and a strong cup of coffee

I am so grateful for all of your taking the time out in your day to read, post and follow my blog. Big thanks to Rabid Outdoorsman for helping to get me reinvested by interviewing me and helping to introducing me to all of you! One of my goals for this blog in 2012 is to get (and publish) an interview with the Commish of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in Maine, Chandler Woodcock . I had Mr. Woodcock as my English teacher freshman year of high school and we usually run into each other every couple of years and catch up. So - I would LOVE to know what questions you think I should ask him! Im making a list but I want you to have buy in as well. And what are your goals for 2012? I wish you all a very happy and safe New Year!

Ok all - I need a new pair of wool pants. The pair I have now are my dad's old ones, gray and wonderful but a little short (and as you can see, I like to play in the snow). Where should I look to get myself a new pair?? Ideally, another pair of gray pants. Thanks!

Since starting my hunting career, I have built 2 tree houses (the most recent one dubbed the Sky Condo), sat in a sketchy tree seat and had Dad pimp out a tree seat, from which I shot my doe and my 10 pointer this year. This is the first place I ever sat alone in the woods. Its off the corner of our property. I was terrified and prayed that no deer would walk by. It is someone's stand that has been there for 4+ years. Its a little wobbly, has that one bar that goes in front of you, and the ladder is about 7 inches wide. Dad would leave me here for just a couple of hours while he walked around. I would wish the time away because I had no idea what I would really do if I saw a deer, or if this thing would collapse on me. From this seat, I could see one path that is frequently traveled by deer. This. This wonderful thing is my Sky Condo. It can fit my husband (who is not allowed to intrude on father-daughter hunting tradition, but can see our cool hang out), my dad and me

Wishing you and your family a very happy and healthy holiday! I thank you all very much for reading my blog and joining in on the conversation. I enjoy every comment and having our fun conversations about hunting. Enjoy the holiday and all the best ~E

I recently discovered this wonderful blog by Willard. His post today made my stomach turn. Not because of the photos - those are amazing - but because of what the photos are of; deer killed for their antlers and tenderloins. Here is the actual blog post. The whole idea of people killing deer for their antlers blows my mind. I have heard of Rhios and elephants being killed for their horns and tusks but a whitetail deer... killing any animal just for sport, I think it wrong. Keeping the population in check - yes. If the hunters in Willard's post didnt want the meat, why not donate it to food pantries?!?! I did a quick Google search for donating deer to pantries and came up with this nation-wide list of organized groups that help. I would like to think that there are butchers out there that would also donate their time and talent in helping out with the process. To hunt a whitetail and have the fortune to bag one is an incredible experience. For me and my family, I hu

As a funny follow up to Steve's blog about coyots , I was going through photos for my Dad's album (every year that we get a deer, I add more pictures) and found these. Dad found this deer last year when he was out walking around and I was in my seat. It was, as you can see, a nice 8-pointer that had been taken down by the coyots. When Dad told me about it, I asked to go see it (Im weird). The deer was in a grouping of trees. Its nose was gone, as was the lower half of the body. A beautiful deer that would have been a nice tag - taken down by coyotes. After lunch, we took the saw back into the woods with us and cut off the antlers. One, because they are impressive - 17 inches in the inside and two, because it is a reminder that coyots are getting more brazen and less choosy about which deer they are picking. I highly doubt this deer was sick or wounded. Just one more example of why it is so important that Maine works to get the coyote population back in check.

I would like to thank Steve for helping to feed my fear of these coyotes. *shutters* the photos in his blog are of coyotes taking down a deer - an FYI to those of you out there who are squeamish. The Maine Outdoorsman: Why You Shoot Coyotes!

Again, thanks to Twitter, I came upon a blog post in which the author talks about a boy getting shot in Tennessee. He gives some tips for hunter safety that had me thinking. Here are the tips: 1. Never walk in heavy brush with your gun loaded. 2. Never fire unless you are sure of your target and there is no chance of someone being beyond your target. 3. Never climb into your stand with a loaded firearm or hoist up one that is loaded. 4. Always carry your firearm muzzle upward especially when hunting with a friend. Muzzle down is never a good idea even though it’s pointed away from people you may accidentally get dirt in the barrel and clog it causing a potentially deadly accident. I only do 1 of these. Thoughts? Am I the worst hunter out there? What about you guys? what else could you add?

While paroozing my Twitter feed, I came across this little article posted by the Huffington Post. Here are the opening few lines: Montana wildlife regulators suspect more and more people are faking disabilities to take advantage of privileges granted to disabled hunters, so they want to remove one of those perks in hopes of curbing abuse. Permits to hunt from a vehicle, called PTHV permits, are given to Montana hunters with certain disabilities certified by a doctor, chiropractor, nurse or physician's assistant. The permit allows a disabled person who can't get around without assistance to hunt from a self-propelled or drawn vehicle. In some prime hunting areas, those permit holders are allowed to drive along roadways normally gated and closed to all other vehicles. They are also allowed to shoot cow elk without buying an additional antlerless elk license, even in some areas where licenses aren't available to the general public. I did a quick Google search and found th

Backstory: There is a house that sits on about 30 acres that borders our property with the Sky Condo on it. The house was abandoned and bought by a family in town that hunts. With the purchase of the house, they now border 3 sides of our hunting grounds. They are kinda obnoxious in that they have a generator that is so loud, we can hear it as soon as we step out of the truck. They come and go at all hours, which keeps the deer from moving near the camproad and they have a four-wheeler which they start up, rev up and drive down to their tree stand with. Basically, they make a crazy amount of noise and hunt for the trophy, not the meat. Basically, they are the opposite type of hunter that we are. ## So, this past weekend, I ran into one of the family members at their shop. I asked him what the final number was and he said they got one 8-pointer. Now, up until the last weekend, Dad and I had been told that they had let a 6 and 8 pointer go by. Dad and I called BS on that, es

One of the unnews, news articles that has been on the TV is that of a 10 year old kid from Action who got an outdoor grandslam - one of each, if you will, for deer, bear, moose and turkey. Here is the link . Many hunters goes years or even lifetimes without reaching this accomplishment. I got drawn for a moose permit last year and we didnt get a moose. But, I also have no desire to bear hunt or really, turkey. I am happy with my whitetails. So, what about all of you - want the grand slam? have you already accomplished it?

Friends of mine from high school put together a film about fishing in northern Maine and following one man in particular. Check out the trailer here . Or, it might be easier to go to their blog at http://hardwaterdocumentary.blogspot.com/ and check them out. Really great guys!

This hunting season, Maine saw 3 incidents where dogs where shot and hunters claimed they were coyotes. So, lets take a closer look, shall we? All kinda look this same; in that 'I-am-from-the-dog-family' sort of way. The coloring is maybe, kinda close. More so with the shepard and the coyote. Their faces all resemble dogs and have pointy noses but you can tell the difference. The ears are clearly difference and just the posture of the animals are different. But still, three dogs this year were killed. 3!! Two were German Shepards and one was a Siberian Huskey. You can check out the stories about each shooting here , here and here . I have never seen a coyote in the woods when I have been out hunting. Honestly, I am a little terrified of them, their group mentality and the way they sneak around. I also have a ridiculous imagination that allows me to make thing way more scary than they really are... but, anyways... All of the hunters involved claimed that they thoug