When my wife Ginny and I started building our home in 1976, one of the first things on the agenda was digging a farm pond, and using the resulting dirt to fill in around three sides of the house. I can remember the “pond” being nothing but a large, empty crater in the ground. The first water into it actually came from our new well, and the well-digger had recommended doing so to assure that all the pipes were clear of sediment and any metal fragments. I had a long hose going from the hydrant … Read More
Opening Day 2026
For all the hunters out there, I’m not referring to Bear, Deer or even Turkey Season, though those are important openers, too. The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking about opening day is something I’ve never been to on that glorious first day… a Tiger Baseball game. But for the first time I did partake in the first day of U-pick strawberry season at AJs in Lachine. It was June 16 and my day started early, awakened by God before my alarm clock sounded. It was 47 degrees when I departed at … Read More
Failure to Launch
We’ve had the privilege to observe a family of Eastern Phoebe from close range over the past month. We were impressed with the paternal as well as the maternal role in providing for their young, first in preparing their home, then the gestation period. Before long, they hatched a set of triplets. My, they grow quickly, as the parents look on, providing their nourishment, watching out for their safety. But there comes a day, as in the human world, when it’s time to leave the nest. As they began to practically overflow from their dwelling … Read More
I Am the One Percent
So far, I’ve had no success in the trout stream yet this year. My outings have been limited by a knee injury from which I’m gradually recovering with a little rest and TLC after an active weekend with two of our Yooper granddaughters. Oh, what fun and memories, despite some occasional lingering signs of aging. But enough about that. We’re talking about fishing here. Why the title of this article? On the day of my most recent outing, I was more cognizant of the weather as I carefully planned my trip to the stream, in … Read More
Mad Woman Across the Water
Have you ever fished in such uncomfortable circumstances that most in your life would consider you mad for exposing yourself to such extremes? Maybe it didn’t start out that way, but somewhere along the line, you crossed the line of rationality? That happened to us, more specifically me, with my husband as an almost hostile accomplice. We went camping on Muskallonge Lake in Michigan’s upper peninsula with high hopes of indulging in some of Michigan’s finest fishing… his idea. It was late June. We’d read about the famous Two Hearted River that Ernest Hemingway wrote … Read More
Tick tock – it is “tick time” in Michigan
When growing up as a Thumb area farm boy, I rarely ever saw a tick attached to anything. I do remember seeing one attached to the forehead of one our barn cats, and the big tick was very visible because it was fully engorged with blood and all puffed up like a balloon. The cat wasn’t even aware it was there until I pulled the lethargic tick off with my fingers, threw it on the hardwood barn floor and stomped it into a messy splatter. I spent a whole lot of time outdoors in both … Read More
The Legends Ranch dedicated to passing on promoting wildlife conservation and the hunting heritage to future generations
Featuring over 2000 acres of very diverse woodland habitat, including cedar-shrouded swamps and rolling terrain cloaked in a mix of dense conifers and hardwoods, the Legends Ranch near Bitley, Michigan, is the brainchild of a worldwide hunter, Arthur Gutierrez Sr, who wished to create a well-managed whitetail hunting paradise in 1998. The property is surrounded by high-fence to assist in developing and maintaining great genetics in very large-antlered whitetail bucks, and the Legends Ranch has become well known for its outstanding trophies. Due to the very spacious and mixed-habitat terrain, this is not a typical … Read More
Dramatic and very timely changes are in place for Michigan’s 2026 Firearms Deer season
During the early 20th century, deer hunting had been put on hold in southern Michigan for quite a while to allow whitetail deer numbers, which had previously been decimated, to rebound back. Its first deer season occurred in 1948, and because state officials believed too many hunters would be crammed together on the smaller state game areas found in southern Michigan, it was determined to establish what would become known as the “shotgun zone” for what they thought were safety reasons. The first couple of seasons allowed only buckshot to be used, but eventually shotgun … Read More
Big change is coming to Michigan Deer season
It’s all-over social media pages, it’s flooding YouTube and it sounds like it’s coming whether you like it or not. When I began hunting as a child, I remember the days when you had to put into a draw or lottery system just to obtain one antlerless deer permit. For many years, that was necessary to allow the Michigan deer herd to grow. Back then, a hunter was allowed to purchase an archery deer tag which was good for an antlered deer or an antlerless deer, then that same hunter was allowed to purchase a … Read More
The feathered harbingers of spring
In my opinion the robin gets too much credit for being the harbinger of spring. Sure, most robins migrate each fall from Michigan to warmer places for the winter, but a few do remain behind in brushy creek and river bottoms and make an occasional appearance like a single bird or two here and there to confuse folks as to whether we are in for an early spring. I saw a couple robins on my farm a couple months ago feeding on small crabapples in our yard, back when the sugar maple sap began flowing … Read More