Flanagan Lake in Omaha offers anglers action-packed fishing in the spring. Story and photos by Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley “You call this a lake?” said my friend Hank Shaw as we unloaded out of the truck on a weekday morning in April. From the southwest parking lot near Fort and 168th streets, Flanagan Lake in Omaha looked little more than a pond. Hank didn’t know that the rest of the lake was obscured, and I had forgotten it. The last time I was …

You have just read the title to this blog and you’re thinking ‘Whoa! What? Wagner is way off base with this one!’ PL-EASE … Allow me, the avid forager, to explain. Now that spring has sprung and while you wait for your morel mushrooms to emerge, some of the more prolific, more accessible wild edible foods are making their initial appearances … in your yard! No kidding! This is the time of year when when edible wild plants emerge and …

Rockhounds spend hours, days searching for rocks, minerals, artifacts and fossils. Story and photos by Renae Blum Over 35 years of searching Nebraska for rocks, minerals, fossils and artifacts, Charles Wooldridge’s biggest find wasn’t even his. It was his dog’s. Wooldridge — who goes by “Wooly” and lives in Lincoln — was in the north-central Sandhills, trying unsuccessfully to relocate an earlier find. And then his dog Hank, a 7-year-old Plott hound, began barking and wouldn’t stop. Hank was standing …

As Nebraska celebrates its 157th year of statehood, an iconic, representative symbol of the state is the official tree — the native eastern cottonwood. The 1972 legislature named the eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) as the state tree, replacing the original selection made in 1937 — the American elm (Ulmus Americana L.). The eastern cottonwood was chosen because many elm trees had been killed by Dutch elm disease and it is rooted in Nebraska’s pioneer history. The cottonwoods are large deciduous …

Husband and wife team design and place 60 geocaches at Niobrara State Park. By Renae Blum Thanks to Liz and Gary Doerr of Creighton, guests at Niobrara State Park in northeastern Nebraska have new ways to enjoy their visit. The couple has designed and placed about 60 geocaches at the park, allowing visitors to use their GPS or phone to discover hidden treasures – containers of various shapes and sizes holding a logbook and, sometimes, small trinkets for trade. Geocaching …

This is the time of year when wild game meat has been accumulated in the freezers of hunters and the cook of the house is grabbing a bird or a meat cut destined for the kitchen. This is also the time of year when those new to cooking wild game are asking questions on how to prepare the game meat they have been given by a friend or relative. This is also the time of year when wild game feeds …

Going to make a blog post of a personal nature today.  However, it again will touch a theme that I return to often–family. I have an aunt that is celebrating a milestone birthday in the next few days.  No, I am not going to say exactly how many years that might be.  I am not stupid. Nevertheless, it is a time to celebrate, and my Aunt Jeanene is well-worth the celebration!  I do not know that I can tell you …

Cattails are aggressively invading many of our state’s best aquatic habitats. Story and photos by Chris Helzer Most people reading this probably look at wetlands or lakes with dense accumulations of cattails without thinking twice. After all, cattails are native to Nebraska, and they’re a perfectly normal and healthy part of a wetland ecosystem. Right? I have bad news. An evil transformation has taken place right beneath our noses. Cattails are no longer benign wetland plants that accent the margins …

It’s autumn. It’s heavy sweatshirt weather. It’s the season for football and pumpkin-spiced everything. And, it’s time to pick pumpkins and harvest the last of the tender crops from your vegetable garden. But, did you know that beyond the pumpkins and the squash, fall marks the time of year for gathering and preparing tasty fare from wild places? Sure does. The landscape that surrounds us in Nebraska is actually more lush with wild edible material during autumn than you would …

The calendar indicates that it is not fall yet. The meteorological fall has begun though. And I believe that after Labor Day, the fall season starts. 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, and before long the leaves …