One idea I have is to mix the two with a photo that will enhance or tell the story that my written word is portraying in any given post, be it a snowy winter scene in a photograph I have created to accompany a story about sledding as a kid or a great sunset over a lake to partner with a fishing story. Basically I want to be able to either create a photograph to help inspire a memory or create an experience for the written post or have a written post idea inspire the accompanying photograph. I know this isn’t reinventing the wheel by any means, but I think it may be a worthwhile project that is somewhat ongoing, for me to have on the back burner and maybe help me to focus on some of the other projects as well.

I won’t say that it is a promise, but more of a possibility. But trust me, if it happens I will be sure to let you know right away.

This cold December evening has my warm bed calling my name for now though, so until I have some plans finalized have a good evening.

Of course, here I go again with my mind wandering while I am at work. This time I figured I would share the fever with you. Don’t get me wrong, I am not in any hurry for the bitter cold of winter to return, but I would love to be out hunting right now. Hopefully a weekend walleye fishing trip with my family will help cool the fever a bit. I have a feeling it will end up giving me the fishing fever in addition to my hunting fever, instead of just easing the hunting fever.

I guess growing up an avid outdoorsman makes these fevers inevitable, they are in my blood and honestly…..I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

All in all it was a very nice evening for watching deer. It never ceases to amaze me how many deer I see right around and often times right in town. I know there are many more deer up north in my usual stomping grounds but here in town they don’t have as much room to hole up out of sight, which leads to being spotted more often. Unfortunately I have not spotted any newborn fawns to take some pictures of, at least not yet. I used to see them all the time on the roads when I was younger, but of course now that I have the camera and want to actively seek them and take pictures they are no where to be found!

Couple other notes on the evening drive for you. Deer were not the only animals I saw as there were many birds, rabbits and squirrels running around. Including the hugely fat rabbit I saw that had to weight about 45 pounds and was bigger than a basketball. It looked like a tame rabbit, however it was out on the edge of a road with no homes in sight. Must have escaped somehow and now is trying to fend for itself. I have a feeling some lucky fox, owl or hawk will have a nice tasty treat when they stumble across this big boy.

I also managed to get an up close look at my least favorite animal, Pepe LePeau. Yep, a skunk. I was driving down a fairly busy paved road on the backside of town heading on my way out and *presto* like magic it was right there. The shoulder of the road in this spot is almost non existent and what little bit there actually is has waist high grass protecting it like some sort of racing barrier wall or something. Anyhow, I was driving along and all of a sudden I noticed the grass just in front of me on my passenger side started to really move. Within about 2 seconds I was motoring past the wiggly grass and that is when I saw, partially hidden in the grass, the familiar white striped stinker. The bad part was that all I saw of it was the tail posed high up in the air with the back end facing my car, ready to douse my poor Leganza in a healthy dose of stank. Thankfully there were no cars passing by me right then, so I swerved into the opposite lane to give it some space and I punched the gas to try and avoid any spraying. I must have given it enough room because it never sprayed me. Yet another close encounter with a skunk avoided. Thinking back on it, I have had quite a few. Maybe I will share the stories here sometime.

One last little note here. As I mentioned I finished my evening shoot with a handful of shots of a big fat, orange moon. Tomorrow night, June 30th, will be the second full moon of this month. That means that tomorrow night you can get away with things you normally wouldn’t by using the excuse that you only do it “Once in a Blue Moon” since the second full moon in a month is considered to be the “Blue Moon” cycle.

Enjoy the fine summer days in the great Northland Outdoors!

On the drive out my wife and I saw a decent sized black bear lumbering across the road. It wasn’t huge, but I would guess in the 180 to 220 lbs range. It was the first black bear I have seen in quite a few years since I stopped hunting them just after high school. We tried to grab a camera and snap a quick shot or two but before we could even get stopped it finally noticed us and bolted for the cover of heavy underbrush up a hillside. Even though we didn’t get any pictures it was nice to see even this brief glimpse of our neighbor the black bear.

Later in the evening when I was out on a little scenic drive I came around the corner of an old dirt road not far from my folks place and there spread out for about the next 200 yards or so was a whole tribe of rabbits. There was at least 10 that I was able to count as they were running back and forth chasing each other either for fun or as part of their mating habits. I’m not sure which it would be. I was able to snap a couple of quick shots here, nothing fantastic though. It was fun just sitting and watching them run around and act so playful. It was easy to forget that they were not tame rabbits because for the most part they ignored me completely.

After I left the rabbits I started to head for home and as I passed a small little clearcut maybe 20 yards wide at the best I happened to spot a nice big whitetail deer staring at me while I drove by. I stopped and grabbed the camera as I was backing up since this appeared to be a large deer but when I got back to the clearing I got to see nothing more than the oh so famous white flag bouncing away from me. I did get another good look at the size and it was a pretty large deer but I did not get a solid look at the head to check for summer growth antlers coming in. When I passed it the first time I thought I saw antlers although I wasn’t positive since I was cruising by. If it was in fact a buck he didn’t have a large set of antlers but it was a very large bodied deer.

I know I haven’t really done a whole lot of work here recently, although I have had an opportunity to spend a little time outdoors, but I hope to start writing more often as the summer progresses into fall. Right now between the mosquitos and the ticks I hate to even venture out into the northland woods that much. Most of my time outdoors has been closer to town and the few times I have went further out I have stayed in the confines of my car most of the time. Even then I get to play the role of a seven course dinner for the bugs as I putter along taking pictures out my driver’s window.

I should note that I have not had a chance to hit the lakes yet but there is at least a weekend trip planned for the weekend of July 14th. I hope schedules work out to allow that to happen so I can get out and do a little fishing at least once this summer!

For myself, I don’t plan on getting out at all. In fact I typically will avoid going out on the opening weekend or so just because things are so crazy. I don’t like to fish when there are so many people out that you could practically walk across the lake, hopping from one boat to the next, and never get wet. You could say I am avoiding the modern day “Walk on Water” syndrome that sweeps the area for the first week or so.

I actually have not been fishing at all for probably at least 9 years. Not because I have given up on it or didn’t want too. There is no story of a big frustration that happened and caused me to walk away from it for so long. Basically it boils down to the simple fact that up until this year I just didn’t have the time to go. Between work or college or both in many cases, as well as the band I was in for all those years, I simply didn’t have an opportunity to get out and go.

Honestly, I am hoping this year is different and that I can get a chance to go on the weekends with my family. Well, when they aren’t driving 6 or 7 hours up into Canada that is. The opportunity should be there as there is no more band for me, been out of school for going on 3 years now and just a Monday through Friday job that leaves my weekends free most of the times.

Because I have spent some time hoping to get out there this year, getting more and more excited about it each time the thought dances across my mind, I have come to a startling and somewhat unsettling conclusion. I was trying to think of the last fish I caught, what was it, how big, heck what trip was I on and was I on this lake or that lake? I honestly can’t remember. I think I have it narrowed down to either being a trip up to a little lake in Canada that we used to portage into, I believe it is called Sassaquee(No, I have no idea if that is spelled correctly), or else a not so serious day trip made with some friends up on Pelican Lake near Orr, MN. The more I think about it, the more I am leaning towards the day trip up to Pelican Lake. If that is the case we really didn’t catch anything other than a few small perch and maybe some bluegills and sunfish, along with a nice solid sunburn! Like I said, that really wasn’t what I would call anything even remotely resembling “fishing”. We rented a house boat for the day and just kind of bopped around the lake shooting the breeze, occasionally remembering to throw the line in the water.

The bottom line is that it has been way too long since I have been out on a lake to enjoy a good old fashioned fishing trip and I am going to do everything I can to make it happen this summer. Even if it is just a short weekend trip up to Rainy Lake on the Minnesota/Canada border with my folks.

Oh and for the record, when I am browsing through the sporting goods departments and stores, my purchase that I need to make before I can hit the lake is a new rod and reel…..in case you were wondering!

I think this story really hit home with me, and in some ways is a reason I decided to start this site, because from the story it sounds like the young man is roughly my age and it really made me remember those moments that I have had with my Dad. My first deer with the family 30-30 that had been passed on to me or the first trip I made with my Dad and uncle’s up to Canada Lake Trout Fishing. God willing, my Dad will be around for many more years, but I know that when that time comes I can always cherish those memories, as well as enjoy making more every time we enjoy the outdoors together, and nobody and nothing can ever take that away from me.

I can only hope that someday when I have children of my own, I can pass my own memories on to my children for them to cherish for years after I am gone.

The added bonus was that I got some great sunset and reflection pictures at the lake. Being able to witness a great sunset is always relaxing but I think even more so when it is on or near a nice calm lake. Everything just feels bigger and brighter, drawing you in just that much more. On the way out from the lake I even managed so see a couple deer that were roaming the campsites, thinking they had the place to themselves by that time of night!

All in all, it was a very relaxing evening that resulted in some pretty good pictures being shot as well.

Some entries may be journal-esque, others informative and I’m sure I will have my share of stories from the past to share with you as well.

I hope to make this a site where fellow outdoorsman can share stories, thoughts and more; so don’t be shy when you visit. I’d love to hear about your experiences also!

For now, though, I am off to see if I can shoot some pictures of a few Mallards before dark!

Enjoy the outdoors!