I hate winter.

Okay, so maybe I don’t hate winter all the time, but for right now I do. We have been getting snow nearly every day for about a week. And I’m not talking just a little bit of snow, either, I’m talking about 6 inches or more at a time, including a dumping of about 8 inches or more on Saturday.

Now usually I wouldn’t complain about snow, but when it starts accumulating this much it really tends to put a damper on all outside hunting activities. We planned a rabbit hunt for Sunday, but that sure wasn’t going to work – unless we went out and bought snowshoes of course.

I would love to shed hunt, but it’s a little early for that. And how am I suppose to find a shed, anyway, in the 14 or so inches we have on the ground right now. We have another 2 to 5 inches coming tonight, so, at this rate, we might not have a melt off good enough to allow shed hunting until mid-July!!!! Let it snow, let it snow I guess!

In the meantime I figured I could do a few things – that make me feel outdoorsy – that doesn’t involve shoveling snow.

The first thing I can do – as well as all of you Michigan turkey hunters – is apply for your turkey permit. You have until February 1st to get that done, and the results will be available March 2. For those of you who would like to hunt the Guaranteed Hunt Period (May 4th-31st), you can actually buy that license over-the-counter until February 1st without having to pay the application fee. I still haven’t decided which date I would like yet, so I’m contemplating that. I only have a few weeks left, though, to make my decision, so I need to do that soon. If you want more turkey hunting and/or licensing/application information you can go here.

The other thing you Michigan hunters can do – to get over all the snow we’ve been getting – is to provide the DNR with some input. They are looking for input on a few different issues: Crossbow hunting, The Calkins Bridge Dam, The Black Bear Management Plan, and the State Forest Management Plan.

All of these issues the DNR is asking for input on. There is a survey they would like you to fill out involving crossbow hunting in Michigan, they have a link to send email comments on the Bear Management plan here, and there is also a press release that explains what they would like to know in regards to the Calkins Bridge Dam on the Kalamazoo River.

Hopefully, once we are done filling out these surveys, and sending email comments about things that are important to us, the snow might be melted enough to allow for a rabbit or shed hunt. I’m not holding my breath, though, this is Michigan after all.

Man am I glad we bought that 4 wheel drive.

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