Greetings Members,
Along with the fall colors here on Six Mile Lake comes waterfowl hunting with the much anticipated firearm deer season just around the corner. I have received several phone calls about the waterfowl hunters on Six Mile Lake so I will refer you to the Michigan DNR website where you can navigate to the waterfowl hunting section and read all about it. One rule about shooting waterfowl is that they cannot be chased down by motorized boat. The boat can have a motor…it just can’t be running at the time the shooting is going on. The safety zone is 150 yards from the nearest occupied building or barn (closer if you have the owner’s permission). The limit is six ducks per person per day and the season goes through November. That’s about the basics in a nutshell. That said, I used to go duck hunting with my husband and our black lab, Rueban. A finer hunting dog there never was and I do have a delicious recipe for cooked duck/goose. Now that we live on the lake (rather then vacationing here) the ducks and other wildlife have become our ‘friends’ so to speak. As far as the Canada geese go they don’t get a lot of sympathy from anyone. Most people hate cleaning goose poop off their lawn and beach which is the number one reason cited by people who hate geese. Which brings us to deer season. Basically some sort of deer season has been going on since September 17th and will continue until January 1st. I will admit that I love venison. If my husband didn’t bring home the venison, so to speak, I’m afraid I would. Venison is no-fat, healthy, tasty, and the deer haven’t been shot up with hormones/antibiotics. Plus, I am ambivalent when it comes to deer. They are indeed beautiful creatures but they come equipped with teeth and a nose for my hostas, rose-bushes, and just about anything else in my yard that’s just about ready to bloom. If you’re wondering who’s eating your landscaping, deer have no upper incisors so stem ends are jagged, whereas, rabbits will leave a perfectly clipped stem end. After years of using just about every product on the market to stave off ‘the enemy’ I’ve had great luck with “Deer-off’ spray, ‘Repels All’ granules for rabbits, squirrels, skunks, and voles, and deer spikes which are little enclosed cups of blood meal on metal spikes placed at various strategic locations around my yard. In the winter I wrap my shrubs with bed sheets. In any case, I hope there is some useful information in this post for hunters and non-hunters alike.
Until next time!
Cherie