Busy as bees

The month of May has only just arrived and already we’re into the summertime rush and everything-happening-at-once quandary of summers in Alaska.

Looking ahead to next weekend, I know of at least four events I would like to participate in (or have already committed to participate in). Let’s look at them in chronological order.

• The Alaska Home, Garden and Outdoor Living Show is scheduled to run from May 13-15 at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla. My wife is an avid gardener and has already expressed a strong interest in attending this show. She especially enjoys flower gardening, but usually has tomatoes growing in her greenhouse, and squash, celery and lettuce — along with other vegetables — planted in some outdoor boxes. I’m planning to suggest we go May 13 since I’m committed to something else the next day and have another show I’d like to see May 15.

• On May 14, the Brianna Gregory Foundation will host the third annual Brianna Gregory SuperShoot at the Grouse Ridge Shooting Grounds in Wasilla. This is a sporting clays shotgun event open to individuals and teams. Participants will shoot against similarly rated competitors, so don’t worry about having to compete against a “ringer,” unless you are one yourself! The North Pole Borough public safety team will be present to defend its public safety team trophy, won last year against all other public safety shooting teams registered.

Shooting begins at 10 a.m., so be sure to arrive early to register and take advantage of breakfast served in the dining room on site. In addition to the public safety team trophy awarded to the best public safety shooting team, awards will be presented to the top finishers in each of the various classes. A special side match will be held to honor the memory of a friend and supporter of the Brianna Gregory Foundation with the top shooter receiving a specially engraved .22-caliber lever-action rifle.

This foundation was established by Neil and Lindy Moss to honor the memory of their daughter, Brianna, who passed away from cystic fibrosis in 2003. The SuperShoot is a fundraiser for Children’s Hospital at Providence Alaska and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. All proceeds go toward helping the hospital provide care for children with life-threatening illnesses. Be as generous as you can be — this is truly a worthy cause. For more information, call Neil’s Lock and Safe at 373-0961.

• Matanuska Valley Sportsmen Inc. is hosting its second annual Gun Show May 14-15 at the Alaska State Fairgrounds in Raven Hall as a fundraiser to support the nonprofit organizational promotion of the sports of shooting and hunting as wholesome forms of recreation. Members are also dedicated to providing firearms safety education as a public service. Proceeds from this show will go toward range development and maintenance at the group’s location on the Glenn Highway just south of Palmer, and for educational programs.

The show is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., May 15 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 15. Admission is $7. If you want to reserve a table to sell some of your stuff, contact Kelly Mears at 746-4862. The tables rent for $50 each.

The Mat Valley Sportsmen have the only indoor shooting range around and are currently developing an outdoor shooting range next to the indoor range building. Some of the classes they offer include: defensive handgun skills, NRA first steps pistol orientation, NRA basic pistol and concealed handgun permit/personal protection. If you would like to find out more about these or other classes, contact Steve Montgomery at 746-3090.

That makes three major events happening over that weekend. So what’s the fourth event I mentioned at the beginning? I’ll be part of a team teaching a bowhunter education class at the Elks Camp on May 14. I suspect the class is already full, but you can check by calling the Palmer Fish and Game office at 746-6300. The entire schedule of hunter education classes is posted on the hunter education website, which can be accessed through the Alaska Department of Fish and Game homepage. As I mentioned in last week’s column, there are three hunter education classes: basic, bowhunter and muzzleloader. I’ll be team teaching a muzzleloader class tomorrow at the Elks Camp, too.

See what I mean about everything happening at once? Within the next two weeks, in addition to the stuff already mentioned, I’m committed to help the state parks folks with their Campground host training (I get to tell the mostly nonresident hosts about sportfishing in the Valley and Cook Inlet in general). I’ll be helping a friend clear some trees out of his yard as a firebreak around his house (there’s next year’s firewood!), I’ll be getting some work done on my riverboat and my wife and I need to make a trip to Homer for some personal business (but we’re hoping to dig some razor clams while en route). And there’s probably some other stuff I can’t remember at the moment.

Because of scheduling, I had to turn down an offer from Andy Couch for an early season fishing trip to prospect for kings. Can you believe that? I suspect I’ll regret that move when Andy writes his column and mentions how things go. Oh well, the story of my life.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.