Leaves are falling once again

This past week I have given much thought to moving on to the next season with mixed emotions. It is always sad, to me, to see the end of summer and the time after most of the leaves have left the trees. The falling leaves give some of us a reason to be out in the yard raking and bagging leaves. I look back on the days when burning leaves was a part of the autumn ritual. I always looked forward to spending a fall day raking and burning leaves. The burning of leaves ushered autumn out and began the anticipation of the next season. Notice I didn’t spell out the next season, I just hinted at it.

 

When I think of Halloween, I always think of my Uncle Lloyd. He loved Halloween and would always like it when us kids would stop over for treats. I can remember when our boys were little and we would stop over. Lloyd was not an outdoors kind of guy, but he would have a little campfire made of leaves and twigs going in the yard for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. I am pretty sure that the hot dogs were cooked black on the outside, but not done in the middle. My grandma and Aunt Alice would have hot chocolate waiting for everyone in the kitchen.

 

Fall is a time for cleaning up the yard and putting things away for winter. It is also the time for some very good fishing. The “old timers” would always say that the best fall fishing was up to two weeks after the first “Hard” frost. I guess that I am now falling into that category.

Deer hunters invited to share wildlife observations

 

Minnesota deer hunters can use an online log to report wildlife they see while hunting. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources uses the information to supplement its model-generated population estimates, which are an important tool for managing wildlife.

 

Using a mobile device or computer, deer hunters can enter information about wildlife they see while in the field, including deer, turkey, bear, fisher and other species. Hunters are encouraged to fill out a hunter field log after each hunt, even if no deer are observed. This allows for an accurate estimate of the number of deer observed per hour of field observations, which provides a useful comparison to deer density modeling results. Minnesota DNR’s online log will remain open through the end of 2026.

 

More information on the hunter field log is available on the Minnesota DNR website.

 

Please take the time to remember our troops that are serving now and those that have served before them. They are the reason that we have all of the Freedoms that we enjoy today.