Better Hide! by reddeviltj

There's a light dusting of snow on the ground, something that no doubt has Michigan's 3/4 of a million deer hunters counting the days until Saturday. Our Opening Day of Michigan deer hunting season post from last year has links to all the details about the November 15-30 firearm deer season.

mLive is reporting that this year the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has banned deer baiting to control the spread of chronic wasting disease.

"In years past during bow season I'd put a little corn or apples or carrots out to get that perfect 20-yard bow range, maybe bait several sites and then monitor them to see where you'd want to set up your stand. Not this time. But heck, our forefathers didn't used to go out there and put all those foods out. I guess we'll have to relearn the traditional ways of doing things."
-Genesee County resident Donald M. Baxter

What is deer hunting really all about? Not killing animals, because sometimes you don't even fire a shot. It's more about the camaraderie. For those of you who have never been, Chris McCarus of Michigan Now reports on what the boys are up to in Deer Camp with the Boys.

All those hunters in Michigan create a lot of "deer widows" and there's no shortage of special offers out there. The West Michigan Tourism Association has a great list of West Michigan Deer Widow options including . You might also want to enter our giveaway to win some free tickets to the Grand Rapids Wine & Food Festival (Nov 21-21). Travel Michigan (Michigan's official tourism promotion agency) has announced a rather curious promotion - a Deer Widow Cruise ... to Freeport and Nassau Bahama. Um, I think the mission is to promote tourism in Michigan.

Aimeepalooza has a beautiful poem about being a hunting widow and what hunting means in Michigan that you should check out. As an added bonus, she makes sure you get your USRDA of Ted Nugent's Fred Bear - the hunter's anthem.

Be sure not to create any actual widows (or widowers) out there - safe hunting!