Hunting Sense

Even though there’s three feet of snow on the ground and we just finished a string of days that found the temperature at a balmy -34F, I feel that spring is on the way. And with the warmer temperatures and the melting of the snow comes the chance to get back out into the woods, something I’ve missed getting to do for a while now. I may not be hunting, but just getting back into nature will be awesome for the case of cabin fever that has been building steadily over the winter.

Camping, hiking, and fishing are on the top of the list this year as family activities, and I couldn’t be happier. I love both nearly as much as hunting. And they both give me the opportunity to teach the kids about the great outdoors as well as the wildlife that calls it home. I think I’ll continue to teach them to identify tracks and read sign, both of which is building a good knowledge base for when the boys get old enough to start hunting.

There’s also getting the chance to go out and continue teaching my oldest son the proper techniques of handling and firing a gun. He got his own air rifle (with a Mossy Oak stock no less) for Christmas and has had very little chance to shoot it because of the weather. He’s been about as patient as a nine year old can be, so as soon as we can, I think we’ll be shooting nearly every day if possible.

Another thing I think we all want to do is check out a lot of the other park and forests that we haven’t had the opportunity to yet. My wife’s father and his wife got us a year pass for all the provincial parks here in Ontario, so we plan on visiting as many as we can when going camping and hiking. There is one about twenty minutes away that we love to go to, but it would be nice to see some of the others, especially the ones further up north. All we have to do is wait for April, that is when the pass becomes active and likely when most of the parks will re-open for the season, depending on snow of course.

Another thing my wife and I love to do is to take pictures when we go to the forests, so I’m sure we’ll be taking a lot this year. That is definitely where a digital camera comes in handy, because if we had to develop film, we’d be broke in no time at all. This year, though, I’d like to get a few more photos of wildlife to go along with all the landscape shots we get. We’ll have to see how that works out.

Yes, I love winter, but I am looking forward to spring and the warmer weather and all the great things that it brings with it. All I can say is, no matter how quick it comes, it won’t be fast enough.

hunting, camping, hiking, fishing, outdoors, nature, Ontario, forest, provincial parks, gun handling, wildlife, reading sign, photography, landscapes