I have to admit the rapid-fire bloom of Nebraska’s spring wildflowers stirs in me the same anxiety as a fill-in-the-blank pop quiz. Each year, with photographs of last year’s plants and guides in hand, I go back into the field to identify the ones that stumped me. Subtle, year over year differences in morphology, color, texture, fragrance and context make recognition especially difficult for me. … Continue reading Spring’s Wildflowers Bring Another Pop Quiz!
In response to requests for book recommendations, I have attached a brief list of popular books that cover a wide range of topics. Most were recommended by our guest hunters and focus on the basics of deer biology, ecology and behavior. Others, however, address the really “big topics” of conservation, our hunting heritage and preserving hunting for future generations. Please take a look and send me your comments and recommendations. I’ll add them to our list.
When the first thing a visitor sees are cattle lounging on your driveway or a bull bellowing nearby, they have two questions. “Are they your cattle?” And “what kind are they?” Both are good, straightforward questions that I will answer there. The short answer to the first question is that these are not our cattle. We do not own them and do very little for … Continue reading Cattle You Will See on the Ranch
Congratulates to Preston O’Dowd of Bennington, Nebraska on his harvest of an excellent whitetail. Preston had hunted western Nebraska many times before, but this was his first visit to our ranch. Preston had to work hard for this buck. It was a hefty but skittish 4×4 pointer that didn’t give us many looks at him during daylight hours. Preston described him as the largest buck … Continue reading Congratulations to Preston
If you see a windmill anywhere on the Great Plains, chances are very good that it was made by the Aeromotor Windmill Company. The company has been making windmills since 1888 and proudly proclaims them to be the lowest cost power on earth. They are also pretty reliable. Simple in design and rugged, our mills have given us dependable and low cost service for decades. This is why … Continue reading The Lowest Cost Power on Earth
My uncle Bob was a urban naturalist long before the title was invented. Not by any self-proclamation or through award of the title by some official authority, but by virtue of a lifetime of quiet study and practice helping people appreciate the natural world wherever they found it. Part time citizen scientist and full-time student and role model, he earned this recognition over a lifetime … Continue reading Puddles & Pollywogs: Recollections of My Uncle, an Urban Naturalist
When the subject is wind chill, the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) can’t be beat in its simple and starkly direct warning: “…the combination of wind and low temperature in winter can be deadly!” It’s hard to miss the point. Yet, out-of-state guest hunters come to the pine ridge annually with the idea that our mild November temperatures and low precipitation are no big deal. … Continue reading Wind And Low Temps Can Be Deadly
I love Halloween! It’s the single event that marks summer’s end and the beginning of fall. Were it not for Halloween, a kid growing up in Los Angeles wouldn’t notice the changing seasons. As a young Angelino, my summers really were endless. Back to school day at Saint Philip was little more than an inconvenience and recess was still sunny and warm. I barely noticed … Continue reading Fall’s Beacon
Nebraska is not all pancake-flat corn farms and feed lots. It’s also a place where adventure abounds on the northern high plains. Stretching from Valentine to the Wyoming border and south as far as Scottsbluff County is a region often called Wyobraska by its residents. As the name suggests, the region is a melting pot of sorts where east meets west. Eastern farms give way … Continue reading Wyobraska Means Adventure
I have to admit it. I always wanted to do a flyby. Never mind the fact that I don’t know how to fly. I just thought that it would be cool to follow the canyons from Fort Robinson up to the ranch and wave to the neighbors…all four of them. Well, on the day after the great eclipse, I had the opportunity to do just that. Even better, I had the opportunity to go flying with an old squadron buddy, an F-14 aviator and, yes, it doesn’t get much better than that!
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