My hunt for fresh meat led me to a beautiful T-bone Steak, secured to jeep rack for drive home.
And being law-abiding I affixed a DNR hunting tag to my trophy.
photos by Jonathan Schechter


It was a beautifully crisp, sunny day, the third day of deer season.  Frost on the ground made for easy
tracking. My earlier observations led me to a location where I could find my game:  Monster T-bones 
 fattened on field corn! Five minutes after quietly entering their lair I had my trophy, a fresh T-bone.  
  I could have wrapped it in freezer wrap and put it inside my jeep, or transported it in a more discrete
fashion that would protect the meat and maintain quality but with pride swelling in my chest I decided
 to  display the  meat on the roof of my jeep and drive about town for others to admire my prowess.
 And so I did.
Am I opposed to all hunting?  I am not.
Am I a vegetarian. Nope!
Heck, I even write every month for Woods N Water News, a monthly hunting and fishing
magazine.But when hunter friends tell me the hunt is "all about the meat", I grimace a bit and say little;
for if that was true they would not need to boast about display their buck trophy any more than I would
 need  to boast  of and display my Monster T-bone.

Close up of my monster T-bone  on jeep roof rack with DNR tag

A wild eastern coyote I photographed this summer in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
photo by Jonathan Schechter

Kudos to New Mexico State Land Commissioner Ray Powell for having the courage to stand up,
take action and stopping a barbaric COYOTE KILLING CONTEST. 
 He took legal action that in brief means anyone on State Trust Lands taking part  in the killing contest
 will be prosecuted. And as the press release below from the Mountain Mail newspaper in New Mexico 
shows he explained compassionately and in scientific terms why such indiscriminate killing en mass for
sport  and prizes will not be  allowed on 13  million acres of New Mexico Lands.
 

Powell Bans Commercial Coyote Killing Contest Participants from State Trust Lands
in New Mexico                                      

November 15, 2012 |

New Mexico State Land Commissioner Ray Powell announced today that the participants

 in the commercial Coyote Killing Contest, being run by the Gunhawk Firearms store in

Los Lunas, are not authorized to access New Mexico State Trust Land. In a letter sent today

 to the owner of Gunhawk Firearms, the Commissioner informed the sponsor of the event

that State Trust Lands  may not be used for this purpose. The contest is scheduled for this weekend, November 17th and 18th.

“The participants in this commercial and unregulated exploitation of wildlife do not have a

permit or lease to be on State Trust Lands,” said State Land Commissioner Ray Powell.

“Individuals killing coyotes on State Trust Land will be considered in trespass.”

“When our native predators or wild domestic dogs kill our agricultural and companion

 animals, the specific offending animal needs to be removed in a prompt and humane way.

The non-specific, indiscriminant killing methods, used in this commercial and unrestricted

 coyote killing contest are not about hunting or sound land management. These contests

are about personal profit, animal cruelty, and the severe disruption of the delicate balance

 of this desert ecosystem,” said Powell. “These lands support our public schools,

universities, and hospitals, New Mexico’s important agricultural industry, our

unique wildlife populations, and the cherished natural world we call home – New Mexico.

 It is time to outlaw this highly destructive activity.”

The State Land Office administers 13 million acres of trust land in New Mexico.

"Which seed first?" thinks the chickadee of late October
photo  by Jonathan Schechter

Chickadees are inquisitive, opportunist  birds and curious by nature. I do not hesitate in stating
they are intelligent  creatures.
And because we humans look at them as cute four factors fall in line to allow  hand-feeding.

Quick to learn
Opportunist
Intelligent
Curious

The chickadees of Kensington Metropark in SE Michigan have done an excellent job in training humans
 to provide seeds and nuts and reward them with tiny feet landing on warm palms.
And what better way for the chickadees to draw  the love and  admiration of humans leading to a
symbiotic relationship between humans and birds that stirs the wonder and curiosity of a child.

Waiting for chickadees at Kensington. Summer, 2012
photo by Jonathan Schechter

Laurie Schechter-Rimon with a chickadee at Kensington in October

Young park visitor Paris meets her first chickadee.
Summer 2012  photo by Amanda Nimke




 

M-22 in Leelanau County, Michigan  (mid-October 2012)
photos by Jonathan Schechter

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, 
 "Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there
 is no path and leave a trail."
Those timeless words fueled my wanderlust fever all spring and summer and now that the leaves are
gone from the forests and wildlands of Michigan it will fuel my passion for winter explorations.
But to get to where my on foot journey begins I need to drive. And these two image are from two of my
 favorite roads near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, my favorite lower Michigan backcountry
camping and hiking destination. Another month or so and I will revisit with cross country skis or
 snowshoes  for the  wonders of nature never end.
And I must answer the call of the woods.

My favorite hidden and drivable backcountry road near Sleeping Bear