The Great Outdoors
by Larry Whiteley
THE LARGEST ARMY IN THE WORLD
Not all, but most fishermen also hunt. So, here is something to think about. There were more than 600,000 hunters last year in Wisconsin. That number pales in comparison to the 750,000 who hunted the woods of Pennsylvania and Michigan’s 700,000 hunters. Toss in a quarter-million hunters in West Virginia and it literally establishes the fact that the hunters of those four states alone would comprise the largest army in the world.
Add in the total number of hunters in our other 46 states as well as those that conceal carry, use guns for home protection or enjoy shooting sports but don’t hunt. It’s millions more. Those talking gun control need to understand that what they need to control are the movies, video games and TV shows that promote gun violence to those that go and commit mass shootings and all the other stuff they do.
What’s the point of all this?
America will forever be safe from invasion by our enemies with the kind of firepower our citizens have. It is a matter of national security and should give us peace of mind that we will always be able to enjoy fireworks and see our flag waving on Independence Day.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
“In 1939, Germany established gun control. From 1939 to 1945, six million Jews and seven million others unable to defend themselves were exterminated.” – Joe Wurzelbacher
CRAPPIE FROGGIN’
If you’ve never tasted bullfrog legs, you’re missing out on a delicious delicacy. You can buy them in restaurants and grocery stores but the fun is going out on a dark night and harvesting your own fresh frog legs. You can even do that while you’re out crappie fishing at night.
Keep a long-handled gig in the boat or use your bare hands to grab them. When you’re fishing and hear or see a bullfrog, keep a flashlight shining directly in their eyes to keep them from moving until you grab or gig them.
Bullfrogs can also be caught while you are crappie fishing during the day by dancing a jig or other small bait in front of them until they pounce on it. Just set the hook and reel them in. Cut off the legs at the hip joints, skin them, roll them in flour and cook them like you would chicken. Frog legs and crappie make a great meal.
FROG FACTS
During the summer, frogs serenade us with their sounds, protect us from plagues of insects, and then seemingly disappear for six months. They possess the almost magical ability to transform themselves from tiny tadpoles to big frogs. They can also walk on water when necessary to elude predators.
Frogs don’t rely entirely on their sticky tongue to catch their prey. They also pounce on them. Their diet includes insects, crayfish, amphibians including their own young, small mammals, fish, birds, snakes, small turtles, bats, shrews, baby muskrats, baby minks and hummingbirds.
THAT’S THE TRUTH
Getting caught up in the cycle of living is simple. Work, eat, sleep, repeat. Our routine can become us. That’s not living; that’s surviving. You need a little bit of the wild of nature to keep you fresh. Get outside and soak up the sun. Basically, stop and smell the roses.
