A new look at winter

Use common sense on snowmobile. The DNRE is checking trails.

Yesterday and today, with their cold temperature and several inches of blowing snow, seems so typical of our annual two or three really nasty storms. For once, the county Road Commission was on the ball removing snow and icy crud from back roads.

It was a day most of us would like to forget. Frigid temps made it sheer misery to be outdoors. But outside I went, along with tens of thousands of other families in northern Michigan, to remove the residue of yet another heavy snow fall from our driveways.

The only saving factor today featured a pale lemon-yellow winter sunrise with lots of sunlight, and I stood outdoors for 20 minutes  watching the sun creep above the horizon and turn into a sunny morning before it began falling apart with more snow late this morning.

Live it up and enjoy the stark beauty of a fresh snow fall.

Winter, the coldest and nastiest of our four seasons, is much more than inclement weather. It's more than cold snaps or knee-deep snow, and snotty roads.

It's much more than felt-lined boots, ice spuds or two-pound monofilament humming from the pull of a bull bluegill in 12 feet of water under six inches of ice. It means more than Gore-Tex lined gloves, wool scarves, down-filled jackets or ear muffs. It is an attitude; a thought process; a willingness to live with the cold and snow, and still find it enjoyable ... most of the time.

Winter is a season of the senses. It's a time to use our eyes, ears, nose, touch, and yes, even our taste buds to better realize all the pleasures that the winter months can offer..

I'm a tracker, and always have been. It's fun to trail a fox or rabbit on fresh snow, and 60 minutes of walking the track of an animal can teach a hunter more about the critter than years of hunting.

Hearing is important, and for sportsmen, the finest sound is silence, which is nothing but the absence of noise. Nothing can compare with the soft hush of a cedar swamp or an evergreen plantation during a soft snow fall.

The swish of cross-country skis or snowshoes on snow is a delight that stimulates the senses. Silence on the ice is something to be treasured.

Paying attention to our five senses while outdoors can help us admire the winter.

Days when snow flakes  as big as half-dollars drift lazily down from a leaden sky makes me think of winter. It's easy to spend hours or days searching your soul in a cedar swamp looking for a snowshoe hares being chased by a long-legged beagle.

It's easy to overlook the clamor of a beagle pack (in itself a pleasing sound), and equally easy to forego the pleasant task of heading off the circling snowshoe hare. It's just as much fun listening to hounds in full cry as anything I can think of.

Many hunters find it easy to fall in love with winter during a long period of winter silence. It delivers a tonic for the soul which can't be found elsewhere.

Other winter sounds are common. The croak of a raven, and the early dusk hooting of an owl, are but two that trigger my winter thoughts.

Winter smells come to an outdoorsman clean, fresh and sharp. The air smells purer and less polluted now, and all smells appear stronger. A wood fire at home, and the scent of burning maple and oak is a winter tonic as it wafts across our nostrils.

Taste is one sense few sportsmen think about. I delight in the savory taste of a winter cookout, and it's always possible to catch a mess of bluegills for some of the finest eating in the world.

Hickory nuts are present in many winter areas, and if one can beat squirrels to them, the mast can offer a winter taste treat. They often seem a bit more winter-sharpened after lying beneath a mantle of snow for two or three months.

Touch ... it's a friend of the winter outdoorsman. Remember the first fox squirrel or red fox or cottontail rabbit you bagged? Chances are you stroked the soft fur and guard hairs, and felt a tiny twinge of remorse.

Snowmobiling can be a great time. Leave the booze home and be courteous and safe.

Winter is much more than cold, ice and snow. It’s a time to enjoy the outdoors.

Winter means more than a hunting, cross-country skiing or fishing trip. It offers the opportunity to get closer to nature and to see a side of winter wildlife that very few people know exist.

Search out the hidden wonders of nature, and use all five senses. You'll soon learn just how much fun winter can be, and it's not always necessary to fish or hunt. Living through a winter can be a good time.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors