by Doug Bahrenfuss

We are just entering a new year with a lot of winter ahead of us,but I’m already looking forward, and excited about whats around the corner. After you look at a frozen world for as long as we do in Northwest Iowa, there is one thing that keeps my blood warm, and that thing is knowing that it’s just a matter of time before they show up. I’m not talking about aliens from outer space or anything like that,I’m talking about babies. Yes—babies!! Baby deer, baby coons, baby fox, along with baby pheasants, ducks, and geese, not to mention all the song birds, that are too many species to mention by name.

I see all of these babies, but I also see so much more. When I see a baby deer, I wonder how it’s mother survived all the hunting seasons, for instance, where did she find a hiding place from hunters that were looking for her from October until January?? I’m a bow hunter, so I’m not “ anti-hunt”, but it still amazes me how a species that I hunt and harvest, can also bring me so much joy watching them start the next generation.

The next thing I see may be a hen pheasant and her brood. We as humans have gone through a blizzard that goes on non-stop for 2-3 days or more. When you look out your window and see nothing except blowing snow, the house seems chilly, so we set the thermostat a few degrees warmer and sit back down in our lazy boy chair. But how about mama pheasant? Where did she hide to survive the non-stop snow and wind? When she was hungry she couldn’t go to a fridge and grab a bite of food like we do, what did she eat during those 2-3 days? I’ve had times when the weather is cold and miserable, I ask myself what it would be like to be outside for days at a time when the wind chill is -20, how would I ever survive? I don’t know the answer to that, but somehow mama pheasant survived and is here, and does everything she can do to protect her babies from all the predators that want to do them harm.

I don’t think we give these things enough thought as the world passes by and we have a chance to enjoy so many things that mother nature puts out there for us to watch. Too many people take for granted these pretty things will last forever,but with so much loss of habitat, we should all be aware of what me might do to help, maybe leave a few weeds, trees, and bushes that we had planned to destroy. Remember-maybe that bunch of bushes you don’t cut down will be the deer’s hiding spot, and that small area of grass and weeds you save will give mama pheasant a chance to survive a blizzard. Then next spring we can again watch the BABIES!!