It’s a fact. The hours of sunlight are getting longer from now until late June. But that doesn’t mean the days won’t feel short with the early setting sun. Switching to a new calendar is always a good time to mark things you want to do again or for the first time if you missed the opportunity. (Note to self: mark a date in June to find green walnuts for Nocino for real this year. Just do it.) There are lots of things that mark the seasons personally for me. By no means am I anywhere near Bill Felkner’s level of knowledge and detail recording seasonal happenings (don’t forget the average part of this outdoor column), but looking back is a good reminder for opportunities taken, and missed, and where more could be done.
Take a class, or go on a hike.
Of course, you can always visit our public lands on your own. Winter is a great time to get away outside and there is seldom anything that approaches the crowds of summer. Cottontail Rabbit, Ringnecked Pheasant, deer archery, and squirrel seasons are still open. And if none of that suits you, read or reread “A Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold. It’s a timeless series of great essays on our connection to the world and our place in it. I’m going to mark a date in June to find green walnuts for nocino, in what’s become a stretch goal for me.
Read the complete column here: The new year brings new opportunities to connect with the outdoors
National Trail Parks and Recreation Department
Nocino
1. https://www.themeateater.com/wild-and-whole/wild-recipes/how-to-make-nocino
More to come
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