There are all sorts of seasons — sports seasons, hunting seasons, holiday seasons – but there’s never a closed season on hunger.

With Saturday being opening day for the general deer season in Texas, it’s probably a little early for hunters to be looking at full freezers of venison — although avid outdoorsman and KWTX news anchor Gordon Collier went a long way toward loading his after a Saturday morning hunt in Bosque County yielded a monster buck.

But as the holiday season merges in with deer season, more people will be thinking of helping out those less fortunate, and with Texas ranking among the worst states in America in terms of poverty and hunger, there are plenty of people to think of right here at home.

Hunters for the Hungry links hunters who have food to share with relief agencies that deal with the problem of hunger in our communities. In recent years, the program has donated hundreds of thousands of two-pound packs of ground venison to agencies throughout Texas, with more than 10 percent of that going to families in the Waco area. Central Texans typically donate over a ton of meat each year to the program.

A cooperative effort between the State of Texas and a number of private companies and individuals, HFTH aims to help struggling families make ends meet. In recent years, more than a million children either suffering from or at risk of hunger — amounting to nearly one-third of all children in Texas — have benefited from the effort.

To participate, hunters can take legally harvested deer to participating meat processors who will process and package the meat for a tax-deductible, nominal fee.

Call 800-992-9767 ext. 506 to locate a participating meat processor in your area.

Ducks Unlimited dinner

The Waco Ducks Unlimited annual banquet is set for Thursday at The Phoenix Ballroom, located at 401 S. 3rd Street in Waco.

Doors open at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7. Also on the docket are raffles, auctions, drinks, games, door prizes and more.

Tickets are available at Patrick’s Dry Clean Super Center on North Valley Mills Drive (749-7150) or online through Wednesday at www.ducks.org.

Catfish biting

The catfish bite is strong on Lake Waco, with best results coming on punch bait fished around vegetation in 3-5 feet of water. A few blues have been caught along with good numbers of channel catfish. Chumming soured grain will help attract bigger numbers of fish.

Shedding antlers

Whitetail deer shed their antlers after each mating season, and antlers are re-grown each summer. Unlike cattle horns (which are hollow), deer antlers are solid bone with a honeycomb structure inside.

Spooky travel plans

Those floating cobwebs blowing through the air aren’t leftover Halloween decorations — they’re actually the flying carpets of the spider world. Known as “ballooning,” it’s one method that spiders use to get from one place to another. They spin out silk threads which are snapped loose by winds, and the webs act as parachutes to carry the spiders through the air.

www.centexoutdoors.com

717-8907