I love sharing these videos with all of you, and I love them for selfish reasons as well.  It’s just great to, not only be able to re-live the moment in your mind, but also to be able to see the moment over and over again.  And even though I wasn’t exactly patient when it came to the whole filming thing, so we didn’t get to capture the actual kill on film, it’s still cool to see the emotion that was experienced afterward.

This video is interesting too, because I always tend to be a little hard on TV shows that put so much focus on celebrating after a kill.  But I have to realize that emotion is a huge piece of the hunting puzzle and has to be included.  My elation in this video isn’t necessarily all about the kill; it was more about finally achieving a goal, and about never giving up.  And, in there somewhere, it was about providing some quality food for the table that the whole family feasted on later.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this latest video.  I get so excited in the video that I almost can’t even stand to watch myself.  But it was true, raw emotion; we don’t use cue cards in SimplyOutdoors’ videos.

Enjoy!

Cottage Craft Works make all kinds of unique things – hand-made furniture, fishing lures, custom gun stocks, toys and, of course, my personal favorite, hunting calls.  They make box calls, slate calls, owl hoots, grunt calls, and duck calls.  And many of their craftsmen work in small home-based shops across the United States, and some of their products come from deep within the Amish community and are made without the help of modern machinery or electricity.  How is that for a unique product?

We received our first calls this week, and to say that we were pleased would be an understatement.  The calls are gorgeous, they’re very unique, and they sound awesome.  I’m sure they will definitely help us to persuade a wary tom to head for our setup this spring.

And, in the true SimplyOutdoors’ spirit, we got the kids involved with the calls as well.  My little Abby gave the slate call a try with Uncle Jeff’s direction, and then later on, she gave the box call a try with some help from daddy.  I’m happy to report that she approved of both calls, and had a blast giving them a try (as you can see in the picture to the right).

We are very happy with the calls, and we can’t wait to take them into the field and put them to the test.  I know that they are going to help immensely in our turkey hunting pursuits.

And we’re proud to have Cottage Craft Works supporting us.

It’s interesting this time of the year as well.  On one end it’s great to see the snow disappearing and the start of spring begin to arrive.  But, on the other end, it sure makes for one heck of a mess because sidewalks and streets are wet……and dirty…… and nasty in a lot of areas – not that those things were going to keep us from enjoying being outside, though.

The last few nights we’ve huffed it through different neighborhoods throughout the city we call home, and we’ve had a blast doing it.  And it felt great to be outside while only wearing a light jacket or a hooded sweatshirt for warmth.  I loved ice fishing, and I love getting outside any time of the year, but being outside in the slightly milder temps is way more bearable…….especially for Abby.

I know these mild temps might not stay around for long, but the family and I sure have been taking full advantage of them.  They have allowed us to emerge from winter’s grasp and take in all of the things that come with spring.  And they’ve allowed us to slow down and look at our little community from a different perspective; to look at everything at 3mph rather than at 30mph.

Walks in the city definitely don’t compare to chasing after whitetails or fishing for steelhead, but they still have their purpose.  Plus, they show that getting outside, no matter what method you prefer, definitely has its benefits.  It allows you to slow down and take in your surroundings – to appreciate every animal seen and every tree passed.  It allows you to appreciate every step.

And, whether you’re in the woods or in the park, isn’t that what being outside is all about?

What I experienced this weekend, though, is one of the big things I love about Michigan – the definite change of the seasons.  And while it was a little depressing to know that the melt off would signal the end of our ice fishing for the season, it’s great to know that the melt off also signals to the steelhead that it’s time to head upstream.  You have to love the variety that Michigan’s woods and water provide!

And, I can’t forget, that this warm spell will also start to stir something inside Michigan’s turkey flock as well; they will starting thinking about those good-looking hens, and start gobbling from their roost very soon.  Of course, come the second of May, I will be in those woods and appreciating the newly regenerated woodlot and hoping that a lovesick tom heads my way.

Watching the changing of the seasons in Michigan is a very unique and one-of-a-kind experience.  And not a season goes by that doesn’t provide something exciting and stirring to do outdoors – and this year it has been even better. Usually this time of year I would be experiencing some serious cabin fever, but with my new ice fishing discovery, those feelings were definitely kept at bay.

As March arrives, there are no thoughts of cabin fever or seclusion.  The thoughts I have are those of anticipation and reflection; reflection on the first fish I ever hauled through the ice, and my wife’s first pike through the ice; reflection on quads heading across the frozen tundra that was Houghton Lake, and sitting on the ice eating hot pizza; and anticipation for the steelhead that will be running soon and the turkeys who will be answering our new Cottage Craft Works calls.

Every one of Michigan’s seasons brings with it a chance for a great outdoor experience.  And I look forward to every one of them.

This early season allowed Tyler to experience all the emotions that come with hunting – the feeling that comes with missing, and then the elation that comes with………well you’ll just have to watch to find out.

The long and short of this post is this:  It would be nice if some of our lawmakers, local authority figures, judges, and special interest groups didn’t worry so much about “endangered” wolves, lead in condors, Global Warming, and when and where we can carry a weapon, and maybe focused more on keeping those who break the law in confinement.

If they worried about this real issue, there is a certain possibility that tragedies such as this one wouldn’t happen.  It just makes me sick……and angry.  While all of these particular individuals and organizations are trying to find a way to make law-abiding citizen’s lives difficult by imposing unneeded and unwanted laws against them, monsters like the one connected to this story are still free to do as they please.

I pray for the family of this young girl; and as for her attacker, if he is proven guilty, I hope God has no mercy on his soul.

I just love seeing the kids involved in the outdoors.  It’s too cool!

Click the picture to watch.

Fishing License that was only good for 2 days:  $15

ORV Sticker that was only good for 2 days (after I lost it):  $16.25

Enduring the stress of driving 3 hours on ice-covered roads:  $0

My wife’s first fish through the ice and her biggest fish ever:  Priceless

This past weekend, the wife and I, along with a few members of the rest of our family, took a trip Up North and tried our luck ice fishing on Houghton Lake.  The drive up on Friday night was insane – we witnessed many cars in the ditch, and endured some treacherous road conditions – but everything cleared up on Saturday and it made for some decent ice fishing weather.

We were a little disheartened, however, when we arrived at the DNR launch and noticed the lot was empty.  In my experience, normally a place like this is empty because of one reason:  no fish.  After going through all the work of loading quads, and enduring the nasty drive on the way up, though, there was absolutely no way we weren’t going to at least try.

With quads and snowmobiles unloaded – all 10 of them – ice shanties hooked up and attached, and gear loaded into sleds, we were off.  The trip across the ice was pretty interesting, but uneventful, and the first spot we fished was uneventful as well.  After a little over an hour of not even feeling a fish, we ate some lunch and debated what to do with the rest of the day.

Finally, we all decided that we would head to an area that produced for us last summer.  After setting up in the area, it didn’t take long until a guy in a shanty near us had his tip-up flag raised.  We felt pretty good about the spot after that, and it wasn’t too long before Justin’s tip-up caught the first fish of the trip – a respectable pike.

I decided that, even though the wife and I were originally targeting bluegills, we would switch it up, put a pike minnow on our teardrops, and see what happens.  We had a few minutes of frustration, because of the lack of fish, but we just enjoyed the time outside and eventually the fish gods smiled down on our shanty.

After hours of waiting, I look over and notice the wife start to move a little bit; and then she – in the calmest voice I’ve ever heard – says, “I think I got something”.  A quick glance at her rod and I knew she definitely had something, but then the line appeared to go slack and I figured whatever it was was gone.  Upon reeling up her slack, however, the tug on the line was proof enough for me that something was, in fact, still there.  She stands up, continues to reel, and I just instinctively grab the line by hand as well, hoping to help pull whatever was on the line through the hole.  I was glad I did, too, because as soon as we got the 21 inch pike above the hole, the line promptly snapped in two and I had to pin him to the ice so that he couldn’t wiggle his way back into the hole.

It was a very cool experience, and provided the wife with, not only her first fish through the ice, but also her biggest fish ever.  We celebrated, screamed from the blind that we were on the board, and proceeded to take pictures.  And, as you can see from her pinky position in the picture, she wasn’t very fond of how slimy pike can be (I know Jody will appreciate the picture).  It sure made for some laughs later, though, when we went through the pictures from the day.

The weekend was awesome, and we all enjoyed our 7 hours on the ice.  A few of us managed to land some fish, all of us enjoyed the time spent outdoors, and getting outside always makes for a great day……….even if I did get out-fished by everyone, including the wife.

]]> http://www.simplyoutdoors.net/2010/03/01/worth-every-penny/feed/ 7 http://www.simplyoutdoors.net/2010/03/01/worth-every-penny/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SimplyOutdoors/~3/fGM7Ol-NsTk/ http://www.simplyoutdoors.net/2010/02/26/an-introduction-and-a-thank-you/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:16:14 +0000 Arthur http://www.simplyoutdoors.net/?p=3099 This has been one exciting week here at SimplyOutdoors, and we just want to say thank you to everyone who has visited the blog, watched a video, left a comment, or all of the above.  The work involved to get the site to where it’s at, and the time spent to get the video project off the ground, is completely worth it when we know all of you are watching, reading, and interacting.  It’s awesome.

And, on another note:  If you haven’t heard yet, Elizabeth, from Deer Passion, welcomed her first little one into the world just recently.  If you haven’t been over to her blog to check out the cute little thing, you’re missing out.

Have a great weekend everyone.  And we should have another new video up early next week.