Fun with Gopher (Bull) Snakes

I came in from gardening last Sunday to an urgent message from GrandHuckling Joshua. Joshua, his mom and three siblings live on acreage at the eastern edge of Aurora, Colorado – some 20 miles from downtown Denver. “Grandpa, we have a great big rattlesnake on the patio...

All about Lightning and Safety

We can pretty much agree on the thrill and excitement of a lightning storm, I think. Some sights and sounds and smells are just never forgotten. Forty-five years after grad school and those dazzling nighttime storms in eastern Kansas, I can still feel the electricity...

Yakima River Chinook Fishing – Finally!

The kings are coming! The kings are coming! Yakima Nation and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife fish pros are expecting 2,000+ harvestable Levi George (Cle Elum) Hatchery springers in the river – even though they are very late this year. As of today, the 20+...

Kids, Fishing and Derbies

Well, here it is at last; Washington’s Free Fishing Weekend. Buckle up. Tomorrow and Sunday, no one in your family will need a license to fish in any open water in the state. Here’s the small print (read it like that hurried description of side effects at the...

Swallows Bring Summer – and Eat Pests

Based on conversations with several homeys over the past week or so, my recent garden experience is about normal for this particular year. Even at mid-day, I was finding that the mosquitoes would suddenly outnumber the weeds I was pulling. I found myself praying –...