A year of seasons on this ground

How to use this

This is a Dearborn County year, not a catalog year. Frost dates are ~April 20 and ~October 15. The creek and the deer do not read the DNR pamphlet, but the pamphlet still matters while there is a DNR.

January

Hunt. Archery deer through Jan 3. Late muzzleloader stories are over — still-hunt south slopes after snow. Rabbit through February. Coyotes if you have sheep or goats to protect.

Trap. Raccoon, possum, fox through the 31st. Coyote, skunk, and beaver run into March. Water sets freeze — keep a cage at the barn.

Fish. Ohio River sauger and the odd walleye below current. Tip-up or jig if a farm pond locks safe ice (rare and short here — test it). Creek is often high and cold.

Grow. Eat the cellar. Sort seed. Prune apples on a mild day. Force onion starts late in the month. Check stored squash weekly.

Sky. Coldest nights, ice storms, pipe freeze. Heat one room. Do not run a generator in the garage.

February

Hunt. Rabbit to the 28th. Scout deer from the truck and on foot — last year’s rubs still show. Late-winter coyotes.

Trap. Raccoon season is over. Coyote, skunk, beaver through mid-March. Pull land sets you do not check in the mud.

Fish. River sauger still. First crappie in ponds on a 50°F afternoon. Laughery is high more often than not.

Grow. Maple tap when nights freeze and days thaw. Start onions and brassicas indoors. Cut next winter’s wood.

Sky. Freeze–thaw. Mud. A false spring week fools peach buds — do not uncover the garlic yet.

March

Hunt. Scout. Shed antlers on south benches. No deer season. Turkeys start gobbling at the end of the month on warm mornings.

Trap. Beaver and coyote to the 15th. Then pull the line, boil and oil the steel, mend wire. Nuisance coon at the coop is a different paper.

Fish. Crappie as pond water hits the 50s. Creek smallmouth wake late in the month on a sunny afternoon. White bass may run the Ohio tributaries.

Grow. Peas, potatoes, radish as soon as the ground can be scratched. Graft apples. Hens start to lay with the light.

Sky. Flood month on frozen ground + rain. Tornado season opens. Do not garden only in the bottoms.

April

Hunt. Spring turkey youth mid-month, regular season late month. Roost birds at dusk. Morels in the same woods — hunt one, pick the other.

Trap. Furbearer line is closed. Live-cage a henhouse raccoon if you must. Dye and repair traps on a porch afternoon.

Fish. Laughery smallmouth turn on around 55°F. Creek crayfish jigs. Pond bluegill start to look at beds.

Grow. Last-frost watch (~20th). Morels. Set brassicas. Open bees. Do not plant corn or beans yet.

Sky. Severe-storm corridor. Hail and spin-ups. A late freeze can still take blossoms — cover strawberries.

May

Hunt. Turkey through ~the 10th. After that, put the gun up and scout velvet bucks from a distance. Ticks explode — treat cuffs and check the kids.

Trap. Off season. Walk last year’s culverts and slides so you remember them in November. Groundhog cage at the garden if they are wrecking beds.

Fish. Bluegill on beds (full moon). First real catfish nights. Smallmouth in every riffle tail if the creek is in shape.

Grow. Corn, beans, squash after the 15th. Tomato plants out after the 15th–20th. Garden fence before the deer.

Sky. Humid buildup. Creek flash-floods after an upstream storm you never saw. Copperheads come out — watch woodpiles.

June

Hunt. Out of season. Pattern summer deer on beans and creek crossings at dusk from a distance. Cut shooting lanes now, not in October.

Trap. Off season. A figure-4 in the grain room for rats is housekeeping, not a fur line.

Fish. Night cats. Early-morning smallmouth before the water warms. Pond bass at dawn. Keep a few bluegill; release the 8-inch bass.

Grow. Garlic up. Weeds are the job. First hay if you have a meadow. Japanese beetles at month’s end.

Sky. Heat arrives. Thunderstorms late afternoon. Lightning on ridges. Swim the creek only in known holes.

July

Hunt. Velvet bucks in the soybeans at last light. Do not pressure them. Cut firewood in the early morning instead.

Trap. Off season. Check the coop latch. Summer coons teach their young your henhouse now.

Fish. Night fishing or first light only. Deep Ohio holes for cats. Creek smallmouth sulk midday — try a topwater at dusk.

Grow. Pickles, berries, second bean planting. Water deep, not daily sprinkle. Sow fall turnips late in the month.

Sky. Hottest, most humid. Heat stroke cutting wood. Pond-fish evenings. Check livestock water twice.

August

Hunt. Squirrel opens the 15th — first meat season of the fall. Hunt hickory cuts at daylight. Deer still on beans; they will shift to acorns after the first yellow leaf.

Trap. Still closed for furbearers. Build the box trap this month while the evenings are long.

Fish. Night cats. Creek low and clear — smallmouth get spooky, use light line. Pond bluegill still reliable.

Grow. Tomatoes daily. Dry beans. Sow fall kale and turnips by the 10th. Put up water. Garlic lists for October.

Sky. Late-summer severe storms and the odd tornado. Creek can be a trickle then a wall after one night.

September

Hunt. Squirrel in the oaks. Youth deer weekend late month. Early archery Oct 1 — hang stands on a cool evening. Watch white-oak acorns start to tick.

Trap. Boil and dye steel. Walk the creek for slides. Fox and coyote open mid-October.

Fish. Smallmouth come back as water cools. White bass on the Ohio. Last easy bluegill month.

Grow. Potatoes after vines die. Pawpaws. Walnuts start. Pull onions already curing. Plant cover if a bed is empty.

Sky. First cool nights. A weak frost in the hollows is possible late month — rare but it happens. Foggy mornings.

October

Hunt. Archery deer all month. Fall turkey archery. Pre-rut scrapes late month. First frost drops acorns and deer daylight. Squirrel still open.

Trap. Fox, coyote, skunk open the 15th. Walk lines after the first frost. Fur is still thin — this is practice and pest control.

Fish. Prime creek smallmouth. Ohio sauger start late month. Cats slow as nights cool.

Grow. Garlic in the ground (1st–20th). Sweet potatoes before frost. Winter squash. Apples. Kraut. Pig date.

Sky. First frost ~15th. Beautiful and dry, or a flood if a hurricane remnant comes up the valley. Hunt the first cold front hard.

November

Hunt. Rut. Archery plus firearms Nov 14–29. Rabbit opens the 1st. Orange on. The woods are crowded — sit the back corner or sit midday.

Trap. The month. Raccoon and possum the 8th; muskrat, mink, beaver the 15th. Check every dawn. Culverts and creek slides.

Fish. Sauger and late smallmouth. Creek getting empty and cold. A sunny afternoon pond crappie is a bonus.

Grow. Wood under cover. Deer meat in the canner. Drain hoses. Deep litter in the coop. Garlic should already be in.

Sky. The month of the front. Gray, wet, then a 20-degree crash — that crash is when the bucks walk. Ice is still rare.

December

Hunt. Muzzleloader Dec 5–20. Late archery into early January. Rabbit. Food-source deer: remaining beans, cedar thickets, south-slope browse.

Trap. Prime fur. Raccoon, muskrat, beaver, fox. Water sets as long as the slough is open. Gloves — cold steel bites.

Fish. River sauger. If it ices, it is usually junk ice — do not trust a Dearborn pond in December.

Grow. Rest the garden. Render fat. Mend. Read last year’s notes. Check the cellar for one bad potato.

Sky. First real Arctic shots. Ice on the porch. A wet 35°F with wind is more dangerous in the stand than a still 15°F. Come down before dark if the front is vicious.