Taking one final, fond look back at 2009

MOSES LAKE - It's time to pause and look back at the past year through the outdoors window. The past 12 months offered many fruitful outings and corresponding memories. It was a great year.

The first column of each year has been devoted to what outdoor-minded people might do to make the outdoors better. This means to clean up after inconsiderate people who leave soda cans on the ground or candy wrappers or other simple trash, which could have easily been disposed of in a proper manner.

It also means continuing the outdoor traditions by helping a youth or adult who have not had much experience fishing, camping, cooking in the outdoors, hunting or wildlife viewing.

Expect such a column again next week. Not only does this carry on the first-of-the-year-column tradition, but also I trust it will set the mood or atmosphere for people to charge forward during the year.

There were columns about cooking wild game, which requires a special knack. Most wild meat is lean to the point of having little or no fat. For example, in preparation for a spaghetti dinner, the ground venison must be browned. During the butchering process, no fat or suet is added to my ground meat. Therefore, olive oil is placed to the skillet first to keep the ground venison from burning.

Expect more wild game cooking recipes this year, beginning with moose short ribs cooked in a slow cooker, which is cooking as this is being written. I'll let you know how it turned out and, if it turns out in a positive manner, the recipe will be shared.

One column covered the death of an Oregon woman who was driving home from a visit with friends. Her vehicle became stuck, but instead of being prepared for such a situation and staying put, she tried to hike out and died of hypothermia.

Such an incident allows a writer to follow up with the finer points of survival during not only the winter months, but throughout the year. A death in the outdoors does not need to occur in order to write a survival story. I would much rather write a precautionary story and save the life, so you can expect such a story next year.

A couple of columns were written about the Fish and Wildlife Master Hunter program. I first applied in 2008 and my interest wasn't complete, but, after applying again this year, all of the requirements were completed.

Look for a story about my journey through the process and what the program is all about. Check this week's hunting and fishing report about a change in the application timeline.

Traveling to Martha Lake on the March 1 opener has become a tradition for my wife, Garnet, and me. We plan to do so again next year, but with a little change.

Two years ago, in August of 2007, we purchased our first travel trailer. We had fun learning about camping with a trailer, but after two years felt the need for a different floor plan. In October we purchased a 2010 Hideout, Model 26RLS by Keystone.

Besides being able to back it more accurately these days, we have overcome the fear of taking it out of the winterizing mode early. This means we plan to begin camping at Martha Lake a day or so before March 1 and stay for a few days. Look for more trailer camping stories, mainly concerning what we learn during our outings.

Crayfish continued to be one of my interests during 2009. I was pleasantly surprised when 60 people attended a crawfish seminar held at Cascade Park. The number of people demonstrated the attraction of the critters to area residents. Word has reached this desk about a special crawfish trap design, which has been extremely successful. I would like to see it and purchase one. Look for more crawfish catching tips and recipes.

A late May visit with rock ‘n' roll legend Ted Nugent provided fodder for several columns. It is always an interesting time when Garnet and I have a chance to visit with Ted. There is a plan in the works to have lunch with him and Buck Knife Chairman of the Board Chuck Buck at the SHOT Show next month in Las Vegas.

This column has allowed me to excite and motivate people about into the outdoors. There are couples who don't know about fishing, but they have children ages 7 and 8 who are showing interest in learning. My job is to help the family find an educational outlet so they can learn together.

Besides youth, there are adults who don't know how to learn about an outdoor activity and, again, it my duty to guide them. Garnet is the perfect example of a person who didn't think they would ever want to hunt. She ended up with a 20-gauge shotgun and a ground blind. Now she enjoys pursuing wild turkeys during the fall season.

A new adventure for me was being with Dr. Thomas Steffens during his once-in-a-lifetime moose hunt. I didn't realize how large these critters were until Thomas dropped his 40-inch moose and the gutting and skinning began. I now have a new respect for the largest member of the deer family.

This is a time when many column writers are concentrating on the past decade as well as the past year. I'm going to shy away from this temptation until February. This will be the date when year 19 of writing this weekly column will be complete and year 20 will begin.

Garnet and I wish you all the best New Year ever.