One question that I often hear from my buddies and friends that I bump into is, “Have you seen any fawns or new turkey poults lately?”

To be honest, I have not personally seen either. What I have seen are goslings, young squirrels and bunnies and some local bird hatchlings. The other day, a whitetail buck was proud to display the start of his new growth of his antlers and he looked like he could be somebody come October.

Let’s face it, the month of June is a time to replenish and relax if you are a hunter. The only critters that seem to draw any real attention are the groundhogs popping up in farmers’ fields for the long-range marksman. In fact, on one rainy afternoon I was so bored that I wiped down all of my long guns and cleaned out the garage by putting away hunting gear from last season’s hunts.

My gears are shifting to some serious fishing efforts and the local lakes and Lake Erie have been calling for my attention. I have had several invites to hit the water searching for walleye, perch, bass and stripers.

My old friend, Quincey, wants to show off his fishing skills on Erie waters and let me in on his secret fish-catching methods. My cousins are wanting to hit the Atlantic waters and charter a boat for stripers and other saltwater species.

I also have my annual Ashtabula trip coming up with Captain Walt of Trophy Charters for citation walleyes. Of course, everything depends on the rules knocking everyone around with the COVID-19 situation. I can fish with a facemask if I have to do so.

As my thoughts were floating around about doing something productive, my phone rang and it was a call from a friend who is a third-grade teacher at Dassa McKinney Elementary School. She was working on a class project for her homebound students and wanted to know if I could find the time to assist her.

First of all, I am all in when it comes to helping kids with their education and if it has anything to do with the outdoors, I am all over it!

Mrs. Amy Baptiste was doing a computer presentation on the Glades Area of Game Lands 95 in Butler County for her class and asked me to do some color commentary…if I can do anything it is making color commentary!

We discussed the project and it was decided that the focus of the project would be around six key locations that circled the lake area in GL-95. Amy had done some homework on the role that game lands had in Pennsylvania and how the PA Game Commission managed the properties.

The circuitous travel route that was chosen started at the PGC Overlook and would eventually end up at Moniteau High School with key stops along the way. Interestingly enough to me was that each of the points of interest that Amy chose to talk about had some significance that I could share in my color commentary.

We covered the 1.3-mile handicap trail off of Pleasant Valley Road, the Vista Point Loop, Christie Bridge — which used to be part of the roadway before it was flooded to make Glades Lake, Harbar Acres — which is 14 acres in size and stocked with trout and other species of warm-water fish, and the Bald Eagle nesting site.

The opportunity to canoe, kayak, hike, explore flora and fauna as well as photography was limitless. The hunting and fishing opportunities were wonderful as well as this area was developed by hunting license sales. No tax dollars go into maintaining the statewide game land system and this is to be admired by all outdoor enthusiasts.

I don’t know how the third-graders of Dassa McKinney will take the classroom program, but I certainly appreciated the efforts of this teacher and all teachers in providing their students a great class that is thinking outside of the box.

Who knows what innovative and original thinking opportunities will do to change the way we all learn about our world? The creativity of the human mind is limitless and I certainly was happy to be a part of the education of our youngsters, even if it was in a small way.

Until we meet again, do something creative for the outdoors and our wildlife and be prepared for my color commentaries!

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle