and a strong cup of coffee

** The following article was written for The Liberty Project and posted on their website on October 30, 2015.  You can see it here .  I was never paid for this article so The Liberty Project never bought the copyright. Women’s interest in hunting is growing fast, despite online harassment I never questioned the size of my gun.  If Dad could shoot it, why couldn’t I? My mom said that the kick alone would send me backwards out of the treestand.  I shot the 30-06 twice to get comfortable and on the third shot three weeks later, I killed a small buck that filled the freezer. I never questioned my abilities again until I started writing about and posting photos of my hunting adventures.  I was then forced to prove my credibility and knowledge of hunting in a way that men are not.  You will not see a suggestion in writing saying that to start a guy out hunting, you should give him a small gun with little kick.  There is nothing stating that a blue...

I started writing here in 2009 and have steadily watched the number of folks, like yourself, who read my blog, grow. It has been fantastic to hear from you in emails, read your comments and see you liking the Facebook page . It is my responsibility to you that I have a blog that you want to come and read.  Writing is based on relationships and shared experiences and connecting with one another and I take that seriously when I post.  Writing is not my full-time job. It's not even my second full-time job (mom) or third on my list of priorities (I sit on a few boards and committees) but I love it and that is why I do it. I have had the privilege of writing for Downeast Magazine and I have my monthly column in the Northwoods Sporting Journal . I am excited to share my stories and thoughts with other people.   That is why when a larger media outlet contacted me and asked me to be a freelance writer for them, I got excited.  It was a chance for more people to...

** The following is an article that I wrote for The Liberty Project.  It was  originally  published on November 16, 2015 here .  I was never paid by The Liberty Project so they don't own the copyright. Why trusting yourself is key for success in the outdoors It is critical to know and feel comfortable with any situation you put yourself in.  This is especially true if your goal is to bring home meat for the freezer.  You need to have a level of knowledge and understanding about why you are there and what you want to accomplish.  Everything about being successful in the outdoors comes from a sense of trust: in yourself, your tool and your training.  My training came from my Dad. I started to learn and trust his experiences about where the deer were more likely to come out into an opening, where we should build a tree stand and that I could and would shoot a deer.  When it came time to take that first deer, I remember asking D...

With the Maine legislature beginning and as always there will be hunting and fishing issues that come up, I wrote this article for The Liberty Project about a bill in Wisconsin that would prevent anti-hunters from documenting hunters when they are in the woods.  The article was originally posted on October 28, 2015 here . Why Wisconsin's right to hunt bill is necessary I can count on one hand the number of photos of my son on social media. You will never read the full name of the friends that I hunt with and I am more likely to take a photo of the trees than photos of an outing with my Dad. I am overly cautious for my safety and theirs. Last year, I volunteered with Maine’s fight against an out-of-state anti-hunting group as we fought to protect our bear hunting management practices. It was messy. It was personal. It included death threats against some of Maine’s best biologist and wildlife management leaders. Death threats from people who would rather have a fellow huma...

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!