On November of 2009, a madman at Fort Hood opened fire on our troops, killing 13 and wounding 30. Patrick Zeigler was one of the most seriously wounded, shot four times, including one devastating bullet into his skull.

Many folks believe that elk hunting is the toughest of all hunts in North America, when considering the more common species. To be sure, mountain goat and sheep hunting can be grueling, but elk, in my opinion, get the gold medal for being most challenging, day in and day out.

A few years ago, while having dinner with famous bowhunter Chuck Adams, who is arguably the best known bowhunter alive today, we chatted about venison. We compared notes from the animals we'd taken on many continents. In this case, venison is defined as the flesh of a hooved wild animal, which would include all the African antelope, moose, caribou, deer, elk, etc. I asked Chuck what his all-time favorite venison is, and I was astounded when he said Sitka blacktail deer. Amazing, because that's my all-time favorite as well.

I hesitate to make this photo public because I need to get to the U.S. Patent Office with this new invention. I'm talking about a nifty procedure to get rid of snow. I call it the Go Back and Forth method with your vehicle. But I really don't have time to work with the Patent people, so I'll tell my friends on my blog.

Ok, so you have some really nasty, gamey venison to cook.  It's not inedible, just strong.  Do you toss it, feed it to the dogs, or make a valiant effort to at least cook it and hope for the best?

NOW I know why I was so compelled to cut and split all this firewood last spring, summer, and fall. This image shows less than half of my wood supply. This is one of the earliest, heaviest snowfalls we've ever had. Twenty inches. Who knows what's yet to come? Winter hasn't officially started yet.

With deer season upon us in most of the country, lucky hunters will have fine venison meals forthcoming. How about our pet canines? They can share in the bounty too, and you don't have to feed them edible meat. Here's a nifty trick to not only get rid of the inedible scraps, but make your dogs happy little campers as well. It's healthy for them too, providing plenty of necessary fat and protein.

I'm sitting here outside in my man-cave, next to my wood pile, which is my favorite spot to hang out, weather allowing of course. Blogging isn't new to me. I quit writing them in 2006 while working for Outdoor Life Magazine, when my final blog caused a bit of a stir.