and a strong cup of coffee

There is nothing better on a nice fall day then walking through the woods with Dad and checking the trail cam pictures.  We headed out to check the camera by the Sky Condo and the camera by my tree seat.  That big buck has been hanging around the Sky Condo but if it's the same deer as last year, he made a few trips past my seat and into the bog. After doing some logging on the property, Dad has decided that we will move my tree seat and build another permanent stand.  The plan right now is to move closer to the bog and off to the left of where I sit currently.  This will allow me to sit close to the bog and thickets and if it rains, I can still be around any deer that decide to move.  I am naming my new stand T3 (tree-stand three - how original right?)  I may do a Google search and see what cool, function designs might be out there that we will want to add to this new stand.  The Sky Condo is pretty nice but we have had to patch up some leaks in ...

I have been going back and forth between these photos from last hunting season and the ones below.  Is it the same deer?  The photos are off my two months (Sept vs Nov) but are we looking at the same deer?  It looks like the same antler frame and maybe the same antlers, but I think G3 is longer in the 2013 pictures - or it could be the angle, light and position of the deer. What do you think?  Same deer?

Right? While I get the blog about my last hunting adventure edited and ready to go, I wanted to share with you some photos from those same sites that show a trap that Steve has put out.  According to Maine law, you must check your trap every day and as a result of Steve doing this, we are getting some huge bears coming in. An argument that those who are in favor of banning our effective hunting methods like to make is how easy it is to get a bear.  As you have seen, we have a lot of bears coming into the sites.  And they are big bears!  Bait is helping to bring them in but (spoiler alert) I have not shot a bear.  Neither have Steve or Lorri.  The bears are there, are coming in almost daily but unless you are there at the right place and right time, no bear for you! Here are some great photos that PROVE that just because you put a trap out, it does not guarantee you a bear.  The trap is clearly seen on the ground in that perfect circle. Bear jus...

It is pretty cool to be able to see a buck on the trail camera.  This guy was caught on the camera on three different dates but almost at the same spot.  It gives us a cool chance to see how his antlers are growing this season.  This is the first time that we have been able to see the growth, to this extent over a one month period.  I love deer season!!!

Last fall, we had somewhere between 7 and 10 bucks of all sizes around the treestands.  The biggest bucks we have ever seen showed up a few years ago in mid-August.  This year, we had only does on the cameras.  Sometimes two, three or four but never any antlers.  A few weeks ago, we finally saw some velvet.  But this, is more like it! And check out the time of these pictures. I just hope that we start seeing these types of pictures more often now. I dont know if this is the same spike horn as the first picture or not.

After we struck out on the first night, we planned to go out again and get us a bear.  The photos that were were seeing showed incredible bears coming in all the time.  It was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. The day before I was going to drive up to meet with Steve and Lorri, I got a text from Steve: "GET MORE BULLETS."  We had a behemoth bear coming in on a regular basis and when he compared it to his 420lb bear, he figured it was 500-600lbs. This bear is huge! 500-600lbs probably. Maybe an old Sow by the look of the back stomach area that could be worn out from nursing cubs? Big head, nice barrel like frame.  This is an incredible, healthy Maine black bear. I was more comfortable now since I knew where we would be, what the light was like and where I'd be sitting.  This time, I would be sitting with Lorri and Steve would go to site 2. It was a beautiful day with sun, a light breeze and 68 degrees.  Cool and ideal f...

In case you missed it, here is the Podcast from Maine Points with my friend Mike Violette about hunting in Maine! Erin's discussion on hunting in Maine Enjoy and happy hunting! The first time I shot my 30-06 in 2007

My Labor Day Weekend: Fresh applesauce made, processed and canned for winter. Thanks to Robin , I was able to quickly whip up a batch and got it stored.  I will make at least a couple dozen more for us to have and for those daycare lunches. Farmer's Market corn husked, cut, processed and canned for a great Shepard's Pie on a wintery day. Way too many (for someone who doesn't like tomatoes) pints of crushed tomatoes ready to go for sauces, Minestrone soup and lasagnas. I may not like them but there is nothing better than homemade sauce and real tomatoes in dishes that you know are not filled with preservatives.

I was nervous. Ridiculously so.  I was seeing the big bears that we had coming in on the cameras at each site and I knew that I had to make a damn good shot if a bear came in. I has shot three times to get my gun sighted in and knew that it was right where it needed to be - and I was comfortable making those shots. I packed all of my clothes, which were washed in anti-scent detergent and properly washed and stored with anti-scent dryer sheets. I showered with my anti-scent soap and put everything into the car.  As I sat in the driver seat of the car going through my mental checklist, I realized that my gun was still inside.  A quick run back inside and I was really ready to go this time. At Steve's, I prepped some bait for the day.  I was a pro at this point . It was hot - 86 degrees and no breeze but regardless of all of this, it was opening day of bear season!  We had lunch, put everything in the back of the truck and were off to bait sites in the wood...