develop my appreciation for birds. Truth is, you still do not have to venture far at all to enjoy the spectacular spring migration of birds …

It’s winter. The daylight is short. The nights are long and dreary. Air temperatures outside are cold, downright frigid at times. Most likely, there’s some snow cover. We are all spending more a lot of time indoors this season, aren’t we? It is that time of year when we get that cooped-up, restless, nothing-to-do feeling that is referred to as “cabin fever.” Stuck inside, too many of us get weary and lethargic and spend long, endless hours watching TV re-runs, …

Picture yourself harnessed in a tree stand for deer hunting. You are losing light. It’s nearing sunset. The prime time for deer movement. Suddenly, you hear a squirrel bark and chatter. Then even closer to you, from the same direction, you hear curiosity putts from some wild turkeys. Within a few minutes you hear another squirrel bark and chatter by your location. Then, you hear the guttural grunt of a buck. Out of nowhere appears an adult white-tailed deer doe …

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. …

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 – if you will, 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 …