Outdoors

A buck attempts to cross the road on Arrowhead Drive east of the airport in Carson City last week. The adult deer was able to get across safely in the precarious situation, a reminder that fall has arrived and wildlife is on the move.

Learn how to identify birds by sight and sound using the Merlin Bird ID app. Instructors will guide you through
the Merlin Bird ID app, take visitors on a short hike, and then sit by the Carson River to listen and watch for birds
at TNC’s River Fork Ranch Preserve (381 Genoa Lane, Minden, NV).

This Thursday, Sept. 28, Mark Enders, a wildlife biologist with Nevada Department of Wildlife, will discuss the history of western pond turtles in the Carson Valley and the research that NDOW has done to learn more about Nevada’s only native freshwater turtle.

Interested in learning more about hummingbirds and their migration in Nevada? Stop by The Nature Conservancy's River Fork Ranch Preserve, Saturday, Oct. 14, 11am-12pm! (381 Genoa Lane, Minden, NV)

On Sunday, October 1, 2023, club members and folks interested in membership are invited to attend the annual Member’s Day at Capitol City Gun Club in Carson City, NV from 9:00am to 5:30pm.

After the incredibly successful event last year at Lone Mountain Cemetery with the Move with the Mayor initiative, we are hosting another mass clean-up of the cemetery on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023 from 9 to 11 a.m. ‘Move with the Mayor’ is a national campaign developed by the National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention to encourage people to live active, healthy lifestyles.

Divers monitoring Lake Tahoe have discovered invasive New Zealand mudsnails in areas off the South Shore, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and Tahoe Resource Conservation District announced Thursday. This is the first time the species has been detected in the Tahoe Basin.

Nevada residents and visitors are invited to celebrate Nevada Public Lands Day this Saturday, Sept. 23 with a “fee-free” day at Nevada’s State Parks.

Park fees, including entrance, camping (Saturday night) and boating, where applicable, will be waived at state parks throughout Nevada.

A beautiful, fiery late summer sunset over Carson City Monday evening.

Fine color in the skies Sunday over Carson City.

The calendar says the first day of autumn arrives Saturday, Sept. 23, but I’m having trouble believing it. The temperatures are lovely and there hasn’t been a freeze. Last week I was worrying about the way my cucumber and tomato plants looked before I realized that summer gardening was just about over anyway.

In early September, the Tahoe Yellow Cress Adaptive Management Working Group began their annual lake-wide monitoring surveys of Tahoe Yellow Cress in the Lake Tahoe Basin. These surveys will continue throughout September across numerous land ownerships, and on every beach where this rare plant is known to occur.

Light, color and water make for special images Thursday morning on the Carson River.

Over the past three years we have hosted large effort clean-ups in the Sand Canyon area to address the active ongoing dumping that occurs in the canyon area.

This area sees large amounts of trash year after year. We are partnering with Muscle Powered, the Desert Pigs (Carson and Dayton chapter) this year as part of their Trash Mob to tackle Sand Canyon once again!

Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department will complete repair of damaged trails at Riverview Park, beginning Monday, Sept. 18 and ending Thursday, Sept. 21.

The section of trail along the river was damaged by the high sustained flows of the Carson River experienced this past winter and spring. To complete the trail repair effort, the following closures will be observed:

Beginning Monday, divers will begin removing aquatic invasive plants in Emerald Bay, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency announced. Control of this one and a half-acre Eurasian watermilfoil infestation in the iconic location will help protect the region’s ecosystem and water quality.

Historic Virginia & Truckee Trail will host its first River to River Ride, a bicycle unsupported fun ride on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 8 a.m.

Riders may start at either Snyder Avenue in Carson City in front of the Stewart Indian School or at City Plaza in Reno. The ride is 43 miles (86 miles round trip) or rides can go as far as the wish and turn back.

On Saturday, September 16, 2023, Capitol City Gun Club in Carson City, NV will host a Sub-Gauge Sporting Clays Shoot from 9:00am to 4:30pm. Target fees will be discounted, and everyone is invited to come! For more information call (775) 882-9904.

Carson Fly Fishing Club's Monthly Meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 12, 7 p.m. in the Ormsby Room of the Carson City Sheriff's Office, 911 East Musser Street.

My two apple trees are loaded with fruit this year. One is an old tree of unknown variety and the other is a "Red Delicious." The old tree is dropping apples all over the place. Some have a coral-colored blush; others are still greenish yellow.

Fun times Saturday at the Camel Races at Virginia City. Festivities continue Sunday, Sept. 10 which is Family Day with a show at noon. The first 100 kids ride a camel for free. Gates open an hour in advance of each show start.

Each year since 1997, the League to Save Lake Tahoe has rallied hundreds of volunteers to revitalize forests, meadows, marshes, and streams damaged by natural disasters, development from decades past, and agriculture.

This fall’s Tahoe Forest Stewardship Days event on Sept. 16 will focus on restoring an area impacted by the disastrous 2021 Caldor Fire, along with a popular beach on the Lake’s south shore.

Hello fellow anglers. This was a Labor Day weekend to remember. Mother nature was a little cruel and kind at the same time.

I was fishing high on the East Carson River on Sunday, until it it down poured on us all. We drove down to the Carson River Resort for their live band and bbq and the sky opened up, the sun shined down upon us long enough to enjoy the festivities.

River reflections in morning light on the Carson River.

My friend Cat asked me to identify what was eating the bottoms, and only the bottoms, of her cherry tomatoes. While it could be birds, earwigs, slugs or cutworms, we both decided it was grasshoppers, which she had seen eating her raspberries. If raspberries, why not tomatoes?

This rare full Super Moon event Wednesday night won't be seen for another 14 years.

Muscle Powered in partnership with Western Nevada Safe Routes to School are hosting a bike rodeo on Saturday Sept. 9, 2023. In years past, Muscle Powered has hosted bike rodeos and we are excited to re-strengthen our partnership with Western Nevada Safe Routes to School to bring back events that teaches kids about bike safety.

On Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023, Capitol City Gun Club in Carson City will host a Club-wide Fun Shoot with discounted target fees from 9:00am to 4:30pm. The Club offers trap, skeet, 5-stand, and sporting clays and is located at 3590 Arrowhead Drive. For more information call (775) 882-9904.

I was harvesting tomatoes on my friend’s plants, with her permission of course, when I noticed there were many stems with no leaves. I immediately thought “Hornworms!”

Sure enough, as I started inspecting the plant closely, I found a three-inch bright green worm clinging to a defoliated stem.

A bird’s eye view of the diverse, contrasting landscapes and wildlife habitat across the State of Nevada reveals wild rugged terrain — deep canyons, snowy mountaintops, dry riverbeds, and seemingly endless miles of sagebrush.