The ideas behind Thanksgiving make it one of our most universal and important holidays. Living the spirit of Thanksgiving is good medicine for our bodies, souls, families and communities. Fortunately, an appreciative attitude doesn’t cost anything; it takes very little time; it’s always available; and while there are lots of side effects, every one of them is wonderful.

Author and counselor Melody Beattie puts it this way: “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

Chances are you’re pretty good already at practicing an attitude of gratitude. The following are a few simple and quick exercises that can further build up your muscles of appreciation while warming the hearts of those around you. Each of these activities can be done in five minutes or less.

· Write a very short, spontaneous note of appreciation to a loved one, public figure, or a person who provides service for you, such as your child’s teacher or the manager of your apartments. You can express your gratitude on a slip of paper and put it on a co-worker’s desk, or you might mail a card to a friend, or convey your thanks electronically via e-mail.

· Phone a family member you don’t see very often or call an old neighbor–locally or long-distance–and take a few minutes to say thanks or to share your admiration for a personal trait he or she possesses. Keep the conversation brief and upbeat, knowing that you have probably made that person’s day.

· Whether around home or at work, promise yourself that you’ll give out at least three genuine compliments before your day ends. The nice thing about compliments is that they tend to be contagious. There’s no telling how far what you start might spread!

· Either first thing in the morning or last thing at night, engage in a couple minutes of silent, personal thanksgiving. Focus on your many blessings, be they large or small.

Thanksgiving is the practice of choosing to think about our blessings. It doesn’t mean we bury our heads in the sand and deny negativity and problems. But it does mean that we choose to face our difficulties with courage, optimism, creativity, and faith.

Our thoughts are like mental magnets. Whatever we dwell upon, we tend to draw to us. As we apply this principle, it follows that one of the best gifts we can give to ourselves, our families, and our world is develop the habit of positive thinking.

As our skill in practicing the “gratitude attitude” grows, we begin to see more clearly what is good and beautiful in other people, in ourselves, and the world around us. The world becomes a much brighter and friendlier place, and all kinds of new possibilities begin to unfold. It is then that our appreciative attitude has taken root, and we can carry the spirit of Thanksgiving with us on a daily basis.

Linda K. Beech is Ellis County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.

By U.S. Sen. JERRY MORAN
R-Kan.

Thanksgiving is a time to gather together and count our many blessings. We take a day away from the hustle and bustle – and our all-consuming busy-ness – to pause and reflect on the things for which we are grateful. I appreciate the opportunity to be reminded each year of what’s important, to express my gratitude, and to enjoy our traditional meal (the stuffing is my favorite part).

Food-filled celebrations are a time I reflect on the hard work of the people who raised our turkey, grew our vegetables and harvested the grain used to bake bread. As a kid growing up in rural Kansas, our entire community revolved around the work of getting our crops to the local grain elevator. Each year, families in our area battled market uncertainty and unpredictable weather for a chance at a successful harvest. Young people rolled up their sleeves and went to work alongside their parents, spending long days and late nights in a tractor or combine while still making certain all of the livestock were cared for. This tradition has not changed for hardworking farmers and ranchers across our state or for the next generation of Kansas kids growing up on our farms today. They learn the technical and business skills needed to run a farm or ranch, as well as the value of hard work, perseverance and working as a team to get things done.

As Kansans, this work is near and dear to our hearts, but for many Americans living in urban areas, this is not the case. Thanksgiving is a time when the contributions of rural America shine, and when individuals across the country are connected by the simple but valuable tradition of a meal. It is also a time when we ought to be reminded that our safe, affordable food supply and agricultural traditions are what make it all possible.

As chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, I have had the opportunity to lead a number of fights to preserve these traditions which over the last few years have been under siege. When I am in Washington, D.C., I spend a lot of time sharing with people who are not familiar with what the rural way of life really looks like – that in rural Kansas, local economies depend on the success or failure of our ag community.

From the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed rule to ban youth under the age of 16 from participating in many common farm-related tasks, to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Waters of the United States rule to regulate ponds and ditches, it feels as though for years now, the federal government has been working against our traditions. That’s why I consider it so crucial to advocate for Kansas values and the Kansas way of life on Capitol Hill. We must continue to raise our voices to share our priorities – we have seen how effective we can be when we work together like we did in 2012 to successfully force the DOL to withdraw their proposed restrictions on young people working on family farms.

We can appreciate this holiday’s special role in reminding all Americans how important agriculture is for all of us. We can celebrate our blessings by working to provide for those without a meal on their tables or family around them this week – by volunteering at local food banks, donating non-perishable items or inviting those we know who may be spending the holiday alone to be a part of our gatherings. My wife Robba and I are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving this year with soldiers and their families at Fort Riley. We are thankful for the hard work of farmers and ranchers across Kansas and for the opportunity to reflect on the many ways we are blessed.

Ho Ho Ho, its Christmas shopping time again, and having been christened by the North Pole as a certified outdoor gift advisory elf, I’m here to tip you off about what’s new and what’s hot this year for the outdoorsmen and women on your list.

Ozone is the naturally occurring gas found in earth’s atmosphere that cleanses the air we breathe and is used commercially to sanitize hospital rooms and to purify drinking water. The Ozonics Company located in Mason City Iowa makes small portable battery powered ozone generators to hang in hunting blinds.

About the size of the old clock radios they work by producing ozone that cleans the air around the hunter, helping to eliminate human scent. They also make a garment bag to hold your hunting clothes that eliminates human odor on them by placing the generator inside and sealing the bag. They are a bit pricey; the generators star at $369 and the garment bag is $129, but Brandon at Smoky Valley Shooting Sports near Lindsborg who uses one himself, says they are flying off the shelf and the company is struggling keep up with orders. Check them out at www.ozonics.com.

No diehard trophy deer hunter is complete without a fleet of game cameras, and the latest & greatest development in trail camera rigs actually transmit photos to a PC or mobile devise in real time as they are taken. As with anything else, the quality increases with the price. If you already happen to have a Moultrie brand camera made in 2015 or 2016 you can purchase just a transmitter for $200. The next step up is a Covert brand Blackhawk for $359, and then a Spartan brand for $329 – $429. Since Verizon is the predominant cellular company in these parts, most cameras available locally will operate on their plans which range from $5 to $30 extra monthly. Check them all out on their respective websites.

For the outdoorsman that likes to film his or her adventures, Go Pro cameras have become very popular. Brandon showed me a new outfit called Tactacam which he says is fast overtaking Go Pro’s popularity. Its claim to fame is that videos taken with its new “True Vision” technology appear as actual distances, whereas Go Pro’s videos always seem to distort distances, often making images look much farther than what they actually were. Tactacam also boasts “Infinite Focus” which automatically keeps images in focus. Each kit contains a camera and all necessary accessories to mount it to a gun or bow. Kits are $189. Check them out at www.tactacam.com.

If you’ve been considering buying a crossbow but can’t justify the often exorbitant price tags, have I got a deal for you! Crosman, famous for their pellet rifles and BB guns now offers their Center Point line of quality economical crossbows. The Center Point XR 175 recurve crossbow shoots at 245 feet per second (fps) with a draw weight of 175 pounds and costs $189. Their Center Point Sniper 370 has a 185 draw weight and shoots at 370 fps and can be taken home for $299. These are great crossbows for young or beginning hunters and Crosman is another old standby American company headquartered in New York. See more at www.crosman.com.
For you preppers and survivalists, Utah based Augason Farms, leaders in the prepackaged meal and food storage industry has a line of prepackaged dehydrated meals called Grizzly Ridge. Heartland Outdoor in Hutchinson carries the Grizzly Ridge Lunch and Dinner Pail. Housed in a sealed plastic 5 gallon bucket, the pail contains dehydrated apple slices, honey coated banana slices, orange delight drink mix, creamy potato soup mix, stroganoff and pasta alfredo; 6 varieties of food to make 86 meals. Inside the sealed pail, the meals will keep 20 years, once the pail is opened, they will keep for 5 years and an opened pouch will still be good for up to 1 year; at $89 that seems like a deal to meal. See all their products at www.augasonfarms.com.

New for 2016, Drake Waterfowl Systems offers a line of polyester fleece vests, their claim-to-fame being a newly designed pocket with a special magnetic closure made for carrying duck calls, rangefinder etc. Jenny at Heartland Outdoor says they sell more of them to carry a concealed weapon than for anything else. They come in 3 colors; camo priced at $119, black for $109 and heather (olive green) for $89. Check out www.drakewaterfowl.com.

Now for my personal favorites, gadgets and stocking stuffers; every hunter uses optics of some sort, whether a scope, binoculars or a range finder, and it seems the lenses are always dusty or they fog up on cold days, making them useless. Eyes It Inc. from Florida makes a kit called Fog Zero Clear Optics Treatment and Cleaning Kit to solve those problems. It’s about the size of a large felt marker with a clip to carry it in a pocket. It contains a brush to remove dust, an applicator to apply the anti-fog solution to the lens and a small buffing pad and polishing cloth to clean the lens. At a cost of $11 it seems like a great price to help put meat in the freezer.

As the owner of a few trail cameras I know the routine of removing SD cards from them, then going home to view photos on my PC. A Wisconsin Co. called Bone View makes a slick little SD card reader that plugs into the charging port of any android devise or I phone. Simply remove the SD card from the camera, plug it into the card reader and views photos there in the field standing right beside the trail cam. The app for viewing the pictures is free and the reader costs $20 for android devises and $30 for I phones. They also make a cool adaptor that allows you to mount a smart phone to binoculars or a spotting scope and take pictures or make videos of what you see through the optics. More than once I’ve wished I could take photos of what I witnessed through binoculars. The cost for this adaptor is $30. Find all their products at www.boneview.com.

Lastly, this Christmas season Heartland Outdoor is one of a handful of venders in Kansas carrying special Christmas .22 caliber ammunition. Yes, you read that right; Idaho based Cascade Cartridges, better known as CCI, the self-proclaimed leader in rimfire ammo is embracing the Christmas spirit by offering specially adorned “bricks” of .22 caliber long rifle ammunition. Each brick contains 10 boxes of 50 rounds each for a total of 500 .22 shells. The outer case and each individual box inside are adorned with wintry Christmas scenes. A brick is $45, a good deal, but maybe a little too heavy for a stocking!

Well there you have it, a few suggestions to make Christmas shopping for your outdoorsman a little less painful. If you have questions or need more suggestions, please contact me and I’ll be happy to help you find something a little nicer than their usual lump of coal. And remember to keep Christ in Christmas as you Explore Kansas Outdoors!

Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].