I cannot believe that this year is already coming to an end. Everyone always told me, that the older I got, the faster time would go. Of course, at the time, I didn’t believe them for one minute. Now, looking back, though, I honestly cannot believe how fast time has gone.

As all of us do at this time of year, and I’m no exception. I have been reflecting back on the year that has passed: the things I’ve done, the things I didn’t do, and all the things that have happened this year.

First off, and anyone who reads this knows, 2008 was not my most successful outdoor year. This year’s turkey season didn’t go quite like I would have wanted it too, the river, nor the steelhead, ever really cooperated for us, and my experience chasing the intelligent Whitetail didn’t go quite as I would have hoped either. In retrospect, though, the year was still one of my best. I landed a new job which is going well, and I also landed a new daughter, which is even better. It was an all around good year despite my outdoor shortcomings.

I did manage to accomplish a few outdoor things I wanted to do: I visited Shiloh in April, and I managed to sit on stand all day. I have wanted to actually sit all day for a few years now, and I did mange to do that, and prove it could be done.

Jeff, on the other hand, had a great outdoor year: He shot his first turkey back in the Spring, and bagged one heck of a buck this year as well. His outdoor luck is always better than mine, so these two things came as no surprise. It was also no surprise that he landed a nice bass from the pond I had been fishing for weeks.

So 2008 is coming to a close, and deer season will end for us on New Year’s Day. I’m still thinking positive, though, because rabbit season is already upon us, and one of our old friends recently contacted us about using his dog. I’m sure that when spring arrives we will be heading up to cast a line at a few steelies as well.

I’m looking forward to 2009; looking forward to watching Abby grow; looking forward to the rabbit hunting that will take place; looking forward to the steelhead run; looking forward to the turkey’s gobbling.

Where did 2008 go? Here we come 2009!

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First off, I hope everyone had a great Christmas, and we all wish every one of you a Happy New Year as well.

I received a pretty unexpected email last week. Normally – I’ve found anyway – when you write a large corporation you tend to not get any sort of response. It really ticks me off actually. I’m not sure why it is, but usually, after putting in the effort to contact an organization, you hear nothing back from them. That is what I was fully expecting from CVS Pharmacy when I contacted them back at the beginning of December. I hadn’t heard anything in quite a few weeks, and had wrote them off. I figured I did my part, made my voice heard, and if they chose to ignore it, then that is one more customer they would lose. Then last week that all changed.

It all stemmed from a post I read at the Hooks and Bullets blog. Mike was very irritated by an article that was posted on the CVS website entitled “Children’s Health, Kids, and Guns”. The article was very anti-gun and basically described a bunch of lies about kids and hunting. Mike – and very articulately I might add – laid out some points about the article, and voiced his opinion about those certain areas. His post was great and is what inspired me to email CVS and tell them what I thought about the piece.

As I said above, I sent out my email, told them very politely what I thought was wrong with the article, and just basically voiced my displeasure about the posted article. I also pointed out a few things from the article that I thought was mis-information, and sent it on its way. Then I waited. And waited some more. And waited some more. Eventually I chalked it up as a lost cause, and just was happy in knowing that I did what I needed to do.

Then I got an email from Tammy, who works for CVS’s Customer Relations department. This is what it said:

Thank you for your email in regard to an article on gun safety that was posted to our website www.cvs.com <http://www.cvs.com/>. The article was included on our website as one of hundreds of articles that are intended to help our customers learn more about managing their health and making decisions to improve their health. The content was based upon the advice given on the subject by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Upon review of the article, however, we recognize that this informational article could be interpreted as a position statement of the company about guns and related issues, which it is not. We have removed the article from the website.

We appreciate you bringing this article to our attention.

And with that email I finally felt some vindication. It proves that there are still companies out there who listen to their customers, do a little investigation, and decide to do what’s right.

I think it is great that CVS pulled the article, and I thank Mike for bringing it to my attention.

It just goes to show everyone out there, that you can voice your concerns, speak up for what you believe in, and that it can pay off.

As sportsmen and gun owners we need to not stand idly by and wait for someone else to take care of the problems we see. We need to make our voices heard.

It can make a difference.

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Well after a long drought on the trail cam front, Justin came through with this hog of a buck from Jackson County. Now I wont say where this came from being that it’s a no hunting area where Justin works. They let him put up his trail cam trying to catch  poachers that they know that have been in the area. Looks like this big boy knows how to stay away from poachers!

On a good note we lost all of our snow so I will be out in the morning trying to get that “One last deer”

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Throughout the year all of us focus on our outdoor pursuits. Of course that makes sense, considering most of us run outdoor blogs. But at this time of the year, it is time to focus on other things. It’s not about the deer we shot this year (as if I did). It’s not about the material things we’ve acquired. This time of year is about celebrating the birth of baby Jesus, and the joy that it has brought into all of our lives.

From that moment in time the world changed forever. Can you imagine being one of the three wise men, following the star that would guide you to the new King?

Because of the events that transpired that day we all come together at this time of year. We do it to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We do it to celebrate family. We do it to celebrate all of the gifts that we have received throughout the year. And we come together to celebrate everything that has been given to us. For without Him all of us would have nothing.

As you sit down for Christmas dinner, or as you gather around the tree to open presents, please remember to appreciate what Christmas is all about. It isn’t all about the presents, and it surely isn’t all about the food. It is about the time with family, the gathering of friends, and the celebration of the birth of God’s son.

From the SimplyOutdoors family to all of yours: Have a Merry Christmas!

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This deer season is quickly coming to a close. We have merely a few days left before another season is in the books. Although, if the weather cooperates a few of us here at SimplyOutdoors may hit the woods a few more times before the New Year! I figured now would be a good time to look back and reflect on the season to see what lessons I have learned. So, here we go.

First, I that I learned that bowhunting is by far the most challenging, yet rewarding, way of hunting the whitetail for me. I can say that I always said it was, but did not have the real experience in the field to back up my belief. Now I do! In South Carolina (where I lived before recently moving to Michigan) rifle season is the primary deer season. I had dabbled in bowhunting, but never took it very seriously. Up here, it is a totally different story. I finally did shoot my first with a bow, but man, it took a lot of time in the woods. Patience was definitely key. I saw tons of deer this year, but not necessarily tons of deer within bowrange. It was a whole new experience sitting there with a bow, watching deer at 50-60 yards and not being able to take a shot! I learned to be disciplined and wait for the right shot. Jeff and Arthur were right though. They told me it would only be a matter of time before I would be hooked on bowhunting. It’s official – I’m now a bowhunting junkie!

Second, I really, really, can’t wait for my kids to start hunting. I had the opportunity to hunt with Jeff’s son, Tyler, during the youth hunt and had the incredible time taking my daughter, Kylie, out as well (as mentioned in an earlier post). Once again, I have always said that getting the youth involved in the outdoors is extremely important to me, but experiencing it firsthand made it even more real. I had a blast both times I went out. I think that in the future, sacrificing some of my alone hunting time to take the kids out will be well worth it. I look forward to not only hunting, but all outdoor activites with my two kids.

 The third lesson I can take away from this season is that videotaping while deerhunting is definitely not as easy as I thought. It takes a lot of patience as well as perseverance. Whether you are attempting to video yourself or video with someone else, neither version is easy. Jeff and I had several attempts together to get some footage of a shot on a deer. We did get footage, but none of a shot. I also attempted videoing myself once. It probably would have been a little easier if I was not using my climbing stand. Hopefully next year we can do a little better.

 Even though this season is not quite over, I am already looking forward to next season. It has been a blast so far this year. Hopefully this season’s experiences help push me to become a better outdoorsman for seasons to come.

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