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An Outdoor View: Avoiding cabin fever

If you’re staying indoors a lot this winter, here are some ideas for staving off cabin fever. Plan…

ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS, JAN. 10-11 - In this photo taken on Dec. 20, 2014, Oregon State student Ty Atwater, right, puts makeup on Molly Steiber's leg to simulate a bruise from a broken leg for the final exam in the wilderness first responders class at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore. The students took turns role-playing as a hiker with an injury while the other student examines them and treats their injury. (AP Photo/The Corvallis Gazette-Times, Andy Cripe)

Life

Students learn wilderness first response skills

CORVALLIS, Ore. — It’s a cold and wet morning and Oregon State University student Alex Funk is hiking…

ADVANCE FOR USE SUNDAY, JAN. 11 - In this photo taken on Dec. 28, 2014, Cassidy Saunders, front, and Corey DiRutigliano get to the bottom of the hill covered in snow during a sledding trip to Ester Hill in Fairbanks, Alaska. Picking the right hill and to a lesser extent the right sled, makes the difference in sledding. (AP Photo/ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Sam Friedman)

Life

Cheap thrills: backwoods sledding

FAIRBANKS — A cheap plastic sled, some fresh snow and gravity make for refreshingly simple fun. Sledding is…

A hand-painted plug.

Life

Tight Lines: Looking for a new way to fool fish

Each year, as Kenai River guides Bo Ansel and Monte Roberts conducted a class at Kenai Peninsula College’s…

Life

Refuge Notebook: Celebrating marmots

For those of you who don’t know it, Marmot Day is on February 2. Celebrated in many lower…

Life

An Outdoor View: Hope for the future

Earlier this week, billionaire Bill Gates announced on his Internet blog that a new kind of sewage-treatment plant,…

In this undated photo, a green-tinted gazing globe visually takes in all of last summer's garden in New Paltz, New York. These mirrored glass ornaments fell out of favor about 50 years ago, but are making a comeback, seen by some as attractive ornaments and by others as kitsch. (AP Photo/Lee Reich)

Life

Is there a gazing globe in your garden’s future?

Did I see a glint of mocking laughter in a friend’s eyes when I mentioned the new addition…

The morning sun on the last day of 2014 shows the sheen of water and ice on Headquarters Lake, a time of year in which the Kenai Peninsula would normally be blanketed in snow. (Kenai National Wildlife Refuge photo)

Life

Refuge Notebook: Missing the missing snow

Editor’s note: Due to a technical issue, the Refuge Notebook was not published in Friday’s Clarion. Short days…

Life

Les Palmer: The legendary Beaver

After a 60-year hiatus from building model airplanes, I’m doing it again. Please bear with me while I…

ADVANCE FOR USE SUNDAY, DEC. 28 - In this Dec. 18, 2012 photo, dogs run in the snow on Hyalite Canyon south of Bozeman, Mont. "If it is below zero, you might want to really think about being outside with your dog," said Dr. Spencer Anderson of Baxter Creek Veterinary Clinic in Bozeman, Mont. (AP Photo/The Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Ben Pierce)

Life

When temperature dips, dogs need special care

BOZEMAN, Mont. — On a recent cross-country ski trip in the Bridger Mountains, I noticed my dog was…

In this Dec. 21, 2014 photo, a monarch butterfly perches on a branch in the Piedra Herrada sanctuary near Valle de Bravo, Mexico. More butterflies appear to have made the long flight from the U.S. and Canada to their winter nesting ground in western Mexico, raising hopes after their number dropped to a record low last year. The insects are being hurt by various factors: in Mexico, the encroachment of logging into their habitat; and in the United States, the decline of milkweed, the butterflies' main source of food that has been crowded out by pesticide-resistant crops. (AP Photo/Christian Palma)

Life

More Monarchs return to Mexico, but now face cold

PIEDRA HERRADA, Mexico — More Monarch butterflies appear to have made the long flight from the U.S. and…

In a Dec. 10, 2014 photo, the Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum, located just off US-2 in Naubinway, Mich., features 80 different brands of snowmobiles and nearly 150 displays - like this "Then and Now" feature which showcases past and present designs. Of the old machines represented, many are one-of-a-kind creations _ either special prototypes or homemade machines by barnyard engineers. (AP Photo/The Evening News, Scott Brand)

Life

Snowmobile museum features historic, unique sleds

NAUBINWAY, Mich. — Roaring into its second year of operation at the new location, Top of the Lake…

Life

An Outdoor View: Wild and wooly fishing

Author’s note: This column first appeared in the Clarion Aug. 1, 2003. It has been edited for brevity.…

Life

Oregon’s Horse Butte attracts winter mountain bikers

BEND, Ore. — To the west, the Cascade Range was obscured by a shroud of clouds. To the…

Northern pike are voracious predators of juvenile salmon and trout. This pike was from Alexander Creek, a tributary of the Susitna River. (Photo by Dave Rutz)

Life

Refuge Notebook: Eradicating an invasive predator from the Kenai Peninsula

Loons calling through the morning mist … the cry of an eagle perched overhead… rainbow trout leaping from…

Life

An Outdoor View: The tackle box

Author’s note: I offer the following to put you in the mood for Hanukkah, Christmas, Festivus or whatever…

A Limited Edition decal is attached to the tailgate of Peter Duvaloois' Rat Rod on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014, in Saugerties, N.Y. The fast machines are pieced together from vintage parts and scrapyard finds. They are rumblier, rustier and turn more heads on the highway. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

Life

Rat rods: Vintage vehicles made into rusty rides

SAUGERTIES, N.Y. — Peter Duvaloois’ rat rods are way cooler than your car. The fast machines, pieced together…

Snowshoe hares in winter coat are camouflaged in snow but stand out in an otherwise brown landscape if the snow melts prematurely. (Photo by D. Gorden/E. Robertson)

Life

Refuge Notebook: Camouflage depends on the background

Throughout fall and early winter, a short-tailed weasel has been making my afternoon schedule more interesting. As I…

Life

An Outdoor View: Rounding up

In the dying throes of the 18th century, the French came up with a decimal-based way to measure…

In this Dec. 3, 2013 photo, carting leaves to spread beneath trees and shrubs offers many benefits from a perspective of soil, plants, and - because weeds are suppressed - also gardeners in New Paltz, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lee Reich)

Life

Ignore those ugly rumors about mulch

Rumor has it that mulching your garden beds or trees and shrubs could starve your plants. It’s a…