As a life-long central Pennsylvanian, I'm pretty used to the Winter by now. In fact, the early Winter is one of my busiest times of year for deer hunting, and I even did a little ice fishing this past season. What a great time!
But it never fails. With the exception of the occassional March blizzard to keep me on my toes, there's a time period between mid-February and late March that just makes you want... do nothing! Its too cold, often windy, and let's face it... most times the only snow remaining is some huge, dirty pile that was was plowed in the grocery store parking lot. Its ugly.
Of course, there's Easter, which is great. I enjoy the time spent with my wife and our families. But as I get older (maybe you can relate), I'm finding that I can still eat the entire plate of turkey, and the basket of chocolate that still seems to end up in my house every year... But I don't seem to burn it off as quickly. Its easy to get lazy.
Simply put... Spring can't get here soon enough!
I love the Spring for a lot of reasons...
Fishing, canoeing, hiking and walking the dogs at the local state park...
Watching the trees get green again, planting some new flowers around the house, and loading my old pick-up truck with mulch...
I even like mowing my lawn, spreading grass seed from time-to-time, and knowing that when the day is over, there's a comfy chair and cold beer waiting for me on the deck.
Spring makes me feel good.
For those who know me as an outdoorsman and hunter, many are surprised to hear me tell stories about the times when I'll spend hours in the woods, or along a creek, and come home empty-handed. Now, don't get me wrong. I am a sportsman. I've never met a nice-size deer I wouldn't like to have in my freezer, or a trout that I can't envision covered in cajun batter, frying on my grill, as I'm reeling it in.
But really, there are only brief opportunities for that type of thing... surrounded by a lot of other times, when you can't do much but simply enjoy your surroundings, and appreciate the wildlife that calls it home.
Below are a few recent pictures of my opening-day fishing trip. I've also posted a few pictures taken by the trail camera I have set up in the woods near my house. If you've never heard of one of these before, it's basically a weather-proof digital camera that has a motion-sensor on it. When something walks by it, it takes a picture. It even has a flash on it for night time pictures, which as you can see, are usually the most interesting.
Enjoy!
This is my prize catch... a 22-inch Brown Trout caught in a small creek in the northern Dauphin County area on March 29th. (...and yes, it was delicious!)
This photo is proof that a large fish has the power to bring Eagles and Cowboys fans together, if even for a short period of time! Pictured on the left is my newest fishing buddy, Ben Foster... husband of my on-air CBS 21 News partner, Tanya.
These next photos were taken by my trail camera in a small patch of woods near my home in northern York County. I set the camera up on a tree, along what I suspected was a well-traveled deer path. As you can see, I was right!
This next picture is my favorite... a pleasant surprise. A lot of early mornings when I'm hunting these woods during the Fall archery season, I see a lot more of this guy than I see deer. At least I'm never lonely out there!
Thanks for stopping by!... I hope you enjoy the Spring as much as I do!
-- Mike
