I don’t remember getting a year older, but I just glanced at a calendar and here I am.
And as I’ve heard said, “Wherever you go, there you are!” Ah, but rather than say that the glass is almost empty we can at least observe that it will soon be full again. A new year and a bunch of new experiences, good or bad, is soon upon us.

So where’s the snow? For many years we went snowmobiling before, during and after Christmastime.

Keith Krebill bagged a 285-pound elk cow while hunting just south of Johannesburg Dec. 8. The 30-year-old Lakeview man, accompanied by his father and father-in-law, downed the two-year-old elk after five days of tracking a herd.

Each year I like to give readers a story about what it may be like when Christmas arrives in the animal’s forest world. This story may also be found in my latest book, “A Brown Trout Bicycle,” or: “Once Upon the Woods & Waters,” available through Amazon or the Kindle link.

Ben Wickerham, who now works out of Flushing, Michigan, has been named the new regional representative for Michigan’s Pheasants Forever. A native of Sheridan, Wickerham earned a B.S. in Zoology at Michigan State University. And, although he will work out of his Flushing office, his roots remain deep in the Montcalm County area. For example, his father, Jay Wickerham, was a founding father of the Montcalm County Pheasants Forever chapter, one of the oldest chapters in the state.

From all indications we’re about to have one of those unpredictable winters, where ice fishing on the lakes will be a little iffy. At least in central and southern Michigan.

We’ll likely have a freeze, a meltdown, and even some rain mixed in with snow, making us cautious about safety on the ice.

While we have but a few days left in the regular firearms deer season, other hunting will be taking the spotlight.

The start of the firearm deer season has been good for area hunters so far, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The first day of the season saw an average number of deer being brought to the check station in Belding, said DNR wildlife biologist John Niewoonder.

There’s an old saying that “what’s past is prologue,” so I trust it is true in this case as well. You see, for the second year in a row I can’t participate on the opening day of firearms deer season. Perhaps that will change in the future, but for now I’ll settle for a day or two at our deer camp sometime during the season.

According to all reports, deer hunters and available deer could set some numerical records this year. Although some hunts are now actually over or ongoing, the firearms season is when we could see approximately 500,000 hunters take to the woods and fields. And that happens Nov. 15 to Nov. 30.