Have you been shooting your bow or crossbow yet? July slipped away amid a series of rock concerts and a major windstorm. Like Dorothy, I awoke from my dream and discovered I had landed at home, although it was now August. The archery opener is now about six weeks away. I’m a sucker for outdoors magazines, and when picking up a few groceries at Festival Foods, I had to stop at the magazine stand.

Why is something free so much better than the same things for a small cost? If you are having a yard sale, people might ignore your dime and quarter items, but they’ll flock to the free table or box. At my workplace, we have a large table near the employee entrance that is called the Free Table.

Wisconsin’s 576,000 gun-deer hunters participated in one of the safest seasons on record, with just three minor hunting-related injuries reported statewide. This was the third season in a row with no fatalities, a record in the state’s long deer hunting legacy. Hunters bagged 211,430 deer during the nine-day season, up 7 percent from last season, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reported.

You can do your part to stop the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease this season by having your deer tested, particularly if it has shown signs of the disease. Use this link to find a registration station in your hunting area: dnr.wi.gov/wmcwd/RegStation/Search All the testing stations in Shawano, Oconto and Waupaca counties are self-service kiosks.