03-22-2004, 01:57 AM
[size 2]Doug Leier column: Spring is in the air; Take the time to enjoy the beauty of springtime
The Forum - 03/21/2004 [/size]
Spring is on the way and I can’t wait to get into it. Not that this winter has been so horrible, but I find more reward in anticipating what’s next, and I’m ready to move on from activities designed to help us tolerate the cold and snow.
Ask my mom, and she’ll tell you I never had much patience. Many of my teachers would say I should’ve paid better attention to the detail of what was in front of me and not what was next.
Anticipation … it’s my biggest shortcoming.
Do you fall into the same category? While some of the best ice fishing in North Dakota might still be ahead, do you find yourself dreaming of getting the boat onto the open water of your favorite lake and catching the one that got away last year?
Does the start of baseball season make it more difficult to focus on the great joys of the here and now? Am I the only one who thinks spring training just means we’re another step closer to the World Series, which equals fall, and that my friends is hunting season, right?
Be honest, as you perused the latest gadgetry at your local sports show don’t tell me the sweats of spring fever weren’t cast aside for thoughts of a crisp fall morning chasing roosters?
As the saying goes, admitting the shortfall is step one to overcoming the problem. But if that were the case, I’d have kicked this lack of patience some 25 years ago. I’m satisfied realizing that my focus will always be more on what’s next, than right now.
But if I did want to take in what’s available during this winter-to-spring transition period, I’d look at the calendar and find no shortage of work activities or play on the near horizon. We’re on the back side of sport show season, spring crow season opened March 13, spring snow goose hunting should be kicking into high gear any day, open water fishing is just a cast or two away, and North Dakota Game and Fish Department Advisory Board meetings begin across the state the last week of March.
If you’ve never tried birding, take a morning in the next month and glory at the true signs of spring, freshly arrived robins and meadowlarks, and skies filled with migrating waterfowl. All you need is time, a country road map, and your trusty binoculars.
Enjoy a sun-drenched afternoon searching for deer antler sheds amongst the woods and riparian areas. Areas where white-tailed deer yarded up during winter are a good starting point. If you’re lucky you’ll beat the mice to the take on discarded deer antlers.
And if it’s a gray kind of day, I’ll bet you still haven’t organized your tackle box like you promised yourself when you put it away last fall?
If all else fails a country drive is food for the soul, better yet it serves a visual reminder of life on the prairie. We’re blessed, or in the case of a March storm, some would say cursed, with four distinct seasons. Over the course of winter even the most enthusiastic tire of shorter days and long cold nights. Just getting out and breathing the fresh spring air is therapeutic.
As we wait for green grass and open water, take an extra moment to investigate, and enjoy the season at hand. I’ve got a hunch summer will be here in no time. I can’t wait.
Leier, a biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in West Fargo, can be reached at (701) 277-0719 or at dleier@state.nd.us
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The Forum - 03/21/2004 [/size]
Spring is on the way and I can’t wait to get into it. Not that this winter has been so horrible, but I find more reward in anticipating what’s next, and I’m ready to move on from activities designed to help us tolerate the cold and snow.
Ask my mom, and she’ll tell you I never had much patience. Many of my teachers would say I should’ve paid better attention to the detail of what was in front of me and not what was next.
Anticipation … it’s my biggest shortcoming.
Do you fall into the same category? While some of the best ice fishing in North Dakota might still be ahead, do you find yourself dreaming of getting the boat onto the open water of your favorite lake and catching the one that got away last year?
Does the start of baseball season make it more difficult to focus on the great joys of the here and now? Am I the only one who thinks spring training just means we’re another step closer to the World Series, which equals fall, and that my friends is hunting season, right?
Be honest, as you perused the latest gadgetry at your local sports show don’t tell me the sweats of spring fever weren’t cast aside for thoughts of a crisp fall morning chasing roosters?
As the saying goes, admitting the shortfall is step one to overcoming the problem. But if that were the case, I’d have kicked this lack of patience some 25 years ago. I’m satisfied realizing that my focus will always be more on what’s next, than right now.
But if I did want to take in what’s available during this winter-to-spring transition period, I’d look at the calendar and find no shortage of work activities or play on the near horizon. We’re on the back side of sport show season, spring crow season opened March 13, spring snow goose hunting should be kicking into high gear any day, open water fishing is just a cast or two away, and North Dakota Game and Fish Department Advisory Board meetings begin across the state the last week of March.
If you’ve never tried birding, take a morning in the next month and glory at the true signs of spring, freshly arrived robins and meadowlarks, and skies filled with migrating waterfowl. All you need is time, a country road map, and your trusty binoculars.
Enjoy a sun-drenched afternoon searching for deer antler sheds amongst the woods and riparian areas. Areas where white-tailed deer yarded up during winter are a good starting point. If you’re lucky you’ll beat the mice to the take on discarded deer antlers.
And if it’s a gray kind of day, I’ll bet you still haven’t organized your tackle box like you promised yourself when you put it away last fall?
If all else fails a country drive is food for the soul, better yet it serves a visual reminder of life on the prairie. We’re blessed, or in the case of a March storm, some would say cursed, with four distinct seasons. Over the course of winter even the most enthusiastic tire of shorter days and long cold nights. Just getting out and breathing the fresh spring air is therapeutic.
As we wait for green grass and open water, take an extra moment to investigate, and enjoy the season at hand. I’ve got a hunch summer will be here in no time. I can’t wait.
Leier, a biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in West Fargo, can be reached at (701) 277-0719 or at dleier@state.nd.us
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