Increasing your outdoors awareness

When you Google the phrase “How can I…,” one of the most common suggested endings is “be more outdoorsy?” As an angler or hunter, you may not have asked yourself, “How can I be more outdoorsy?” But then again, why wouldn’t you want to be? Are there days when you catch yourself wondering “I wish I knew if that storm was going to hit us,” or “Why does my target buck only come through every third day?”If we already want to spend more time afield to provide sustenance for our families or feed our curiosity, how can we improve our outdoor prowess? Here’s how you can better understand wild game, keep yourself safe with risk-calculation scenarios, and gather fun facts for party tricks. Outdoors grounding A practice best avoided in Ontario’s winter is grounding, or earthing, as some call it. This science-based concept is not new; ancient cultures around the globe were aware of its benefits for thousands of years before someone coined the term in the 1990s. Grounding is simply connecting our conductive bodies to the Earth’s electrical circuit. How? Go barefoot. That’s it. Just 30 minutes a day has been known to improve chronic pain, reset circadian rhythm for better sleep, strengthen immunity, and enhance mood. How does this help you become a better outdoorsman or woman? When grounding, you’re likely doing something productive while being conductive. Even if it's just pacing in a field free of dog excrement. I personally garden while I’m grounding — which is how I discovered the practice. Dirty feet were easier to clean with a hose than shoes, and that led to better sleep and a deeper understanding of what soil consistency grows plants better throughout my yard. Déjà brew outdoors Rituals — the daily kind, not the ancient kind — can help you piece together a lot of moving parts in day-to-day life. Enjoying your morning coffee outdoors can be an opportunity to learn about your surroundings: Which birds sing together most? What weather patterns are forming? Which microscopic anthills appeared overnight? These tiny details create a larger picture, making it easier to transfer these observational skills into the broader outdoor world beyond your porch. Bird watching Nerd alert: Birds often keep hunters company during tree-stand sits. Their presence signals a healthy area, and as pollinators, they play a crucial role in the ecosystem. Did you know ravens can mimic human