The Outdoor Dude

 We Minnesotan's love the outdoors in winter. we have ice skating, Ice Fishing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and much more. One of the major things that we need to look out for in the winter in Minnesota is thin Ice.  Thin Ice can be decptive, in that when you have thick blanket of snow on the ground it actually makes the ice thinner. so what are some ways that you can do to help avoid taking a polar plunge inexpertly.  You should test the ice with chisle to make sure that you have at least 5-7  inches of ice under you. look for where birds and fish have weakened the ice, look for black or pucked ice.  If you are driving on the one you should alway have a window open when on the ice if your car should go down. IF you should fall into the water or brake through the ice you should swim toward the direction that you came from and if you are unsure about how thick the ice is you should wear a life jacket. 

 The Minnesota department of Natural resources is look for people to collect Black Spruce pine cones to help resupply there forestry service stash. You could be paid up to $85 per bushel of the black spruce pine cones. Black Spruce are found in northern and northeastern Minnesota. Want to help Minnesota’s forests grow healthy and strong while making some extra money at the same time? The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has an opportunity for you. Each year, the DNR purchases tree seeds and cones from people who collect them on their property or on state forest land. Seeds are extracted from the cones at the State Forest Nursery and used for reforestration. The DNR currently needs hundreds of bushels of black spruce cones within the next few weeks to meet state and county spruce seed orders for spring 2021 reforestation efforts. Seeds from the nursery are used to reforest about 6,000 acres of black spruce in Minnesota each year.  “A low supply of black spruce cones in...

This weeks state park is Sibley State Park. here is some information about this great park . There is so much to do and experience at this park that was built by the Minnesota veterans Conservation Core. The Park was named after Minnesota's First Governor, Henry Hastings Sibley.   Much of the landscape of this beautiful park was formed by glaciers that came down from Canada. they created many of the Large hills and farmland that you will see in this area. Many of the lakes were formed during this time as well.  While hiking the trails or fishing on the lakes you may encounter the wildlife that this park has to offer. some of the animals that you might see here are: White-tailed deer, red and grey fox, badgers, blue herons, and pelicans.  There are many different things that you can do at this great park. You can hike to the top of Mount Tom, there are multiple lakes and rivers that you can enjoy with things like fishing, swimming, canoeing , and much more. You can ca...