Well, all I want right now is to get out for some small-game hunting—but Alberta had other plans. It’s sitting at –20°C, and with the windchill it’s more like –32°C. Classic Alberta winter: the kind of cold where even thinking about drawing a bow makes your fingers hurt. So instead of freezing myself solid out in the bush, I’m weighing and straightening my Douglas fir shafts, ordering field points and knocks, and narrowing down cresting designs. Once the weather gives me a break, I’m planning to bare-shaft tune for length. This is my first time building a full wood arrow set, so I figured I’d document the whole process—successes, mistakes, and everything in between—and bring you all along for the ride. If nothing else, it’ll keep me sane until spring. Looking forward to sharing the journey and getting any tips you all have for working with fir. To those out there hunting—Good luck out there!

Okay, as a person who measures ingredients with my heart—opposed to spoons and cups—I did my best to replicate one of my family’s favourite recipes. I never make the recipe the same way twice because I’m always using what I have on hand. Depending the season I could be using any sort of game or jam/jelly and have made this with raspberry, blueberry, Saskatoon, strawberry, haksap, apple butter, marmalades, etc. They all came out fantastic with no complaints from my children. So experiment & have fun with it! Meatballs 1 pound ground elk/moose/deer ½ medium white onion, finely diced 4 garlic cloves, finely minced 1 egg 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon bacon grease/tallow or mayonnaise 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper ½ teaspoon onion powder ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon dried parsley Sweet & Sour Sauce 2⁄3 cup preserves (jelly or jam and any fruit) 2⁄3 cup BBQ sauce OR chili sauce (or combine 1/2 cup ketchup with hot pepper sauce to your taste) 1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Then, combine the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl, careful not to over-mix. 2. Preheat the oven to 350℉ (17℃). Roll mixture into 1-inch balls. Arrange them onto the baking sheet. 3. Bake for 25-30 minutes (depending on the strength of your oven), flipping the meatballs halfway through. 4. If you want them browned further, switch oven to broil and watch closely until they reach desired browned. Lower temperature back to 350℉ 5. Combine jelly and BBQ/chili sauce in a bowl and mix well before pouring onto meatballs and stirring. Cook until the sauce thickens a bit. Pull from oven and let sit 10 mins and the sauce will thicken further. Stir before serving.

@Joel Gothard

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Tips for BowHunting Late season Whitetails! Tune in! - my absolute favorite time of year to hunt deer is now! 🦌 ❄️🌲