You’re A Sportsman…But Are You A Woodsman?

WOODSMAN: A man who works or lives in the woods and possesses skill and experience in matters relating to the woods; as in hunting, fishing, or camping.

It never ceases to amaze me how many sportsman are not very woods savvy. Example: If you were sitting at the base of a tree turkey hunting this morning could you identify what type of tree it was? Likewise, you might have heard some owls hooting in the early morning…can you tell what species of owl was making that noise? Or perhaps everywhere you looked this morning the woods was covered with these delicate white flowers…any idea what type of wildflower it was?

These are some of the little skills that makes a person a total woodsman. Oh sure, you don’t have to be able to name the thorny brush you clear away from the deer stand to make you a successful deer hunter. Or you don’t have to be able to read the stars in the early morning sky to make you a more productive duck hunter. Or tell the type of clouds moving in to make you a better fisherman, but possessing those skills does make you a better, more well-rounded outdoorsman.

When you get beyond the hunt itself and begin appreciating all of elements of nature it can turn even a bad day spent outdoors into something worthwhile. Gaining a deeper appreciation of the beauty and mysteries of the outdoor world can be a very enlightening experience. Moreover, when you begin paying attention to the details found in the woods I believe it also trains your senses to begin observing other aspects that most certainly can increase your hunting success.

For many years I’ve had a fascination with the early spring plants that pop up on the otherwise brown forest floor. Some, like the wild leek, are edible and can be eaten as part of a lunchtime treat when turkey hunting. Many others are simply there for your viewing enjoyment.

Yesterday morning, while walking through a nearby woods, I snapped the following plant pictures with my camera. Note this is a great way to learn about plants and other elements of nature. Take a picture of it…then come home using a guidebook to identify it.

One of the pictures, the Minnesota Dwarf Trout Lily, is a rare plant species in that it grows only in a small area and no place else in the world. Plants or animals like this are called “endemic.” In this case the plant is known to only grow in about a 25-mile area covering two Minnesota counties. Even finding the plant is a rare discovery since the flower is mixed with white trout lilies and the tiny blossom measures about 3/8”…but for any of this to be meaningful or important you need to know the history of the plants and animals in your area.

Dwarftroutlily