As my season at the cabin comes to a close, I am feeling a little sad to see it end. I didn’t get to enjoy as much time at the cabin this year as in the past. There was an upside, however, as I got to make two different trips with each of my two sons and also with my grandson, Dylan. We caught some fish and visited Spider Lake each time.
It rained the first two days when I arrived at the cabin this time on this last trip of the year. As I write this column, the sun is out and very few clouds are appearing in the sky. There is a slight breeze, which makes it a great day to spend some time outdoors. I have not heard any loons calling, but the trumpeter swans are letting me know that they are still here.
I filled the feeders when I arrived and it didn’t take long for word to get out, because the birds were here soon after. It has been mainly chickadees and nuthatches. Yesterday there was a larger bird, which I soon realized was a female flicker. There is also a blue jay, and one chipmunk. The leaves are turning colors and in a week or two they should be at their peak. I love this time of year, especially in this area because there are so many birch and aspens with many pines. I plan on taking a drive along a couple of roads that are always colorful this time of year. Hopefully, I will be able to get a few nice pictures.
The archery season for deer opened this past weekend. Also open now are the small game and grouse seasons. Getting our youth introduced to small game hunting can open up a lifetime of enjoyment for them. They need to get a youth firearms training certificate to hunt on their own. Hunting for squirrels and rabbits is a great way to start.
All four of my grandsons have grown up hunting and still enjoy it to this day. Trevor, the oldest, took advantage of the early teal season with good results. His dog, Maggie, gets excited whenever she sees him putting his guns in the car. She is a black lab and is a well-behaved hunting dog that loves to go duck and goose hunting with him. Trevor sent me a video on Snap Chat of her retrieving a duck and she was all business.
Trevor never hunts anyone’s land without first seeking permission. This is an important lesson to learn because asking permission, and respecting the land that you hunt will most likely result in getting to hunt that land again. Freeborn County alone has 14 WMA’s (Wildlife Management Area’s) listed on the DNR website that are available for small game hunting.
We need to get more youth involved in hunting and fishing. This is our heritage and our youth of today are the sportsmen and women of tomorrow. If we want to keep our traditions of hunting and fishing, we need to get our youth involved.
Until next time: I can only imagine the excitement of a youth sitting in a tree stand in early morning anticipating his first hunt. My favorite time of day is when I am sitting in my boat at the crack of dawn as fish swirl and jump around me when I make that first cast and hear my lure hit the water breaking the silence of the morning. I woke up this morning to the sound of the resident trumpeter swans signaling the beginning of a new day.
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