and a strong cup of coffee

I am a proud member of the Orange army.   I never really thought about it until I became more involved with the online hunting groups.  So many of my buddies on social media have posted  over the past couple of weeks about trying to get a deer and getting out of the woods before the orange army comes in. There are trail cam pics being posted with spike horns or crotch horns with a note about the likelihood of the deer being shot by the orange army. Allow me to tell you what this proud member does when she puts on her orange.  She is looking for food to feed her family.  She proudly carries her rifle into the woods and knows that with one well placed shot, she can drop a deer dead in its tracks.  She is able to put on that orange and spend time with her Dad in the woods.  She can sit in the stands that they built and watch fawns and their mothers interact.  She is a hunter and proud of it.

This is how hunting is supposed to be! Cold in the morning with a solid front on the ground.  Noisy but not enough to give your cover away. And sun. I love the sun. I sat in the Sky Condo, Hubby was in T3 and Dad decided that since time is ticking, he would walk.  The plan was for him to walk the piece by T3 in hopes of jumping something towards Hubby.  Then, the guys would head my way and split up.  Dad would head east and loop around to my treeseat.  Hubby would make a loop west then swing east and come out at my treeseat.  When I saw Hubby at the foot plot, I was supposed to head immediately to my treeseat.  I was excited about this plan because I had not sat in my treeseat all season and I missed being more outside and exposed than in the bigger stands. There was a little windy but nothing that would keep the sound of steps hidden.  I bleated the minute I could see color.  I waited a few minutes and bleated again.  I hear...

I had called Dad mid-week to check in and he told me that we had a big buck by the Sky Condo One of the 8's? I eagerly asked No. Bigger If I could have driven up that night, I would have.  But I had to wait until Friday to put the memory cards into the computer and look at what Dad was talking about.  This is, BY FAR, the thickest deer we have ever seen on the camera.  He is clearly all rutted up because he has no neck!  It also looks like his E2 is broken on his right side.  He was on the camera a handful of times over the past week. I am ready to put in some time Wed, Thursday, Friday and Saturday in hopes that one of us will get a crack at this big guy. 

I hate coyotes.  They just freak me out especially when you can hear them but not see them.  On opening day of the 2015 deer season, we heard one howling especially close to where we were headed.  Over the summer, there had been a trail camera photo here or there but it had been quiet until that morning. Then, Dad handed my the memory cards to review before we went into the woods last weekend. As if gloating, here are a few highlights: He actually lays down!  All in all, he spent about one hour in front of this camera.  He was on the camera more than any other bucks were and I am sure the does are not happy about this. I talked to a friend of mine who traps and he has offered me a couple of his traps to see if I can get this guy and help the deer herd.  He is the reason that I won't sure the doe with the fawn - I need to keep the good moms around so more fawns can survive. We will see how this goes, but between trapping and maybe so...

We can not hunt in Maine on Sundays but that doesnt mean we can not enjoy the wildlife!  This doe was enjoying the grass when we caught a glimpse of her.  Maybe that means there is a buck or two around.

Lori let me know last week that my bear was done and I could come get him!  When we dropped him off a year ago, there were a lot of problems, namely his head being cut in half.  But, when all was said and done Jim and Lori did the following: 1. Piece the skull back together. 2. Remove the bald patch in the center of his back that the bear got when he was being hauled off the mountain. 3. All paws were removed and turned 180 degrees because the pelt was not cut right when it was butchered. 4. Flaps of skin above his shoulders were removed and sewn back onto his sides were they belonged. 5. All of the normal taxidermy stuff like preparing and working with the pelt, getting the fake head to go into the rug and felting the bottom. Needless to say, they went WAY above and beyond in order for me to have a quality rug from my remarkable hunt.   I don't care where you are in Maine, if you can get there, go to New Frontier Taxidermy and get your animals done right. ...

We kicked off the new season on Saturday and it could not have been a better morning.  The moon was out, the stars were bright and there was just a slight chill in the air.  It was 24 degrees. After last year's last minute switch in sitting spots and my success , I let Hubby pick where he wanted to sit.  He wanted the Sky Condo and I took T3.  As the three of us walked along the path into the woods, the silence was broken by a single howl. It was loud and close. Sound travels Dad said but we all knew that the coyote was close.  He was probably in the woods between us and T3. Luckily, it was just one coyote (only one was howling.)  We split from Hubby and headed directly towards T3 as another howl came.  We were walking directly towards the coyote. I kept thinking about the deer and how they were probably moving away from the coyote and further away from us and T3.  As we came to a field, the coyote howled again but he was further away at the o...

I recently wrote an article for The Liberty Project on the right to hunt and the legislative bill in Wisconsin that would prohibit people (anti-hunters) from harassing hunters on public land. Check out the article here and let me know what your thoughts are!