and a strong cup of coffee

As I write this, I am almost 38 weeks pregnant.  I finished up my first season (more like sample) of turkey hunting with Dad and have found some things are vastly different than then were 22 weeks ago when I was deer hunting. For starters, Dad and I are novices when it comes to figuring out how turkeys operate.  Give me a rainy weekend and I can tell you the times of day that the deer will be moving and when they will bed down.  With these turkeys, that rule doesn't seem to apply; they are out in a complete downpour.  When I make noise by rattling antlers or using a bleet, I know if I am trying to imitate another buck or a doe.  I have no idea what sort of bird I sound like when I use my box call.  In the fall, I can sit in a tree for hours and as long as I dont move too much or make too much noise, I can shoot a deer from 30-100 yards away.  Dad and I learned this spring that not only do you have to be hidden, but you have to be close to those birds ...

Well, we know we are in a good area and that our calls work. We got into the woods by the Sky Condo a little earlier than we did on the first day.  The weather predicted rain so we wanted to get in as much time as possible.  We got to our ground blind, set up the decoys and settled in to start calling.  This morning though, we didn’t have to start anything.  We heard a gobble within five minutes of sitting down.  I got my box call out and called back.  He answered almost immediately.  We had a great conversation for a steady 30 minutes with him often double or triple gobbling.  Then the gobbles became more spaced apart but did not stop.  Dad decided that be would circle down to the power line where we were pretty sure the turkey was hanging out.  We hadn’t been able to get him any closer in the past hour and knowing the area as well as we do, if I could keep him gobbling, Dad could find him and get him. I kept using t...

It is hard to hunt anything when there are rain drops falling off the trees.  It is probably the worst during deer season when everything sounds like the snapping of a branch.  But, this was my first day of turkey hunting and having never been before, I had no idea what I should be listening for besides a gobble. Our turkey decoys Dad and I had two decoys set up about 15 yards away from us.  I had a slate call, a box call and my camo on.  It was starting to get light out when we reached the blind; that time of morning when you can not tell if you really are seeing something move or if it is just your eyes.  It was probably a little later than we should have been in the woods, but we are new and learning. About a half hour after we sat down, I saw a bird fly down.  There was still some ground fog so I could not tell if it was a jake or hen (or tom, but it seemed kinda small).  Dad couldn’t tell either.  I continued to cal...

Spring is a great time to have a baby (I think).  You get the summer off to enjoy the new baby, it’s getting warmer and the farmer’s markets come back.  But, I am not the only one who is planning to deliver in the next few weeks; many of Maine’s white-tailed does will be joining me in adding to the population. Does will typically give birth in fields and along the tree line where they are comfortable and not in too much stress.   As we get out and about more to enjoy the changing seasons, it is vital that we stay away from does that may seem like they are in trouble (they could be pacing or have their tail up) because they are getting ready to fawn and do not need the added stress.  The bulk of the fawning will take place from the end of May until the middle of June. Once a doe has her fawn(s), she will leave them in hiding for the majority of the day so she can feed.  The doe will normally return to feed her new fawn 2-3 times a day....