| Outdoor activities can be fun for the entire family |
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| Opinion | |||
| Written by Dave Alsbrooks | |||
| Friday, 05 March 2010 09:00 | |||
March — FINALLY! If you are reading this week’s column on Saturday morning, I am hopefully on the water somewhere in my fishin’ boat. There’s new equipment to try out and cobwebs to brush off.  If the sun rises and the winds are calm, it’s time to cast until I drop. We have been without fresh filets at our home for a while now, and I feel the need to restock the freezer. I will provide a report in my next column. Many of us feel the urgent need to get outdoors and enjoy the fresh air and open space. The long winter this year has caused extended symptoms of cabin fever for many. As you slingshot yourself toward your private space this spring, remember the young ones. If you have a son who loves the outdoors as much as you do, he will never let you leave without him. Those of you who have daughters, please remember to ask them along. A morning or all day out with dad in his open space can be a good activity for both. It’s always great if mom gets to go along also. I was more of a fisherman when my daughter was born. I never missed an opportunity to take her to a pond or on the boat we eventually acquired. As I started hunting more and more, she would go with me when I was hunting Miami County in the ’80s. She enjoyed most outings, but transitioned into girl sports around 10 years old. This was good timing, because my son was then 5 years old and demanding to go on all hunting and fishing outings with me. I have since lost my best hunting and fishing buddy to K-State for the time being. Although my daughter went on to do women things in high school and college, she has never forgotten our outdoor legacy and is excited for her first son to continue our family heritage. As a young girl, she learned the value of nature and the correct stewardship of our resources. She learned safety on the water and with firearms. The positive outdoor experiences we had together hopefully provided her with a data base of knowledge to make honest decisions about her family and the legacy she will leave for future generations. It helps that our son-in-law also enjoys outdoor activities. If you have a family of all daughters, do not assume you are on your own, or that you will have to wait for a buddy to head outside. Most of the time, at least one daughter will show an interest in learning good hunting and/or fishing skills from you. If you expose young children to the outdoors when it is comfortable, and make it fun, they will want to go again. The younger they get started, the sooner you will know if they enjoy the activity. Warmer sunny days and shorter outings are best when they are younger. Always take along picnic stuff and something for them to carry or hold. A toy gun or fishing pole without hooks will make them feel like they are involved and keep them from grabbing at your equipment. I suggest leaving all video games at home, and I am still up in the air about cell phones and texting. Cell phones are definitely a must-have safety item, but texting nonstop can be distracting and may be unsafe in certain situations. If they turn you down when you ask them to go along, or they just will not get out of bed early, at least you have included them in your plans. Please remember to offer your daughter the opportunity to pass along your family’s outdoor heritage. Also, gentlemen, you should always invite your better half along sometimes. This old fisherman does not have enough time in my life to write that column. Mark Gray texted me a picture of his first coyote of 2010. He was one determined hunter. He loves to fish, but has put the pole down temporarily to complete his mission to call in and drop a coyote. He called me one day last week, after a coyote hunt near Hillsdale, and was excited about the whitetail he called in with his new game caller. He was using the distressed fawn call when two large, probably pregnant, does came running in stomping and snorting. The natural mother instinct is something to behold in the wild, and can be very dangerous. I do believe that can be said of our species also. Mark did not get a coyote that day, but he was thrilled with the encounter and certainly enjoyed another successful day in the woods. Each time we step out, there is a chance that we will experience something new. It is always an adventure.
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