The kid turns 4 this months, and he’s already well on his way to becoming a hunter. Spencer Skjonsberg, shown here packing a BB gun on a hunt with dad and friends,  is lucky enough to have an old man who believes kids and the outdoors go together.

By KW

Sitting here in the newsroom on a snowy Saturday, I found a bit of sunshine when I ran across Spencer’s picture in my e-mail files.

Nice, huh?

What’s better than a little boy - or a little girl - beginning the great journey into the outdoors, with his dad.

How South Dakota is that? Very.

Spencer Skjonsberg began his journey when he was 18 months old. That’s when his dad, Rob, who has more time for such thigs since he left his job as Gov. Mike Rounds’ chief of staff and joined the workd of biofuel production, started taking him along on hunting trips.

 Spencer took too it like a mallard duckling too a fine prairie puddle.

And it’s not just fun, Rob says. It’s building on something that lasts.

“Passing on traditions is one of the most important things we can do as parents and South Dakotans,” he says. “It teaches your children patience, safety, respect and much more. That’s something they won’t get from a video game or sitting on the couch.”

Spencer went along to the Selby area last October for the pheasant opener, a whole weekend of boys - including big ones like dad - hanging out  with boys in what Rob calls “a rite of passage.”

“I enjoy the little stuff the most,” he says. ” Seeing him get excited when birds fly or we kick up a deer, talking to the dogs, carrying birds, and the simple fact that he likes to do the same things as you is pretty cool.”

Pretty cool, indeed. Pretty important, too.

Keep it up, boys.

With a little help from dad, Spencer prepares to left loose his first .410 round - an important rite of passage for any South Dakota kid.