The Timberworks Lumberjack Show, featuring axe throwing, chopping, log rolling, cross-cut sawing, hot sawing and chainsaw carving, is a popular attraction at the annual Ultimate Sport Show in Grand Rapids. This year’s show runs March 12-15 at DeVos Place.
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
It’s the biggest outdoor show in West Michigan each year – the annual Ultimate Sport Show at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids.
This year’s show, the 81st annual show, begins next Thursday, March 12 and runs until Sunday, March 15, with more than four acres worth of fishing and hunting gear, outdoor travel, fishing boats, seminars and displays.
The centerpiece for the show’s activities is Lake Ultimate, a 110,000-gallon indoor “lake” that’s big enough for anglers to conduct seminars from their bass and walleye boats, while they’re running their trolling motors.
The Timberworks Lumberjack Show will take place daily on Lake Ultimate, featuring axe throwing, chopping, log rolling, cross-cut sawing, hot sawing and chainsaw carving.
The TV show “Michigan Out of Doors TV,” hosted by Jimmy Gretzinger and Jenny Ciolek, will have a taping titled “Big Buck Night – West” Thursday night at 6 p.m., which will be rebroadcast on public television stations across Michigan. They will interview hunters who have bagged some of the largest whitetail deer of the season.
Another returning show favorite is the Hawg Trough semi-trailer aquarium, a mobile 5,000-gallon tank. Guest fishing experts will present daily seminars and fishing demonstrations at the tank.
Other show highlights include a 25-foot-high rock-climbing wall, a kids’ archery range, trout pond, and antique lures display.
Five seminar stages will host fishing and hunting seminars throughout the weekend, presented by top guides and tournament anglers.
More than 40 companies will have fishing boats on display, and fishing tackle and specialty baits will be available for sale at the show. Lodges and resorts will also have opportunities for attendees to book a fishing or hunting trip.
The Kent County Sheriff’s Department will conduct on off-road vehicle certification course on Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. Certification is required for all children under age 16 to operate an ORV in the state, even on private property. The course is also available to older ORV operators as well. Successful completion of the course will lead to certification as an ORV operator by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. After the class, participants will be able to attend the show free of charge. Pre-registration is not required. Call 616-632-6223 for more information.
Ultimate Sport Show hours are 1 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, noon to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $12 for adults, $5 for children age 6-14 and children under 5 get in for free.
You can get $2 off an weekday adult admission ticket if you’re planning to attend Thursday or Friday. Go to the show website (UltimateSportShow.com), click on the “Buy Weekday Ticket” link and enter the promo code “HUNT” to get the discount. The discount ticket must be purchased before March 12 at 11:59 p.m., and the discount ticket is not valid Saturday or Sunday.
On Thursday, attendees can get free admission to the show by bringing a sack of non-perishable groceries for the annual Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger Food Drive.
For a complete show schedule and to buy tickets, visit UltimateSportShow.com.
Zeeland Record
It’s the biggest outdoor show in West Michigan each year – the annual Ultimate Sport Show at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids.
This year’s show, the 81st annual show, begins next Thursday, March 12 and runs until Sunday, March 15, with more than four acres worth of fishing and hunting gear, outdoor travel, fishing boats, seminars and displays.
The centerpiece for the show’s activities is Lake Ultimate, a 110,000-gallon indoor “lake” that’s big enough for anglers to conduct seminars from their bass and walleye boats, while they’re running their trolling motors.
The Timberworks Lumberjack Show will take place daily on Lake Ultimate, featuring axe throwing, chopping, log rolling, cross-cut sawing, hot sawing and chainsaw carving.
The TV show “Michigan Out of Doors TV,” hosted by Jimmy Gretzinger and Jenny Ciolek, will have a taping titled “Big Buck Night – West” Thursday night at 6 p.m., which will be rebroadcast on public television stations across Michigan. They will interview hunters who have bagged some of the largest whitetail deer of the season.
Another returning show favorite is the Hawg Trough semi-trailer aquarium, a mobile 5,000-gallon tank. Guest fishing experts will present daily seminars and fishing demonstrations at the tank.
Other show highlights include a 25-foot-high rock-climbing wall, a kids’ archery range, trout pond, and antique lures display.
Five seminar stages will host fishing and hunting seminars throughout the weekend, presented by top guides and tournament anglers.
More than 40 companies will have fishing boats on display, and fishing tackle and specialty baits will be available for sale at the show. Lodges and resorts will also have opportunities for attendees to book a fishing or hunting trip.
The Kent County Sheriff’s Department will conduct on off-road vehicle certification course on Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. Certification is required for all children under age 16 to operate an ORV in the state, even on private property. The course is also available to older ORV operators as well. Successful completion of the course will lead to certification as an ORV operator by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. After the class, participants will be able to attend the show free of charge. Pre-registration is not required. Call 616-632-6223 for more information.
Ultimate Sport Show hours are 1 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, noon to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $12 for adults, $5 for children age 6-14 and children under 5 get in for free.
You can get $2 off an weekday adult admission ticket if you’re planning to attend Thursday or Friday. Go to the show website (UltimateSportShow.com), click on the “Buy Weekday Ticket” link and enter the promo code “HUNT” to get the discount. The discount ticket must be purchased before March 12 at 11:59 p.m., and the discount ticket is not valid Saturday or Sunday.
On Thursday, attendees can get free admission to the show by bringing a sack of non-perishable groceries for the annual Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger Food Drive.
For a complete show schedule and to buy tickets, visit UltimateSportShow.com.
Planning for Detroit River and St. Clair River Walleye
Jack Payne shows off a walleye he caught on the Detroit River with a Charlie Brewer tail.
Photo provided
Photo provided
By Jack Payne
A cold wind was swirling, a mixture of light snow and rain was in the air, and the river surface was frothy. We were tucked behind an island making a 400-yard drift, and the fish were cooperating. The mighty Detroit River rarely disappoints. Unless the entire river is mud, and that happens on occasion, fishable water with fish is present somewhere. The first key is to continue moving from spot to spot.
We rarely fish unless we see fish on the graph. And we rarely stay more than, say, 15 minutes without hooking up on a walleye. Pure mud water, where visibility is limited to a few inches, is no good. Crystal clear water is also tougher. Water with some color to it will produce the best. Therefore, a Canadian license should be purchased.
Our tackle box is fairly sparse. We are not hung up on any particular jig head design. We do like the shiner head style from the Do-it-Mold Company. This jig head, along with a pill-style head, appears to have a longer belly than a traditional round ball head.
Either way, they all work. We use a one-ounce jig head the most. On windy days or when confronting depths greater than, say, 45 feet, we might opt for the 1.5-ounce head. Many guides have switched to the heavier heads because it's easier for their clients to feel the bottom.
Most guides use the unpainted heads. We paint ours with the glow chartreuse or the glow yellow. Jig head color means very little to me.
The other jig head that we use a lot, nearly half of the time, would be the Whistler jig heads. This head comes with a propeller blade and is downright deadly. However, they discontinued the one-ounce model a few years back.
No worries – buy some one-inch propeller blades, a few beads, and a very small section of plastic tubing. For about a quarter, you can make your own. And I doubt that one angler out of 500 has ever used this bait on the river.
We are old, and we learned this trick several years ago.
We use three different colors of plastic. Something along the lines of the Pimp Daddy, the dark purple and a translucent blue. Something along the lines of the old black ice and blue ice. One of these three colors will always be produced. Most of our plastics come from Charlie Brewer.
In the last two years, hair jigs have become a huge part of my arsenal. I still use the same size jig heads, but the deer hair and/or marabou body is unlike anything another angler would be using. You barely need to lift the jig.
The current gets the hair and marabou just pulsating. Make your own or check out Fly Fishing University.
A simple way to make your own would be to use a piece of plastic worm and a piece of marabou strand. A three-inch needle is needed, and it takes one minute to make. Check out how to make a Lindy Fuzzy Grub.
In any given season, 80-90 percent of our fish come on a stinger hook. The stinger hook needs to hang at least a half-inch behind your plastic tail or hair. A walleye will suck in the plastic tail or the hair, and often shortens the jig head hook. The stinger will catch the fish.
A dead rod with a streamer is a neat way to fish two rods. I do this only when the conditions are perfect. I need to run the trolling motor and a rod with a jig. The dead rod should have a sinker of at least 1.5 ounces, and two ounces might be better. You do not want it tangling with your jigging rod streamers.
Bottom bouncers and three-way rigs come into play as the water warms. Some anglers use a crawler harness, but I would go with a slow-death rig and a Smyle Blade. Use just enough crawler with only one inch of hanging.
We bleed all of our fish just before heading back to the dock. When we fillet the fish, we also zip each fillet, removing the mud line and the pin bones. Both are very simple techniques that take only a minute.
Stop in at Bob's Gun and Tackle Shop for your early-season fishing products.
A cold wind was swirling, a mixture of light snow and rain was in the air, and the river surface was frothy. We were tucked behind an island making a 400-yard drift, and the fish were cooperating. The mighty Detroit River rarely disappoints. Unless the entire river is mud, and that happens on occasion, fishable water with fish is present somewhere. The first key is to continue moving from spot to spot.
We rarely fish unless we see fish on the graph. And we rarely stay more than, say, 15 minutes without hooking up on a walleye. Pure mud water, where visibility is limited to a few inches, is no good. Crystal clear water is also tougher. Water with some color to it will produce the best. Therefore, a Canadian license should be purchased.
Our tackle box is fairly sparse. We are not hung up on any particular jig head design. We do like the shiner head style from the Do-it-Mold Company. This jig head, along with a pill-style head, appears to have a longer belly than a traditional round ball head.
Either way, they all work. We use a one-ounce jig head the most. On windy days or when confronting depths greater than, say, 45 feet, we might opt for the 1.5-ounce head. Many guides have switched to the heavier heads because it's easier for their clients to feel the bottom.
Most guides use the unpainted heads. We paint ours with the glow chartreuse or the glow yellow. Jig head color means very little to me.
The other jig head that we use a lot, nearly half of the time, would be the Whistler jig heads. This head comes with a propeller blade and is downright deadly. However, they discontinued the one-ounce model a few years back.
No worries – buy some one-inch propeller blades, a few beads, and a very small section of plastic tubing. For about a quarter, you can make your own. And I doubt that one angler out of 500 has ever used this bait on the river.
We are old, and we learned this trick several years ago.
We use three different colors of plastic. Something along the lines of the Pimp Daddy, the dark purple and a translucent blue. Something along the lines of the old black ice and blue ice. One of these three colors will always be produced. Most of our plastics come from Charlie Brewer.
In the last two years, hair jigs have become a huge part of my arsenal. I still use the same size jig heads, but the deer hair and/or marabou body is unlike anything another angler would be using. You barely need to lift the jig.
The current gets the hair and marabou just pulsating. Make your own or check out Fly Fishing University.
A simple way to make your own would be to use a piece of plastic worm and a piece of marabou strand. A three-inch needle is needed, and it takes one minute to make. Check out how to make a Lindy Fuzzy Grub.
In any given season, 80-90 percent of our fish come on a stinger hook. The stinger hook needs to hang at least a half-inch behind your plastic tail or hair. A walleye will suck in the plastic tail or the hair, and often shortens the jig head hook. The stinger will catch the fish.
A dead rod with a streamer is a neat way to fish two rods. I do this only when the conditions are perfect. I need to run the trolling motor and a rod with a jig. The dead rod should have a sinker of at least 1.5 ounces, and two ounces might be better. You do not want it tangling with your jigging rod streamers.
Bottom bouncers and three-way rigs come into play as the water warms. Some anglers use a crawler harness, but I would go with a slow-death rig and a Smyle Blade. Use just enough crawler with only one inch of hanging.
We bleed all of our fish just before heading back to the dock. When we fillet the fish, we also zip each fillet, removing the mud line and the pin bones. Both are very simple techniques that take only a minute.
Stop in at Bob's Gun and Tackle Shop for your early-season fishing products.
U.S. Plans to Clear-cut in U.P. Forest; Some Fear for Endangered Species
(Ed. Note: This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. Visit the newsroom online: bridgemi.com.)
By Laura Herberg
Bridge Michigan
The U.S. Forest Service is proposing a massive project in a national forest in Michigan that would log land roughly the size of Detroit, expand gravel mining and build roads.
The Silver Branch Vegetation Management Project would span about 40 miles from north to south on the eastern edge of the Ottawa National Forest in the western Upper Peninsula. The area along the border with Wisconsin includes habitat for the endangered northern long-eared bat, one of several reasons environmental groups have raised alarms about the project.
The multi-faceted proposal also includes a wild rice seeding project, improvements to campgrounds and lake access and attempts to bolster habitat for the protected Kirtland’s warbler. The whole thing is projected to last around 30 years, with periodic reviews.
Unlike national parks, national forests serve multiple purposes. They’re set aside for recreation, wildlife habitat and to provide timber. Ottawa National Forest officials say the Silver Branch project is not primarily about logging, it’s about getting the right tree mix for forest maintenance and health.
However, the project has drawn concerns from a wide range of groups, from environmentalists to off-roaders.
“It involves 25,000 acres of national forest clear-cutting and yet the determination has been that there would be no significant impacts from such activities. That’s just not plausible,” said Kelly Thayer, a senior policy advocate at the Environmental Law & Policy Center, a Midwest-based legal advocacy group.
That group and a loose coalition of organizations and businesses expressed concerns about the project in a letter and a 73-page document sent to the U.S. Forest Service. They’re worried that logging would spread invasive species, increase water runoff and impact habitat for protected animals found in the area like gray wolves and northern long-eared bats. They also don’t like that trees more than 100 years old would be taken out.
“The mature forest is most important for sequestering carbon and helping to stabilize our climate,” Thayer said. “Replanting with young trees in their place will not replicate the kind of benefits that the public receives now.”
The groups want to see the project boundary changed to better preserve current and proposed protected wilderness areas. They also want to see an environmental impact statement produced.
The federal government already put together an environmental assessment and determined there would be “no significant impact” from the project. If the Forest Service pursued an environmental impact statement, it would need to answer tough questions about environmental concerns and potentially propose alternatives.
The Forest Service previously offered a 30-day comment period for the project beginning Dec. 23. It’s planning to open a window for objections in March, though an exact date is not posted. It’s currently anticipating making a decision on the project that same month.
If the project is approved, it is expected to begin in June.
The project as it stands involves a mix of logging: about 1,500 acres of clear-cutting and around 24,000 acres of a kind of clear-cutting that leaves certain trees. These sections are dispersed throughout the project area (see proposed north, middle and south maps). There would also be around 57,000 acres of other kinds of more-targeted logging. Add up the areas slated to have tree removal and they equal about 130 square miles.
The district ranger in the Bessemer, Iron River and Watersmeet Ranger Districts of the Ottawa National Forest, Trevor Hahka, told Bridge Michigan in an email it’s unclear how much money the project would generate from logging.
“Revenue from timber sales depends on market conditions,” he said.
Who would do the logging has not been decided but would be offered to private contractors through a competitive bidding process. Selected logging companies would then pay fees to the federal government for the timber they harvest and the companies would keep any profits. The money from the fees would go into federal accounts and not stay solely within the Ottawa National Forest. Contracts for gravel mining would also be competitively bid but the gravel would not be sold but used for Forest Service roads.
Hahka said the proposed logging is “not the primary goal” and restoring ecological balance to the woods is. He said there are too many hardwoods, aspen trees that are getting older than desired and conifers that are declining.
“Active management in overstocked or aging stands prevents decline and promotes long-term forest health,” he said.
The Forest Service, Hahka said, recognizes many of the concerns outlined by the coalition and have included measures to address them. He noted there are protective buffers around known northern long-eared bat roosts, they’re following best practices to reduce water runoff issues and limit the spread of invasive species, and that the project, through thinning and prescribed burns, would increase forest resilience to pests, disease and wildfire, issues amplified by climate change.
Thayer, with the Environmental Law & Policy Center, said that sometimes invasive species spread happens unintentionally during the logging process, when plants and seeds get stuck in equipment tread. He also pointed to findings in the Forest Service’s own environmental assessment that seemed to suggest some fire risk from logging:
“There is a potential for the accrual of hazardous surface fuels after a timber harvest due to limbs, tops, and dead material within a stand after harvesting,” the environmental assessment reads. “This potentially heightens wildfire risk in stands that contain spruce and fir that have been affected by the spruce budworm and in areas with a heavy conifer component.”
In response to the groups’ asks, Hahka said no activities are proposed in designated wilderness areas, but the Forest Service does not anticipate putting together a full environmental impact statement.
David Carter, a forestry professor at Michigan State University, said the Silver Branch proposal “didn’t really raise any red flags.” He said it looked like a run-of-the-mill Forest Service project that involved some timber harvests, road maintenance and a lot of habitat restoration work.
He said Forest Service officials often become “punching bags” for people who have their hearts in the right place but who are misguided.
“It’s just so stinking hard to do the work, period, but let alone have the additional hurdle of people thinking you’re trying to do harm to the landscape when usually it’s the exact opposite,” he said.
Carter said that, when residents oppose projects like this, it’s mostly a “not in my back yard”-type situation.
“People’s demand for wood products has not gone down. It only goes up,” he said. “And so if we don’t harvest it here, we’re just going to harvest it from somewhere else.”
He said increasingly that ends up being places like Brazil, South Africa or southeast Asia, where “the regulatory infrastructure is not what it is here” in the United States.
By Laura Herberg
Bridge Michigan
The U.S. Forest Service is proposing a massive project in a national forest in Michigan that would log land roughly the size of Detroit, expand gravel mining and build roads.
The Silver Branch Vegetation Management Project would span about 40 miles from north to south on the eastern edge of the Ottawa National Forest in the western Upper Peninsula. The area along the border with Wisconsin includes habitat for the endangered northern long-eared bat, one of several reasons environmental groups have raised alarms about the project.
The multi-faceted proposal also includes a wild rice seeding project, improvements to campgrounds and lake access and attempts to bolster habitat for the protected Kirtland’s warbler. The whole thing is projected to last around 30 years, with periodic reviews.
Unlike national parks, national forests serve multiple purposes. They’re set aside for recreation, wildlife habitat and to provide timber. Ottawa National Forest officials say the Silver Branch project is not primarily about logging, it’s about getting the right tree mix for forest maintenance and health.
However, the project has drawn concerns from a wide range of groups, from environmentalists to off-roaders.
“It involves 25,000 acres of national forest clear-cutting and yet the determination has been that there would be no significant impacts from such activities. That’s just not plausible,” said Kelly Thayer, a senior policy advocate at the Environmental Law & Policy Center, a Midwest-based legal advocacy group.
That group and a loose coalition of organizations and businesses expressed concerns about the project in a letter and a 73-page document sent to the U.S. Forest Service. They’re worried that logging would spread invasive species, increase water runoff and impact habitat for protected animals found in the area like gray wolves and northern long-eared bats. They also don’t like that trees more than 100 years old would be taken out.
“The mature forest is most important for sequestering carbon and helping to stabilize our climate,” Thayer said. “Replanting with young trees in their place will not replicate the kind of benefits that the public receives now.”
The groups want to see the project boundary changed to better preserve current and proposed protected wilderness areas. They also want to see an environmental impact statement produced.
The federal government already put together an environmental assessment and determined there would be “no significant impact” from the project. If the Forest Service pursued an environmental impact statement, it would need to answer tough questions about environmental concerns and potentially propose alternatives.
The Forest Service previously offered a 30-day comment period for the project beginning Dec. 23. It’s planning to open a window for objections in March, though an exact date is not posted. It’s currently anticipating making a decision on the project that same month.
If the project is approved, it is expected to begin in June.
The project as it stands involves a mix of logging: about 1,500 acres of clear-cutting and around 24,000 acres of a kind of clear-cutting that leaves certain trees. These sections are dispersed throughout the project area (see proposed north, middle and south maps). There would also be around 57,000 acres of other kinds of more-targeted logging. Add up the areas slated to have tree removal and they equal about 130 square miles.
The district ranger in the Bessemer, Iron River and Watersmeet Ranger Districts of the Ottawa National Forest, Trevor Hahka, told Bridge Michigan in an email it’s unclear how much money the project would generate from logging.
“Revenue from timber sales depends on market conditions,” he said.
Who would do the logging has not been decided but would be offered to private contractors through a competitive bidding process. Selected logging companies would then pay fees to the federal government for the timber they harvest and the companies would keep any profits. The money from the fees would go into federal accounts and not stay solely within the Ottawa National Forest. Contracts for gravel mining would also be competitively bid but the gravel would not be sold but used for Forest Service roads.
Hahka said the proposed logging is “not the primary goal” and restoring ecological balance to the woods is. He said there are too many hardwoods, aspen trees that are getting older than desired and conifers that are declining.
“Active management in overstocked or aging stands prevents decline and promotes long-term forest health,” he said.
The Forest Service, Hahka said, recognizes many of the concerns outlined by the coalition and have included measures to address them. He noted there are protective buffers around known northern long-eared bat roosts, they’re following best practices to reduce water runoff issues and limit the spread of invasive species, and that the project, through thinning and prescribed burns, would increase forest resilience to pests, disease and wildfire, issues amplified by climate change.
Thayer, with the Environmental Law & Policy Center, said that sometimes invasive species spread happens unintentionally during the logging process, when plants and seeds get stuck in equipment tread. He also pointed to findings in the Forest Service’s own environmental assessment that seemed to suggest some fire risk from logging:
“There is a potential for the accrual of hazardous surface fuels after a timber harvest due to limbs, tops, and dead material within a stand after harvesting,” the environmental assessment reads. “This potentially heightens wildfire risk in stands that contain spruce and fir that have been affected by the spruce budworm and in areas with a heavy conifer component.”
In response to the groups’ asks, Hahka said no activities are proposed in designated wilderness areas, but the Forest Service does not anticipate putting together a full environmental impact statement.
David Carter, a forestry professor at Michigan State University, said the Silver Branch proposal “didn’t really raise any red flags.” He said it looked like a run-of-the-mill Forest Service project that involved some timber harvests, road maintenance and a lot of habitat restoration work.
He said Forest Service officials often become “punching bags” for people who have their hearts in the right place but who are misguided.
“It’s just so stinking hard to do the work, period, but let alone have the additional hurdle of people thinking you’re trying to do harm to the landscape when usually it’s the exact opposite,” he said.
Carter said that, when residents oppose projects like this, it’s mostly a “not in my back yard”-type situation.
“People’s demand for wood products has not gone down. It only goes up,” he said. “And so if we don’t harvest it here, we’re just going to harvest it from somewhere else.”
He said increasingly that ends up being places like Brazil, South Africa or southeast Asia, where “the regulatory infrastructure is not what it is here” in the United States.
Outdoor Truths: Fertilizer
By Gary Miller
It seems, years ago, I simply reacted when hunting season came.
The preparation phase lasted only about a month. The reason was because I hunted area farms.
Unlike many hardwoods’ areas, farmland hunting is fairly predictable. The deer are basically going to be there from year to year. I know this cuts out the need for a lot of scouting articles, but the truth is the truth.
For instance, I have heard all my life that oak trees only produce acorns every three years or so. Now, I’ve not studied this, so don’t send me mean emails.
What I have discovered is this: if there is an oak tree on the side of a field, and that field is fertilized by the farmer every year, that tree will have acorns every year. I have also noticed this: if that same farmer has several cows and those cows fertilize around that oak tree every year (if you know what I mean), that tree will have acorns every year as well. Things just are a little different on the farm.
And what about that wonderful spring gobbler? I’ve hunted them in the deep woods and on the farm and I can tell you, once again, if that farmer has cows and he feeds those cows a little sweet feed; he is creating one of the best management areas for turkeys.
What each hunter needs to realize is that each cow pie is a natural bait pile that a turkey will eventually find. Somehow, I just can’t see this technique being given print space in any outdoor magazine; but again, that’s life on the farm; a little different and, in my opinion, a lot better.
The farmer has learned that nothing is wasted – even waste. He has learned that what the rest of the world sees as worthless and even unmentionable is the catalyst for growth and the medium for consistency. He has learned that waste is not waste. It is fertilizer!
What all of us need to remember is there is nothing that happens in our life that is useless or worthless. God never looks at something we have done and says, “I can’t use that.” He uses everything and has promised that even the things we consider of no use, He will use to grow our life into one that is consistent in bearing spiritual fruit year after year.
As I like to say, not only can God make something out of nothing, but He can make something out of everything. And that means what looks like cow pies to you, is fertilizer to God.
—————
Gary Miller has written Outdoor Truths articles for 23 years. He has also written five books which include compilations of his articles and a father/son devotional. He also speaks at wild-game dinners and men’s events for churches and associations. Write to him at gary@outdoor truths.org.
It seems, years ago, I simply reacted when hunting season came.
The preparation phase lasted only about a month. The reason was because I hunted area farms.
Unlike many hardwoods’ areas, farmland hunting is fairly predictable. The deer are basically going to be there from year to year. I know this cuts out the need for a lot of scouting articles, but the truth is the truth.
For instance, I have heard all my life that oak trees only produce acorns every three years or so. Now, I’ve not studied this, so don’t send me mean emails.
What I have discovered is this: if there is an oak tree on the side of a field, and that field is fertilized by the farmer every year, that tree will have acorns every year. I have also noticed this: if that same farmer has several cows and those cows fertilize around that oak tree every year (if you know what I mean), that tree will have acorns every year as well. Things just are a little different on the farm.
And what about that wonderful spring gobbler? I’ve hunted them in the deep woods and on the farm and I can tell you, once again, if that farmer has cows and he feeds those cows a little sweet feed; he is creating one of the best management areas for turkeys.
What each hunter needs to realize is that each cow pie is a natural bait pile that a turkey will eventually find. Somehow, I just can’t see this technique being given print space in any outdoor magazine; but again, that’s life on the farm; a little different and, in my opinion, a lot better.
The farmer has learned that nothing is wasted – even waste. He has learned that what the rest of the world sees as worthless and even unmentionable is the catalyst for growth and the medium for consistency. He has learned that waste is not waste. It is fertilizer!
What all of us need to remember is there is nothing that happens in our life that is useless or worthless. God never looks at something we have done and says, “I can’t use that.” He uses everything and has promised that even the things we consider of no use, He will use to grow our life into one that is consistent in bearing spiritual fruit year after year.
As I like to say, not only can God make something out of nothing, but He can make something out of everything. And that means what looks like cow pies to you, is fertilizer to God.
—————
Gary Miller has written Outdoor Truths articles for 23 years. He has also written five books which include compilations of his articles and a father/son devotional. He also speaks at wild-game dinners and men’s events for churches and associations. Write to him at gary@outdoor truths.org.
Grow Your Own Fresh Vegetables and Save
A single tomato plant can produce an average of eight pounds or more of tomatoes.
Photo courtesy of All-America Selections
Photo courtesy of All-America Selections
By Melinda Myers
With escalating food prices, now is a great time to start growing some of your own vegetables. Not only can you save money, but you’ll enjoy great flavor and maximum nutritional value.
Take time to do a bit of planning. Your first trip to the garden center can result in buying more plants than the space and time you have available to grow and tend. Consider growing what you and your family like to eat fresh. Some vegetables, like greens, broccoli and peas, taste best when harvested from the garden and served the same day.
Include vegetables that are used in many of your favorite recipes. Even a few garden-fresh vegetables can boost the flavor of any dish.
Focus on vegetables that help reduce your food budget. Grow those that are more expensive to purchase or provide a large harvest for the available space. Tomatoes, greens, and sweet peppers are a few favorites to consider.
Sweet corn is fun and delicious to grow but requires more space than a single tomato plant which can produce an average of eight pounds or more of tomatoes per plant.
Once you have your list of vegetables you want to grow, start laying out the garden. Vegetables that produce fruit we eat, like tomatoes, peppers and squash, produce best when grown in full sun. Root crops, like radishes and carrots, prefer full sun but can tolerate some shade, while greens are the most shade tolerant.
Check spacing requirements for each vegetable as you plan your garden. Seed packets, plant tags, gardening catalogs, and websites, including your local University Extension Service, can help. More compact varieties need less space than their larger counterparts. Consider growing these if space is limited or when gardening in containers and elevated planters.
If you are feeling stuck, check out one of the many preplanned gardens you can find online. You may not find exactly what you are looking for, but you may find it easier to adapt an existing plan than starting from scratch.
Increase your harvest without expanding your garden with space-saving growing techniques. Grow vegetables in wide rows, providing the plants with just enough space to reach full size. Make sure all parts are accessible from the surrounding pathways.
Plant short-season vegetables, like lettuce, radishes and beets, in between those that need more space like tomatoes and peppers. You’ll be harvesting the quick-maturing vegetables by the time the bigger plants need the space.
Train vining crops, like cucumber, squash and melons, onto a support. You’ll save valuable garden space, reduce the risk of disease and make harvesting much easier. Create a sling from cloth or macramé and attach it to the support to prevent the weight of large squash and melons from breaking the vines.
Save even more time and money by talking with your gardening friends and family. Gardeners are some of the most generous people who are willing to share their knowledge, tools, seeds and transplants.
Learn more about growing your own fresh produce by attending my free webinar Getting Started Growing Vegetable and Flower Gardens on March 26, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. CT. It’s free but you must register. Visit my website, MelindaMyers.com, for details and if you can’t attend live, the recording and handout will be available at your convenience.
—————
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” streaming courses and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and her website is MelindaMyers.com.
With escalating food prices, now is a great time to start growing some of your own vegetables. Not only can you save money, but you’ll enjoy great flavor and maximum nutritional value.
Take time to do a bit of planning. Your first trip to the garden center can result in buying more plants than the space and time you have available to grow and tend. Consider growing what you and your family like to eat fresh. Some vegetables, like greens, broccoli and peas, taste best when harvested from the garden and served the same day.
Include vegetables that are used in many of your favorite recipes. Even a few garden-fresh vegetables can boost the flavor of any dish.
Focus on vegetables that help reduce your food budget. Grow those that are more expensive to purchase or provide a large harvest for the available space. Tomatoes, greens, and sweet peppers are a few favorites to consider.
Sweet corn is fun and delicious to grow but requires more space than a single tomato plant which can produce an average of eight pounds or more of tomatoes per plant.
Once you have your list of vegetables you want to grow, start laying out the garden. Vegetables that produce fruit we eat, like tomatoes, peppers and squash, produce best when grown in full sun. Root crops, like radishes and carrots, prefer full sun but can tolerate some shade, while greens are the most shade tolerant.
Check spacing requirements for each vegetable as you plan your garden. Seed packets, plant tags, gardening catalogs, and websites, including your local University Extension Service, can help. More compact varieties need less space than their larger counterparts. Consider growing these if space is limited or when gardening in containers and elevated planters.
If you are feeling stuck, check out one of the many preplanned gardens you can find online. You may not find exactly what you are looking for, but you may find it easier to adapt an existing plan than starting from scratch.
Increase your harvest without expanding your garden with space-saving growing techniques. Grow vegetables in wide rows, providing the plants with just enough space to reach full size. Make sure all parts are accessible from the surrounding pathways.
Plant short-season vegetables, like lettuce, radishes and beets, in between those that need more space like tomatoes and peppers. You’ll be harvesting the quick-maturing vegetables by the time the bigger plants need the space.
Train vining crops, like cucumber, squash and melons, onto a support. You’ll save valuable garden space, reduce the risk of disease and make harvesting much easier. Create a sling from cloth or macramé and attach it to the support to prevent the weight of large squash and melons from breaking the vines.
Save even more time and money by talking with your gardening friends and family. Gardeners are some of the most generous people who are willing to share their knowledge, tools, seeds and transplants.
Learn more about growing your own fresh produce by attending my free webinar Getting Started Growing Vegetable and Flower Gardens on March 26, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. CT. It’s free but you must register. Visit my website, MelindaMyers.com, for details and if you can’t attend live, the recording and handout will be available at your convenience.
—————
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” streaming courses and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and her website is MelindaMyers.com.
DNR Conservation Officer Receives Lifesaving Award
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources honored a West Michigan conservation officer at the February meeting of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission in Lansing.
Conservation Officer Kyle McQueer received a Lifesaving Award for his actions to help a Barry County man in cardiac distress on Oct. 17, 2024.
McQueer received an emergency call dispatched by the Barry County Sheriff’s Office to a residential address on Keller Road in Orangeville Township. The call was regarding a CPR-in-progress situation.
Less than a mile away, McQueer immediately responded and was the first emergency responder to arrive on scene, within minutes of the initial dispatch call.
Upon arrival, McQueer was directed to a detached garage where he located a 64-year-old man unconscious and not breathing. After assessing the situation and confirming there was no pulse or signs of breathing, McQueer activated his department-issued automated external defibrillator and began lifesaving measures.
An AED is a portable, user-friendly device that analyzes the heart’s rhythm and, if necessary, delivers an electric shock in an attempt to restore normal heart rhythm during cardiac arrest.
McQueer performed CPR, directing people on scene to assist with equipment, and maintained communication with dispatch regarding the man’s condition.
McQueer continued CPR and AED monitoring until the Orangeville Fire Department arrived, followed shortly by EMS. He assisted firefighters and remained engaged in resuscitation efforts. After several critical moments, responders were able to regain a pulse before transporting the man to Corewell Health Pennock Hospital in Hastings. The man was later transferred to a hospital in Grand Rapids and eventually released.
“Officer McQueer’s quick response and ability to stay calm under pressure and utilize his training were instrumental in giving this man a fighting chance at survival,” said Chief Brandon Kieft of the DNR Law Enforcement Division.
McQueer has been a conservation officer since 2017 and is assigned to Barry County.
Michigan conservation officers are fully commissioned law enforcement officers who provide natural resources protection, ensure recreational safety and protect residents through general law enforcement and lifesaving operations in the communities they serve. Learn more at Michigan.gov/ConservationOfficers.
Conservation Officer Kyle McQueer received a Lifesaving Award for his actions to help a Barry County man in cardiac distress on Oct. 17, 2024.
McQueer received an emergency call dispatched by the Barry County Sheriff’s Office to a residential address on Keller Road in Orangeville Township. The call was regarding a CPR-in-progress situation.
Less than a mile away, McQueer immediately responded and was the first emergency responder to arrive on scene, within minutes of the initial dispatch call.
Upon arrival, McQueer was directed to a detached garage where he located a 64-year-old man unconscious and not breathing. After assessing the situation and confirming there was no pulse or signs of breathing, McQueer activated his department-issued automated external defibrillator and began lifesaving measures.
An AED is a portable, user-friendly device that analyzes the heart’s rhythm and, if necessary, delivers an electric shock in an attempt to restore normal heart rhythm during cardiac arrest.
McQueer performed CPR, directing people on scene to assist with equipment, and maintained communication with dispatch regarding the man’s condition.
McQueer continued CPR and AED monitoring until the Orangeville Fire Department arrived, followed shortly by EMS. He assisted firefighters and remained engaged in resuscitation efforts. After several critical moments, responders were able to regain a pulse before transporting the man to Corewell Health Pennock Hospital in Hastings. The man was later transferred to a hospital in Grand Rapids and eventually released.
“Officer McQueer’s quick response and ability to stay calm under pressure and utilize his training were instrumental in giving this man a fighting chance at survival,” said Chief Brandon Kieft of the DNR Law Enforcement Division.
McQueer has been a conservation officer since 2017 and is assigned to Barry County.
Michigan conservation officers are fully commissioned law enforcement officers who provide natural resources protection, ensure recreational safety and protect residents through general law enforcement and lifesaving operations in the communities they serve. Learn more at Michigan.gov/ConservationOfficers.
