Out & About

OUTPICK

Huckleberry Haiku

One of the best huckleberry crops in memory is leaving stains on fingers and smiles on faces throughout the region. Berries are so thick in some mountain areas, a serious harvester might move less than 25 feet in an hour.

Let’s not let a season like this get away without inspiring us to literary heights.

While the pie’s in the oven, pick your brain for some Huckleberry Haiku and send it to Out & About. Email richl@spokesman.com or call 459-5508 and leave a message.

Here’s a start:

Living the moment

The bucket half full

betrayed by a purple tongue

She bears little fruit

OUTSHOOT

Take a shot at hunting

What: 10th annual New Shooters Day. Free introduction to firing .22 rifles, shotguns, sporting clays, archery, plus Laser Shot hunting simulator and hunting live pen-raised pheasants.

When: 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Sept. 7.

Where: Miller Ranch Hunting Preserve, 30 miles south of Spokane on Williams Lake Road.

Who: For anyone — adults as well as youths —wanting to sample the sports of shooting and bird hunting, sponsored by Safari Club International.

Details: Free lunch, drawing for $250 White Elephant gift certificate; lessons in bird-dog handling and field-dressing pheasants. Firearms, ammunition and instruction provided.

Preregister by Sept. 1. Contact Rick Osterback, (509) 993-3098, or e-mail dumpster43@yahoo.com.

OUTMEDIA

Idaho rivers logged

Free brochure: Idaho Whitewater Trails, 21 pages, includes details for seven classic introductory float trips on popular rivers, including the Salmon, Snake, Lochsa and Payette.

Info: www.visitidaho.org/publications .

OUTLOOK

Best fishing times

Lunar tables from the U.S. Naval Observatory. Be fishing at least one hour before and one hour after peak times. Applies to all time zones.

(* indicates best days.)

Through Aug. 31

Today

7:15 a.m., 7:45 p.m.

Monday

8:20 a.m., 8:50 p.m.

Tuesday

9:20 a.m., 9:50 p.m.

Wednesday

10:25 a.m., 10:50 p.m.

* Thursday

11:20 a.m., 11:45 p.m.

* Friday

12:10 p.m., 12:35 a.m.

* Saturday

1 p.m., 1:20 a.m.

Next Sunday

1:45 p.m., 2:05 a.m.

See the Hunting-Fishing Report every Friday in Sports