Our Outdoors: At the End
Our Outdoors: At the EndBy Nick Simonson I’m a fan of end-of-the-world movies, particularly those incorporating the zombie genre into their plot. There’s something that piques my interest in those scenarios where nothing is left but a handful of hardy survivors taking on what remains of a hardened and structureless society of scavengers scraping by amidst the hordes of mindless cannibalistic ghouls. I wonder if I’d make it that far – six months, a year, or longer – in such a situation, but I figure probably not. I’d likely get tetanus from a rusty fishhook in my own tacklebox during […]
Our Outdoors: Paying Attention
Our Outdoors: Paying AttentionBy Nick Simonson Once in a great while while on the water, or in the tree stand, or even just out for an early morning run, I catch a glimpse of the rising sun before it disappears under the clouds for the day as a system begins to move through. I often find myself thinking with that moment I may be one of just a handful of people who saw the sun before the clouds set in for that entire day, and I can’t help but think of that brief window as being something special. It feels […]
Our Outdoors: Ups & Downs
Our Outdoors: Ups & DownsBy Nick Simonson The rolling hills around Big Detroit Lake in western Minnesota typically kick off my autumn, but it isn’t the scattering of ruffed grouse in its surrounding woods that elicit my echoing footfalls and that of hundreds of others on the weekend after Labor Day. Instead, the woodland birds, whose Minnesota opener is still a week off, have it easy for at least another seven days as I hit the pavement surrounding the water in the crisp, clear morning air of early September for the annual Dick Beardsley half marathon. Up each rise, my […]
Our Outdoors: Big Finish
Our Outdoors: Big FinishBy Nick Simonson Often now it seems that summer extends past Labor Day weekend. Where I used to be sprinting around the front yard at the cabin in blue jeans and a sweatshirt, tracking down a lofted spiraling football in my youth, the warmth of the elongated summer has been more conducive to board shorts and tank tops in the sunshine. The fish too hold on to their summer habits, as bluegills remain around the dock, the forest of lake grass stays green and tall in the depths and species such as walleyes and bass hold on […]
![Ringneck pheasants are the ultimate upland edge bird. Depending on conditions, they’ll utilize heavier cover to stay warm and then move into lighter grasses as the day progresses and temperatures rise. Knowing their preferred habitat and feeding schedule will help hunters find more success. Simonson Photo. [[Set near bottom of article]]](https://swmnhunting.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/RoosterSunCats-300x266.jpg)
Our Outdoors: Four Factors for Upland Game
Our Outdoors: Four Factors for Upland GameBy Nick SimonsonHunts are best viewed in hindsight. The thrill of the flush and the clamor of the shot often overpower the memory of the longer, quieter stretches of the walk leading up to those moments. But it is in that prologue to the excitement where we begin to realize what came together to make those thrilling instants happen. This autumn, as upland game season starting dates begin to peel off the calendar – starting with this week’s mourning dove opener on Sept. 1 – keep in mind the big four for all upland […]
Our Outdoors: Box It In
Our Outdoors: Box It InBy Nick Simonson Excitement is building for the upcoming hunting seasons, from archery deer and grouse just around the corner, to pheasant opener and the firearms big game seasons starting later in the autumn, and anticipation grows for these fall events that cannot be contained by the four lines which bound their square on the calendar. Undoubtedly, much planning has gone into each of them already, as phone calls exchanged by friends setting up traditional morning-of meetings and sweaty summer evenings at the range have been put in to make sure both gear and hunter are […]
Our Outdoors: Leading Indicators
Our Outdoors: Leading IndicatorsBy Nick Simonson Past performance is not indicative of future results.If you’ve ever caught the last five seconds of an investment commercial on the radio promising big returns in real estate, or how profitable opening your own franchise might be, you’ve likely grabbed that phrase out of the disclaimers crammed in a fast-talking, Micro Machines-style word salad spewed by the narrator in the final moments of the pitch. Oftentimes, it seems like the time devoted to the caveats and buyer beware portion of the advertisement is longer than the actual selling of the product, but generally, that […]
Our Outdoors: Bigger Than the Fish, But Not By Much
Our Outdoors: Bigger Than the Fish, But Not By MuchBy Nick Simonson The last time I was fishing in a kayak, I was lazily rolling down the canal which connected the back of our VRBO south of Ft. Meyers, Florida to the intercoastal waterway, where flounder, sailcats and the seatrout that I hoped most of all to connect with waited along the drop off at the juncture. Soaking in the warmth of the spring day I gazed out to the transition from brown sand to deeper blue water and lost myself in the moment. Suddenly, a paddle length to my […]
Our Outdoors: Midsummer Signs
Our Outdoors: Midsummer SignsBy Nick Simonson About this time of year, the young loons on the calm morning water of the lake begin to become more apparent. Half feathered and not quite yet the sleek black-and-white of their parents, they flex their independence or congregate in hangouts in front of the dock which rival teenagers getting together on a Friday night. Not long from now, usually before Labor Day, their parents will take off for warmer climates, leaving the last of the youngsters to mature, group up, and follow suit a week or two later in their first migration. How […]
