Skip to main content

Finding sheds in the Maine woods

I noticed the black against the white trees, "moose!" I called out to Lee.  Eating along the side of the logging road, she was spooked by our approaching truck and disappeared into thick sapplings before I could take a picture.  I took it as a good omen that today would be productive.

Snow in May is not unheard of in Maine but the few inches that had fallen the night before, would not make shed hunting an easy task this morning.  I was still excited and the break from quarantine life was welcomed.  The fresh Maine air can reset anyone's state of mind.

We walked down old skidder trails and split up to cover more ground.  Snow fell from the higher branches as the sun began to rise.  I had been walking for just a few minutes when Lee came to find me and had me backtrack on to the road that he had been on.

"Walk right down this trail and look inside the tree line" Lee instructed me.  He had already found the first shed of the morning amid two inches of snow and blazing sun. I walked slowly and looked for a piece of what could be an antler.  It was easy to spot.  The entire antler looked like it had been placed up against the side of a tree. It was last year's shed and we were on the board before 8am!


Throughout the morning, we would pick old trails, split up and walk.  The sun grew warmers and the snow continued to melt away.  I continued to look for antlers within the tree line, in the paths and in any smaller trails that broke away from the main trail that I was on. 

A few times, Lee would bring me to a spot that he had scouted and tell me that there was a shed nearby.  After decades of being in the Maine woods as a guide and outdoorsmen, he was a pro at spotting antlers in a piece of thick growth or in marshes.  Luckily, each time he said that there was a shed nearby, I could find it. 

On our way back to the truck before lunch, we walked along a stream.  Mid-sentence, Lee stopped.  He didn't say anything.  I looked around.  In front of us was an unusual green arch.  It was partially in the water and covered with moss.  I dug it out.  The antler was large and a piece of the palm had been snapped off.  "Bears will do that," Lee explained, "just like porcupines and mice, they want to get the minerals that are in the antler."  We added it to our pile.

I tried not to overthink things as I searched.  I looked for white against brown.  On a side trail, something caught my eye.  It was bright white and hidden under some softwoods.  It was not an antler but deer bones that had been bleached by the sun.  I grabbed them and kept looking for sheds. 

The hours passed and we had collected two new sheds, two old moose sheds and one old deer shed. A decent haul for a day in the woods.  And I was able to learn a few tricks and tips as I walk my property looking for deer sheds. 






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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!!