Michigan’s bear hunting permit system can challenge anyone’s patience ..including mine. After all, it is managed by the Dept. of Natural Resources. Most of us spent years reading the online results: “try again next year”. For one mid-Michigan hunter, Tony Dodak, he knew his efforts of getting a permit inside of the Red Oak bear management unit (BMU) was a work in progress. Nine years to be exact. He and his (hunting partner) brother, Aaron, began the planning process of unsuccessful permit draws back when the U.S. was in the midst of a financial crisis … Read More
Confessions Of An Amateur Dog Trainer: A NOT So Tough Nut To Crack
By: Amy Gauthier Kids today would probably consider my childhood to be a part of the “electronic dark ages”. We didn’t have tablets or cell phones to keep us out of the adults’ hair AND out of trouble. Leave it to my grandparents, though, to find an analog way to achieve this delicate balance. They would gather hickory nuts from under the trees, place them over newspaper at their house, and give us grandkids hammers to have fun extracting the tender morsels. I remember eagerly cracking open the shells, and the feeling of accomplishment when … Read More