Ah, the exuberance of youth! I trapped coyotes for a couple weeks before deer firearms season in early December, with the poorest results since I was a beginning trapper.

Meanwhile Jared Austin, the young lad I mentored last year continued to send me picture after picture of coyotes and bobcats he was catching. In the 2 ½ weeks I trapped, I caught only 5 coyotes and had to leave 4 properties because the landowners fenced them for grazing or knifed-in nitrogen while I had traps there. I also seemed to enjoy trapping coyotes less this year than I can ever remember because the ground was so terribly hard and dry, making it miserable to get traps anchored in the cement-like soil and making it nearly necessary to extract them from the ground with a crane.

My young friend was evidently doing things correctly while I was not, so I deduced maybe it was time for the teacher to become the student again, and Thursday morning I rode along with him to observe. For starters he’s trapping on the outskirts of a major town on properties that have not been trapped for years, if ever, so the predator population is high. Plus his exuberance for trapping is almost overwhelming. He couldn’t care less that the ground is hard or frozen or about any other roadblocks nature has thrown our way, he just loves to trap!

This all got me thinking about the process of mentoring someone and teaching them what we know about a sport we love, so allow me to offer some observations I’ve collected. Most important by far is to make sure the persons introduction to the sport is a good experience. If a person’s first time fishing is in a pond where they catch very few fish, and they get snagged on tree limbs and rocks with every cast, they have good reason not to go again. Just this morning I was to go goose hunting with a couple guys. They texted me before I left and asked my opinion about postponing the hunt since it was 11 degrees below zero. I said that was OK with me, but I would still go if they wanted. Then they told me that a young son wanted to go along and they felt it was just too cold for him.

Sometimes concessions must be made to help someone enjoy your sport. Joyce and I built a nice elevated deer blind a few years back, but I don’t know if I would have built it had she not wanted to hunt too. She sometimes reminds me of the first time I took her deer hunting. It was in southwest KS and she’d decided to sit with me one evening. She had no intention of EVER hunting deer, but decided she would tag along just to be there. We sat in a patch of weeds on a couple small camp chairs overlooking a draw in a pasture. Just before dusk, I told her to watch the top of a certain hill in the distance, and right on cue, mule deer began popping over the top of that hill and heading into the draw below us. She tells me she was dumbfounded that I knew that would happen, and she’s been a deer hunter ever since, harvesting several nice Kansas whitetails.

So making the necessary concessions or arrangements to make a person’s first hunt, fishing trip or campout is a good experience for them will go a long way toward ensuring that person will stick with their chosen sport for life.

An important detail to learn about a person you might mentor is how they learn the best. Some of us learn best by doing, some of us learn best by being shown, and some of us learn best by a combination of the two. Making use of the best learning process for the person will make it easiest for them to learn basic skills they’ll need to be successful at the sport you’re teaching them. I learn best by being shown something a few times before I try it on my own. When teaching my young trapping friend what I knew about trapping, he told me right up front he learned best by doing, so I showed him very little, but talked him through most everything while he actually did it himself. It’s OK to help your protégé prevent mistakes, but missing a shot at a strutting tom turkey because they shot before you recommended, or losing a big fish because they failed to use the net like you suggested is all part of the learning process for them, and they’ll never make that mistake again.

I also feel it’s of utmost importance to talk to people about God’s Creation while you teach them to hunt, fish, and trap or in any way enjoy the outdoors. Tell them about things you see around you, explain how nature works and why the animals they harvest are made like they are or why they do what they do. My wife laughs at me in total disagreement when I tell her I’m not competitive, but if the sport you’re teaching someone involves harvesting game, try to instill in them the enjoyment and appreciation of having the opportunity and freedom to do so, even when they fail to harvest their quarry.

So there, for what it’s worth you have my two cents about mentoring. The only way our outdoor sports will continue to be enjoyed is by passing our love of them down to the next generation. Oh, and one more thing, try to be happy when your protégé out-hunts or out-traps you. It’s easy for me because I’m not competitive remember? Take someone outdoors with you and help them learn to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

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

Gifts of food are some of the most popular holiday items to share with business associates, friends and family members. But, once the holidays are past, how long can the food be safely kept on hand to eat and enjoy?

That was my question to Karen Blakeslee, coordinator of the Extension Rapid Response Center at Kansas State University. We discussed the tins of popcorn, candies, jellies, sausages and other foods which may still be lingering in homes and offices. The good news is that some holiday food gifts can be safely enjoyed for weeks or even months to come.

Here is a list of some of the popular holiday food gifts and recommendations for safe storage and use:

Popped popcorn- store in airtight containers away from moisture to prevent toughness or stickiness if sugar-coated. Caramel-type popcorn has a shelf life of up to 6 months, cheese coated popcorn has a shelf life of 2-3 months. Watch for rancidity.

Summer Sausage and other fully-cured meat sticks- once these meat products are cut open and the outer coating is unsealed, they should be consumed within 3 weeks. Unopened, uncut products may be kept for 3 months in the refrigerator. The high salt content makes freezing a less-desirable option, so store only one to two months in the freezer for best quality.

Firm cheeses- Blocks of cheese which have been opened will keep at good quality in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 weeks. Be sure to wrap well to prevent drying or molding. Unopened blocks of cheese will keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 months if well sealed. Firm cheeses may also be frozen for 6 months, well sealed, however the texture may be more crumbly when thawed.

Nuts- Mixed nuts, roasted peanuts, chopped pecans or other shelled nuts should be refrigerated after opening and frozen for longer storage. Unsalted varieties last longest before becoming stale or rancid. Opened containers of nuts at room temperature will be at best quality for two weeks. Unopened nuts may be kept on the shelf for 3 months; freeze for longer storage. Nuts in the shell should be used within 4 months for freshest quality.

Candy- Well-wrapped chocolate will keep at room temperature for 7-8 months, but varieties containing nuts or other ingredients should be eaten sooner. Formed candies such as truffles, pralines, and commercial boxed candies can be frozen for storage and defrosted in the refrigerator before being brought to room temperature for eating. Some chocolates may appear discolored with a white surface residue due to fat separation in storage. This condition affects only the appearance, the chocolate is still safe to eat.

Jams and Jellies- Unopened jars may be kept on the shelf for 12 months, but longer storage may cause the color to fade or darken. Both homemade and commercial varieties of sweet spreads should be kept tightly covered and stored in the refrigerator after opening. It is possible for jams and jellies to mold at refrigerator temperatures, so discard products that become moldy.

Homemade Baking Mixes in a jar or other container may be kept at room temperature for 6 to 9 months, unless they contain nuts which cause them to become stale more quickly. Bake the cookies or brownies within that time, or plan to use the mix as a kitchen decoration only. Soup mixes consisting of dried beans and pasta may be kept at room temperature for up to a year, unless there are other ingredients in a seasoning packet which might require the mix to be used sooner.

The “famous” holiday fruitcake- Some may say it lives forever! However, as with any food item, there is a limit to the lifespan of fruitcake as well. The fruitcake may be frozen for long-term storage up to one year. Store a cut fruitcake in air-tight wrapping in the refrigerator for 6 months. Fruitcake varieties which contain higher levels of alcohol will have better storing quality.

Take inventory of any holiday food gifts which might be lingering in your cupboards or refrigerator. Make a plan to consume or freeze any holiday hold-overs as recommended by these guidelines.

For more information on safe food storage, contact the Hays (785-628-9430) or Great Bend (620-793-1910) offices of the Cottonwood Extension District and ask for a copy of the K-State Research and Extension publications “Safe Food Storage: Refrigerator-Freezer” and “Safe Food Storage: Cupboard”. You can also search the K-State Research and Extension Bookstore at www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu by title or publication number (MF3130 and MF3131, respectively) to find the fact sheets online. These helpful publications should be on hand in every kitchen to answer those difficult food safety and storage questions.

Linda K. Beech is Cottonwood District Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.