Turkey, fish and bone

Finally, after the cold winter it is time to be back in the woods. I am eager to shake off the winter and get back into the sunshine, nicer temperatures and even play in the mud a little bit. This year spring means turkey hunting, fishing and looking for some sheds on the hunting property.

This will be my third turkey hunting season and I am hoping that the third time is the charm. The first year, we called one tom and three jakes in but didn’t bring any meat home. Last year, I went out with a guide and blew my shot by sitting in a spot that prevented me from shooting to my right. I did get to see the tom drumming and strutting right towards me but I couldn’t finish the job. This year will be different; I have all of my camo ready including gloves that I purchased this year, a ThermaCELL ready to go and a few different places and people that I will be going out with in hopes of bringing home one (or maybe two if I am really lucky) turkey. I will do it this year!

I am also returning to Chet’s Camps in Grand Lake Stream to do some fishing. It was a great trip last year and I caught a small salmon while trolling with a fly rod. I am not even close to being a fisherman yet, but feeling the fish bite and the fly rod in my hands… I have to be cautious or I could get sucked into this sport with no hopes of turning back. Until I am ready for that, fishing trips are the safest way to go. And who can beat the views from a camp on the water far away from the city and traffic. Last year I could not get the Wi-Fi to work and it was fantastic. I am eager to get back there and unwind, relax, visit with Sue and Al and just be in the great Maine outdoors. Catching a few fish would be a bonus.

I will find a shed this season. I have been reading up on tips and what to do and not do. I would love to find one or the set from either of those big eight pointers that are on the trail cameras. It would be a great scouting tool and it would be great to see how healthy and big those deer are. Even the six pointers looked pretty thick through ‘em last fall. I also want to get a dog at some point this year and begin to train it to find sheds. There are training kits to buy and Jeremy Moore has a great one that Mark Kenyon spent an entire ‘Wired to Hunt’ podcast talking about. I hope that by next spring, I have a dog ready to go help me find some sheds. Until then, it’s all me.

It should be a busy spring for me and I hope the weather is nice enough to get outside and be productive. It would be great to report back to all of you that I got a turkey, some fish and a few pieces of bone. Plus, Dad and I have a treehouse to build in preparation for deer season (you can read more about T3 on my blog). There are so many great things to be doing outside that I am sure that we will be busy!

Where are the women?

This week, my interview with Steve at The Maine Outdoorsman went live. Steve said yesterday 200 people hit his site viewing over 500 pages. That is a lot of people reading about little ole me and hunting. Why? When I think of women who are in the general public's eye and hunt, I can think of 2 - Country singer Miranda Lambert and Sarah Palin. Why only two? Why is the female hunter such a fascinating thing? (I should probably note that I do not have cable so any and all female hunters on the hunting stations are lost to me. I'll keep it to the general public because that's what I am familiar with.) People/media were fascinated by the fact that they could get footage of Palin and her gun, shooting (and gutting) animals but I feel like the nostalgia would be lost if they had the same footage of McCain. Lambert and her hubby Blake Shelton tweet photos of their kills, and comment on what/where they are hunting. I only know this because I follow both. That's it....

Do Outdoor Women need to toughen up?

I hope you get shot out in the forest and wolves gnaw on your dying corpse…..WHILE YOU’RE STILL ALIVE I’d like to rip off your f*$%ing head and pour gunpowder down your f*$%ing throat and light it on fire Only c*%t’s shoot animals and take pleasure in it. I hope you die a horrible painful death As I began to look at how female hunters were being bullied, I had to ask myself if it was because we were easy targets as women or if we needed to just toughen up a little. Once I started asking my fellow female hunters about their experiences, the things that they sent to me as examples of what they deal with daily made me sick to my stomach. I’d like to meet you outside someday with a gun in my hand, I would shoot you several times and laugh over your f*$%ing body as you die like you do to those poor animals that can’t defend themselves. MURDERER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Generally threats are basic name calling. They include sexist remarks, racist remar...

So much to celebrate - let's give away stuff!

As you know from my last post, this month I am celebrating the one year anniversary of this blog, 10 years of hunting with my Dad and a milestone birthday. In honor of all three, I want to give away some great Maine stuff to all of you! Rules: 1. Leave a comment 2. On Oct 28 (my big bday), Dad will pick a number and the corresponding post will win. What will you win? A big basket of great Maine and outdoor things! Such as: fly fishing flies, blueberry something, Maine maple syrup, apple butter (to be made by me on Tuesday), something related to deer hunting and a couple of great books signed by local authors. (Pictures will be posted when I am back at a computer). So thank you for your support and for helping my celebrate such a great month!!

and a strong cup of coffee

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