Round the corner on the snowy path through the woods. Scrappy little dogs of varied sizes and colors spring to life, fully aware of what is about to take place.
Continue reading “Whoosh”do something new
Do Something New: Walk Into a Glacier
It’s been a little more than 25 years since I took a college course on ice age geology. It would be easy to say I haven’t forgotten a thing. Proving it, of course, might be a different matter.
Continue reading “Do Something New: Walk Into a Glacier”Hope Springs…Somewhere
Happy New Year.
Yes, period. Sorry, but exclamation points don’t seem in order. This turning of the year is a bit too much like déjà vu to celebrate. I think you know what I’m talking about.
Continue reading “Hope Springs…Somewhere”Pickle me
I like pickled stuff. There’s something satisfying about biting into something that bites back a little with a salty, vinegar flair. It’s great as a snack or part of lunch. And when I’m on a hunting or fishing trip, it’s a great option for getting fiber and vitamins out of vegetables which typically don’t keep well in a cooler.
Continue reading “Pickle me”Foraging in Minnesota: Sand Cherry
A couple days ago, my daughter found a single cherry. I could not have been more elated.
It was our first Sand cherry. We’d been searching hard for two whole days, covering almost 10 miles on foot, in three distinct parts of Minnesota. The triumph was not so much the harvest (ultimately a couple dozen cherries) as it was the successful conclusion to our foraging quest.
Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Sand Cherry”Do Something New: River Smallmouth Float Trip
I recently took a day trip on the Mississippi to do some fishing. It’s something I hadn’t done before, but had been considering trying on the many fishable rivers in the area.
It’s good I did, because it will probably stand as one of the highlights of the entire summer. To tell the truth, the plan was so simple, it really couldn’t fail: just me, my kayak, the river, and any smallmouth bass that were in the mood for a tussle.
Continue reading “Do Something New: River Smallmouth Float Trip”Do Something New: Hang Out All Night
Truth be told, I’m not sure how it happened. But sometime last year, the allure of hammock camping became too intriguing to resist.
Continue reading “Do Something New: Hang Out All Night”Yellow Bass of the Fairmont Chain
I was on the phone last night with an old Minnesota fisherman. He asked if I’d done anything interesting lately. I said, “See if you can guess. What are yellow with black markings, plentiful, and taste good when they’re battered and fried?”
“Bananas.”
“Yeah, well, okay….here’s another hint: they wiggle and flop when you throw them on the ice next to your sled.”
“Puppies?”
“What? No! I’m talking about yellow bass.”
“Huh. Never heard of ‘em.”
No kidding.
Continue reading “Yellow Bass of the Fairmont Chain”
BWCA Entry Point 25: Winter Camping and Fishing
For years I have dreamed of camping and ice fishing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Biting cold and slush-laden lake tops have kept me home the last two winters. That was fine; I’m not one to press my luck. But the warmer-than-average weather we’ve enjoyed lately had me itching to get at it.
Entry Point 25, with walleyes in Newfound Lake and brook trout in Found Lake, was the perfect setting for my introduction into winter adventuring. Little did I know, however, that introduction would come with a sobering peek into my own psyche. Continue reading “BWCA Entry Point 25: Winter Camping and Fishing”
Do Something New: Minnesota State Park Deer Hunt
It all started about two years ago. My deer season had almost passed without a single deer sighting. I’d spent two rainy days in a deer stand on private property, then one especially frigid day hoofing it on state forest land. If it weren’t for the good fortune of my brother and dad, we’d have been short on meat for the year.
Continue reading “Do Something New: Minnesota State Park Deer Hunt”Trip Report: North Dakota Grouse Odyssey
Thursday
I hit the road a little after 6:00 a.m. Fargo was my first real stop, for a PLOTS Guide and hunting license. Then it was a matter of winding through the countryside on the smaller roads, surveying some public parcels with the PLOTS Guide pages showing me the way.
Continue reading “Trip Report: North Dakota Grouse Odyssey”
Do Something New: Hook a Dinosaur
I haven’t had many fun surprises lately. For better or worse, life has been plodding along at its sedated, pandemic pace. Nothing seems to change and there isn’t much to look forward to. Until Thursday, that is.
Continue reading “Do Something New: Hook a Dinosaur”Foraging in Minnesota: Juneberries
Berry foragers, rejoice! The juneberry crop this year appears to be robust- as was last year’s- and they’re fruiting right now. Never had juneberries? I’m not surprised. They’re easy to miss, but maybe you should give them a closer look. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Juneberries”
Foraging in Minnesota: Dwarf Raspberries
Every year about this time there is a lull in the foraging season here in Minnesota. The early season has passed and the frenzy over morels, fiddleheads, and ramps is over. The summer mushrooms and berries really haven’t started. However, while raspberries, blackberries, thimbleberries, and other members of the Rubus clan have yet to even finish blooming, their little brother is here to take center stage.
Enter Dwarf Raspberry. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Dwarf Raspberries”
Foraging in Minnesota: Ostrich Ferns
The Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) seems to be gaining in popularity among foragers, if mentions in social media are any indication. Posts about “fiddleheads” are becoming more and more common this time of year. Also apparent in the social media soup is how much confusion there is when it comes to knowing which species are edible and how they are identified.
Some people- a proportional few- are vocal in their opinion that the Ostrich fern is not the only edible fern in Minnesota. While that may be true for sometimes complicated reasons, I will not subscribe to that school of thought. Allow me to explain why. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Ostrich Ferns”