As I look forward to 2009 with high expectations, dreams and hopes, this is an appropriate time to take a moment to reflect back on some personal outdoor memories from 2008.
Some were pleasant memories and some were not so pleasant.
Here they are:
An orgy of mowing lawns
Every week (March-November), I faithfully mowed our lawn and Elaine's mom's (she lives next door).
Plus for three of those months I also did our other neighbor's lawn, while they were temporarily in Las Vegas.
Sadly, I saw most of the year from behind a dumb lawnmower.
Bacon cheeseburgers at Bordertown
It has become almost ritualistic to stop at Bordertown on the way to our cabin between Portola and Davis Lake, Calif.
Their bacon cheeseburger with French fries is outstanding and the waitresses always have a "Ton of Fun" with us.
Dennis Hudson barbecuing at the OSA summer picnics
The Ormsby Sportsmen's Association (OSA) held four summer picnics at Mills Park and Dennis was the head chef.
He did an awesome job barbecuing all the steaks, hamburgers and hotdogs, even if you couldn't see him through the thick white smoke.
He speaks with forked tongue
Elmer Bull works for NDOW at the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area and gave me a hot tip on Lahontan cutthroat trout fishing at Walker Lake.
My six fishing partners and I went there and got totally skunked.
Hmmm, why do I have a funny feeling that he was getting even with me?
Getting super seasick while fishing at Sitka, Alaska
On the first day of our King Salmon and Halibut fishing trip at Sitka, Alaska, we ran into horribly bad weather, 30 miles out in the ocean.
That water looked like a scene from the TV show "Deadliest Catch."
Don Hettrick, Chuck Van Hise and I were busy "chumming" over the rail, while Elaine was busy catching Salmon.
All the guys got sick, she didn't.
Jerry Lent of Reno elected as the Wildlife Commission Chairman
He was elected Chairman at his very frist meeting as a Commissioners.
Lent has been one of the biggest vocal critics of the Commission and NDOW through the years. It could prove interesting now that he is "one of them," especially when the 2009 Legislature convenes in early February.
Mind-boggling $4+ a gallon for fuel
When the cost of gasoline and diesel soared past $4 a gallon, it put a huge whammy on many of our fishing trips.
Sadly, it was a lot cheaper to stay home and mow those miserable lawns than drive down the highways.
One more fun-filled year as the Nevada Appeal Outdoors Editor
I've had that pleasure for 20+ years, and I wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world.
Gosh, where else can you pick on every one of your friends and relatives in front of some 50,000+ readers. I love it.
Picking on those poor souls: Elmer Bull, Dave Beronio and Norm Budden
All the folks on my personal E-mail list know how I love to constantly pick on those three poor souls.
However, for the record, Elmer is the one who screams the loudest when I nail him. Is it because he lives in Yerington?
Picking on Marty Martinez
I had a "Ton of Fun" picking on my old pal and fishing partner, Marty Martinez, throughout the year, just to hear him rant and rave and call me bad names.
Best of all, when I did, his drinking cronies at Moe and Sluggo's used my material to also pick on him. Life is good!
Serving a term as the President of OSA, one more time
I had the distinct personal pleasure of serving as the Ormsby Sportsmen's Association (OSA) President this year, for the fourth time in the club's history.
My first term of office was way back in 1978. Heck, I bet a lot of you weren't even a gleam in your dad's eye at that time.
The little "Forkie" (2X2) buck
He (with many other deer) visited our cabin near Davis Lake, Calif., on a regular basis after they migrated back into that area in the Spring.
He has a broken left front leg that has re-healed very crooked, but that bad leg hasn't slowed him down one bit in keeping up with the rest of the deer.
He is my favorite of all the deer.
The God awful food on my ill-fated five-day antelope hunt
Mark Day was our "Supply Sergeant" and his idea of food for four of us for five days was: Two packs of beef jerky, a can of anchovies and a couple cans of sardines and oysters. Geez, no wonder I missed my shots, I was starving!
The trophy 4X4 buck
The deer that visited our cabin also included a magnificent, trophy-sized 4X4 buck with an antler spread of close to 30 inches. He was the focal point of many of our photographs during the summer.
This guy would be a real "Wall-Hanger" for sure, if he were outside of our "Game Refuge" area.
The water draw down at Caples Lake
When they drew down the lake's water level to replace the two water gates at the base of the dam, I ended up shore fishing, way out past where we had trolled in a boat in past years.
Geez, Caples Lake turned into Caples Puddle. Pretty sad looking.
Two wimpy pumpkins
I spent a ton of time, money and work, all summer, trying to grow two Pumpkin plants in our garden. I ended up with two pumpkins, each about the size of a grapefruit. Sigh, what the heck did I do wrong?
The 125 OSA members who were delinquent on their dues
I've been told there is a limit to being cheap, but at a measly $5 a year for dues, those 125 must have set a new standard by being delinquent two years in a row.
Geez, a hamburger, French fries and a Coke for your lunch cost more than that.
The 329 paid-up members of OSA for the year 2008
I've also been told this is a new high for total paid-up members of OSA.
A sincere thanks to each of the 329 who helped make OSA one of the biggest and best sportsmen's clubs in the state.
Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can't tell you which of those Don Q memories is the top favorite.
If he grins and says, "Shucks, that's easy, it's his term of office as OSA President for the fourth time in history," he could be a close friend of mine and he could also be a member of OSA.