and a strong cup of coffee

* The meat! There is nothing better than butchering and eating meat from an animal that you killed * Sitting in the woods for hours with no technology The sun, the honking geese in the fields, the eff'n squirrels... and no office walls. * Watching wildlife in their natural habitat I love watching does and fawns playing when they have no idea that I am in the tree nearby. Only well-behaved squirrels can hang out with me in the tree though. * Spending time with my Dad =) * Breaking the stereotypes of what a hunter looks like Yes, those are 4 inch heels that I am wearing * Breaking the stereotypes of how a hunter acts Go bear hunting then listen to Alec Baldwin host the New York Philharmonic, yes please! * Meeting and connecting with other great hunters There are a lot of awesome people in Maine and around the US who are passionate about hunting and are sharing their experiences. * The meat! Worth being mentioned twice!  On a cold snowy day having a nice bear or ...

Nov 2014 Downeast Magazine A few months ago, I was asked to write an article for Downeast Magazine about what it means to be a woman who hunts.  I was excited about the opportunity and eagerly sat down to write what I knew would be the widest seen piece of my career.  It took me a month to come up with the article, edit it and edit it again but it was submitted and I felt good about it. Then, I was asked to do a photo shoot for the article that would be me and a few friends in the city.  It was a perfect depiction of what hunters look like compared to the perception that non-hunters (and maybe a few hunters) view as a hunter. My friends Lorri, Jenn and Melissa agreed to be in the shoot with me.  Seeing the finished photo and my article in print and to be able to hold it is surreal!  I am excited to hear what people think about it.  If you can, please go out and get a copy.  There are great stories about hunting heritage, traditions and expl...

This could be the best season ever when it comes to trail cam photos of the deer around the Sky Condo.  Hunter or not, how can you not love and respect these great animals?!  I can not wait until deer season starts.

It rained.  Rained hard and the wind blew.  It was anything but ideal for finding moose in the Maine woods.  But Brian , Jenn and I knew that the weather was going to be clear and with some rain gear, we were off for an adventures.  Last year , I was spoiled; beautiful calm weather and moose first thing in the morning.  This year, our normal 4:30am start was pushed back to 10am. About an hour after we left, we were winding down dirt roads heading further into the woods. We pulled into an old skidder road, grabbed our cameras and were off.  The sun had finally come out but the wind was still whipping through the trees and causing bursts of leaves to drop from their branches.  Brian calling for moose We walked along the trail, stopping every once in a while to call and attempt to listen between gusts of wind.  It was turning out to be a beautiful fall day and we had high hopes for seeing some wildlife.  The first chopping that we came...

I was glad that I had brought extra layers when we stepped into the 29 degree October air.  It was going to be a perfect hunting day with bright sun, cool temps and a great view that showed off Maine's fall foliage. Tim Cote of Cote & Sons Guide Service was taking me out on a guided bear hunt with his friends Al, Scott and Scott's two boys.  And Tim's six W alkers , pups Boy and Lady, Jill, Emma, Garth and Moose.  We headed for the Maine woods when it was still dark out and as the first light was breaking, we turned off the paved road and started to head deeper into the woods on some old dirt roads.  Tim let the dogs out to stretch and run around the truck as we slowly drove down the road. I was taking in the view and talking to Tim when the dog's demeanor changed and they began to bark. First one, then two, then all of them were barking and running up the mountain and into the thick forest Maine in known for.  Tim pulled out the GPS to see where the do...

I was so excited when I looked at the trail camera pictures from the past week.  I finally was able to figure out that the deer I had been studying was (and is) the same deer.  Here is my proof.  Note the time and position of the deer.  YEAH!  Mystery solved.  I am looking for one deer, who is probably 3.5 or 4.5 years old.  I have pictures of him from last year and this year. He is smart, stays nocturnal for most of the season but likes to come back to the same areas.  I know that no matter who sees him (us or the nearby neighbors) he will be shot at.  I just need to formulate my plan of attack and be smart about it.  Finally, some peace of mind... ... And then, there were two. The deer above is not this deer . I am not going to get a wink of sleep the night before opening day!

Trail Cam photo.  I wish I had been able to take a shot at him. There are islands off the coast of Maine that have had to eradicate their deer population for the health of the people who live there.  There have also been controlled hunts to help with deer and tick issues that wreck havoc on the health of people in the area. On Mount Desert Island, the issue of a deer hunt is going to be on the ballot this fall . The guidelines are pretty simple.   For the first two to four years, hunters who own property can set up tree stands or ground blinds and hunt from them.  They can have friends and family do the same with permission, on that same property.  Using common sense, there will be an appropriate amount of space between these stationary hunting spots.  Firearms and bows can be used.  If the proposal passes, the hunt will last anywhere from 2-4 weeks.  After this trial period, hunting would only be allowed in October and hunters could only u...

After being in the audience of the townhall debate on changing the way the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) manages our bear populations, I was determined to interview Judy Camuso.  It was Judy's knowledge, passion and drive that came through during the debate that had me and supporters in the crowd, fired up about our work helping to educate and encourage more people to Vote NO on 1 . I sat down with Judy to talk about her career, Maine's wildlife and of course, bears. Photo courtesy of J. Camuso from a Portland Press Herald article What made you want to get involved in wildlife? I grew up outside.  My mom had six kids and we were always outside.  I loved animals from the time I was young. I went to college to study veterinarian medicine and did an internship with US Fish and Wildlife my sophomore year.  I loved being able to watch birds and study their behaviors and try to figure out what makes animals do what they do.  ...

The following pictures are driving me out of my hunting mind!  We are getting these great pictures on a weekly basis but for the life of me (and Dad and a couple other hunters who I have asked) I can not figure out if this is one deer or two! I was sure after this last set of pictures that I had two big deer around.  I still think I might based solely on their G3 tine but when I sent these pictures to two hunters, they both wrote back saying that they could not tell for sure, if it was one or two deer. I was watching hunting shows over the weekend and on two different shows they had deer that looked like the deer in this last picture and when that deer turned, it looked exactly like the first picture (above).  Or visa versa.  Even the pros can not help me determine what sort of deer I am dealing with.  I am losing my mind trying to figure out what type of bucks and how many I am dealing with. One thing is for sure, there is a lot of antler out the...