July 24th, 2008
By Arthur

I was talking to my father-in-law the other evening, and he brought up something that really intrigued me. One of his renters, who had just recently returned from a year and a half in Iraq, had a plan that he thought I would be interested in helping with. The plan is a little ambitious, but in the end is definitely worth it. I honestly can’t believe that something like this doesn’t exist in our state already, but I’m hopefully that one day it becomes a reality.

The idea behind the plan is to have a dedicated place where any veteran, especially disabled ones, could be able to enjoy the outdoors. A place where they could come for a weekend, or however long, and turkey hunt, deer hunt, duck hunt, or just fish. A place where they can enjoy the things they once did and be able to forget, for just those few days, about their everyday life struggles. I think we at least owe them that much.

I have found quite a few organizations that do something similar to this, but of course they are in different states. There are also a couple organizations that do this, but they rely upon hunting clubs and such to provide the land for these hunting opportunities. Don’t get me wrong, I think that organizations like that are great as well, but the vision that he has for this project is to have a a place where these particular gentleman and women can enjoy the outdoors, and have that place be specifically built for their needs. By having a “resort” of such, it makes it much easier to provide the necessary services that will allow these veterans, despite what kind of disabilities they may have, to still be able to enjoy the outdoors.

I have to be honest and tell you I wasn’t really sure I could contribute a lot to this cause. I mean sure I would love to volunteer my services to take a couple of these veterans out on a hunt, and be a “guide” of sorts, but once I got started talking to Joe (the guy with the idea), I realized that he was already ahead of the game. He already has a lot of good contacts that he has established in the outdoor community, and with the drive I see that he has for this particular project, I have total faith that it will become a reality. He has even talked to the local VFW’s as well as the local VA and has already started the ball rolling.

The biggest obstacle he faces right now is acquiring land. He has had many people offer up donated vehicles for the lodge, and things of that nature, but land is the one thing that holds him up. He is hopeful that he can acquire some “backers” to help raise enough money to purchase a plot of land and get this project rolling.

I think this is a great idea, and I am more than willing to do whatever needs to be done in order to get this thing off the ground. I would be more than happy to take these veterans hunting and fishing, and have a chance to get to know them, and thank them for the service they’ve done for our country. It only makes sense to give back to these particular individuals and allow them to be able to enjoy our state’s great outdoors.

If any of you have anything you could contribute to this particular idea I would love to hear about in the comments section.

Popularity: 5% [?]

July 23rd, 2008
By Arthur

Well, it was official yesterday. With my 312th post, Simplyoutdoors.net has been around for a whole year. It all started with this measely little post, and has came a long way since then.

I honestly had no idea where I wanted the site to go when Jeff and I first started it last year, but I have to say that I am pretty pleased with the outcome so far. It started just as a way to share with family and friends our outdoor pursuits, and has branched into many other things as well. Never did I think I would be a “writer”, and I still use that term loosely to describe myself, but I have to say that I’ve come along way from our original posts.

In this first year we have given young people plenty of chances to enjoy the outdoors. We’ve gotten Jeff’s kids actively involved in hunting, and took my cousin Corrin on her first bowhunts. If anything, those have been the most important accomplishments that have came from our site.

We have also voiced our opinions about many topics, and let our voices be heard about certain issues, from our home state, which didn’t sit very well with us. We have also promoted issues from our state which we thought would have a very positive effect here in Michigan. We have also been active in covering topics that affected sportsmen(and women) nationwide, and have had the opportunity, through various other outdoor blogs, to keep up on national outdoor topics, and have our voice heard when it involves them. It has been one heck of a year hasn’t it?

We were also very fortunate, right from the start, to come across Kristine’s blog and get involved in the Outdoor Bloggers Summit. This started a phenomenon which I am still in awe about. I never thought that we would be involved in such a great organization as the OBS, but we are, and we couldn’t be more proud of that. The OBS has also provided us a way to have a great online network of friends that hopefully we’ll be able to meet at the OBS Summit in 2009.

This last year has also provided for a number of other opportunities as well-getting to guest post on such sites as Jody’s, and one that you will read soon on Blessed’s. I also have another guest post that will be featured on another site that I’m very proud of, but you’ll just have to wait to see what site that is. It doesn’t involve the outdoors, but it sure involves something I’m passionate about–money!

This past year has also seen us head to Shiloh, to fulfill one of our Outdoor Intentions, and also provided another new series-that was featured on the site-to promote our home state. The Michigan Sanctuaries Series is one of the best things we’ve done on the site, and I’ve been privileged enough to have Kristine contribute to that series as well.

All in all it has been a heck of a first year, and looking back, I believe it can only get better. Another hunting season is on the horizon, and our first addition to our family will be here in only a few short months. I’m sure, in the months to come, that SimplyOutdoors.net will have much more to share, as well as much more to learn. And we couldn’t be more excited.

Here’s to another great year!

Popularity: 9% [?]

July 22nd, 2008
By Arthur

I have to say I’m a bit jealous.  My sister’s boyfriend, who has been featured many times on the site, is at it again.  I wish I was young again, and didn’t have all of these obligations that I have, so that I could just enjoy the outdoors like I used to, but I have to do other things.  Sometimes I hate life.

Alright, so maybe I’m kidding.  Justin does have a job, and he does have obligations, but for some reason he just tends to get outside more than I do.  His recent excursions have taken him outside to do something that I wish I would have done by now.  As you can tell from the title of the post, I’m talking about bowfishing.

Justin, his dad, and a few of his friends have been going out and trying to put an arrow through a carp or garfish.  I have honestly been wanting to do this for the last few years, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet.  Justin even, just recently, bought a generator to use to run his flood lights that help you to locate fish in the dark.  I will have to get pictures of the whole setup at some point, but for now you’ll just have to settle for a picture of this huge carp that he shot on a recent trip. Look at that monster.

For now, I will just wallow in my own pity until I can get myself out there with them one night to fish.  I have an old bow, and I really should set that up for bowfishing, but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.  I’m not sure if it will happen this year or not, but hopefully it does.  Even if I only get to go with them on a trip and get to witness the event, that would be alright with me at that point.  I guess I’ll have to make an appointment, as I’m not sure how many spots are open on the boat, or how big the boat is.

So for all of you out there who are willing to give it a shot, get yourself out there and try to shoot some pesky fish species with bow and arrow.  It looks like a great way to spend a summer evening.

Popularity: 9% [?]

July 21st, 2008
By Arthur

It seems that everywhere I go lately, I come across plenty of wildlife.  This is especially true on our hunting property the last couple of weeks.  I’m definitely not complaining, and I hope it keeps up, it just came as a little bit of a shock to me. 

The property we hunt on is on a dead-end road that only has two houses on it.  It is pretty secluded and kind of “off the beaten path”.  It actually works out pretty good, because the animals seem to be more at ease in the open so it provides for more chances of actually seeing some good stuff.

The picture on the left I took as I made way down the road to the property.  These two fawns were standing on the side of the drive I needed to pull in, so I stopped the car and they were nice enough to hold still long enough for me to take a snapshot.  I love spring time fawns.  They are so cool to see and get a chance to look at.  I’m not sure where mom was, but I’m sure she was nearby.

Then, last Saturday morning, as I was driving in to check the cam, I noticed all these big black dots along the driveway.  Of course they are turkeys, but I was a little disappointed because there wasn’t a tom in the bunch.  At least I know there are plenty of tom attractors for next year though.

I also found an interesting picture on the cam last weekend.  I think it might be the “buck ghost of season’s past”.  I moved the trailcam to a different spot where I found some really good sign.  This is in the area that I didn’t even realize was still part of the property we could hunt, so I wanted to check it out this year with the trailcam and see where a well-placed treestand would hopefully produce some results.  I did a major no-no with the trailcam though, and in my haste to get away from the mosquito army, I faced it directly east into the sunlight.  This picture is over-exposed as a result, but I think all of you can see that that is a decent buck in the picture.  He does look ghostly, but I still know he is there.  It looks like this new area might be working out after all.  The camera only took a total of 12 pictures before the battery died, so I was pretty happy with my camera-to-buck ratio this week:)  I plan on slapping some new batteries in it and getting it back out to this same location, and letting it sit for a longer duration this time.  I’m pretty excited about what could show up.

So turkeys, fawns, and ghost bucks.  A little bit of everything showed up this weekend! 

Popularity: 11% [?]