Well folks I don’t know about you but we had a decent deer season for 2024. A total of 6 deer were taken off the property we hunt this year and every one of them by yours truly. Not for lack of effort by my son or the landowner (Steve) and his daughter, but I just seemed to be the one blessed with the most opportunities. The old saying goes, I’d rather be lucky than good any day. Not to discount the skill and knowledge that are needed to successfully hunt a mature whitetail, but … Read More
Diehard – A Battle of Wills
The following article is about an extraordinary hunt as told by our nephew, Derek. Derek Harrison experienced the hunt of a lifetime on opening weekend of gun season 2024. It all started on the second day of the hunt, November 16 on his father-in-law’s property in Hillsdale county. It was a fluke of a site, as a few weeks earlier he’d set up his hunting spot in the dark. Heading out on the morning of the hunt, and running late, Derek reflects on saying to his brother-in-law, Kenny, “I know there are big deer, we … Read More
Humility and Kindness; Pass It On
Sometimes the sport of hunting becomes a “dog eat dog” world filled with pride and selfishness. Most hunters who have been at it long enough have stories to share about their frustrations related to this. They may even have to admit their own shortcomings on occasion as the pressure to succeed or “show off” builds. I’d like to propose another approach based on my experiences that takes a detour from the negative aspects that oftentimes taint this amazing sport. Let’s start with a story about farmers in years past who when tilling their fields, would … Read More
Drink What You Like …an Adventure along the Bourbon Trail
I have returned from an amazing adventure shared with three friends on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Narrow roads wind past horse farms and through the verdant rolling hills of central Kentucky. The weather was perfect with the fall colors at their peak. We shared great conversations and wonderful meals paired with bourbon tastings. What is bourbon? It is whiskey distilled from grain. What makes it unique is bourbon is defined by law! To prevent unscrupulous distillers from mixing turpentine, battery acid or tobacco juice into clear alcohol, the food and drug administration defined that bourbon … Read More
When rare birds suddenly arrive for a short visit
An enlightening moment for me was when my wife Ginny and I attended the annual mid-May Tawas Point Birding Festival in East Tawas several years ago and seeing the amazing amount of folks who took bird watching quite passionately. Michigan is located smackdab in the middle of both the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways and countless songbirds flying north while following the shoreline of Lake Huron, are literally given a “right hook” at Tawas Point, which abruptly turns them south, and they perform what is known as the Great Fallout, and the birds land in mass … Read More
Whenever hunter-pressured whitetails go nocturnal, nothing beats an old-fashioned deer drive.
At high noon a few December muzzleloader deer seasons ago, I was on a deer drive with friends and acting as a stander at a likely location on the corner of a briar-infested woodlot bordering a hayfield. According to all the fresh tracks there were plenty of deer seeking refuge in the thick and snarly cover, and I was anticipating plenty of action, which can be the case with a well-organized deer drive. Deer drives don’t have to involve a lot of hunters, especially when everyone knows the lay of the land. In this instance, … Read More
Tuscola County’s monster “Seney Buck”
The late Mack Seney of Reese had his share of memories, with a couple of them relating to being very lucky. The first relates to a day in 1944 as an infantryman with 35th Infantry Division in France during World War II. The German forces were being pushed back so fast that American soldiers had to hitch rides on any sort of vehicle they could, including on top of tanks, to maintain the front line. Mack was in the back of a truck when it screeched to a stop and everyone was bailing out and … Read More
Venison – which is an annual fall harvest for a lot of folks
November 15th is a revered day for Michigan deer hunters, and it is when the majority of deer are harvested statewide each year. It also represents a very busy timeframe for meat processors and good venison has a very succulent nature which is a primary meat source for my family that we all enjoy. I was a state meat inspector for almost 12 years, working on various “kill-floors” in slaughterhouses, where I did ante-mortem (making sure animals to be slaughtered were in a healthy state) and post-mortem (performing an autopsy of sorts) inspections to assure … Read More
From Forest to Table – It’s All Good
Few things bring people together more than food. The table is where conversations start and relationships begin. In families, this simple pastime is too often bypassed as a result of crazy, busy lives with little relief in sight. Yet this act of bonding is actually biblical, as frequently demonstrated by none other than Jesus! And how about the spirit of celebration He ignited through His first miracle! So we’ve established, food brings us together. How might that conversation be heightened when there’s a story behind the food, as in the challenge and victory of the … Read More