Tag Archives: General Outdoors

I always get rather impatient this time of year. Is it because of the weather being erratic, if not so hot, humid and hazy at times? No. is it that sweet corn picking season is almost here. 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. …

Flattered … Humbled … Thrilled … These are just a few words that describe how I felt with an unexpected, major award I recently received. Called “Spirit of the Shack,” this unique conservation award is a significant one in the world of natural resources conservation. Past award winners constitute a who’s who (prominent persons list) in the conservation profession. The “Spirit of the Shack” Achievement Award is given by the Midwest Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA) to 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, …

It’s camping season and friends of mine told me the other day they were thinking of heading out on a Friday night to camp at a popular state recreation area in order to “get away from it all” on a nice weekend. Hmmm … I wanted to tell them that most likely, they were heading to an area to where it all will be happening with quite a few people there. Admittedly, I don’t want to be around big crowds …

The apple blossoms have emerged. Why is that important, you say? Well, it is a reliable indicator that tells me I now will find one of my most valued vegetables in Nebraska’s rural landscape — wild asparagus. The wild asparagus harvest season almost always overlaps with the emergence of apple blossoms in my eastern Nebraska area. Apple blossoms. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Sure enough, I was right! Wild asparagus emerging in early May in eastern Nebraska. …

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 …

The morel mushroom hunting season is literally upon us. We’re on the cusp of it along river bottoms in eastern Nebraska. A few morels have been found. The Nebraska Morels Facebook Page indicates that some morels are also being found. This is the beginning of the morel mushroom harvest season in Nebraska! So how do we really know when morels will emerge? Among the primary indicators of morels emerging are dandelion flowers, garlic mustard seedlings, tree buds, plum blossoms, and …

Noted turkey hunter and outdoor writer Tom Kelly once wrote, “I do not hunt turkeys because I want to. I hunt them because I have to. I would, really, rather not. But I am helpless in the grip of my compulsion.” I completely agree! And the grip of my compulsion begins on March 25 with the opening of the spring archery wild turkey hunting season here in Nebraska. You know, some hunters describe spring wild turkey hunting as a cross …

Green grass shoots are sprouting in my Elkhorn, NE yard. The days are getting longer. Water temperatures are warming. The time is now to get ready for some early open-water fishing action! Emma Wagner-Nichols, your blogger’s daughter, caught this crappie in chilly, sunny early spring 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 reels? Have you gone through your tackle box yet? Sharpened …

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, …