and a strong cup of coffee

There is something so wonderful about not living in a city; wildlife!  The deer are looking fantastic this spring since we had such a mild winter.  They are in the process of shedding but if all goes well, they will be big, fat and healthy once fall comes. Yearling deer steps into the driveway Doe eating grass on the edge of the driveway

After a good rain in the early spring months, you can usually find some great animal tracks.  Here, a yearling and cow moose ran down the edge of the road.  This is the yearlings track, its the same size as my hand!

The above average temps and lack of snow this winter had resulted in the fishing season kicking off two weeks ahead of schedule so Robin and I scoped out the stream the day before we were set to go fishing to see how high the water was and how many fellow fishermen were there. We went back to her house where Taylor joined us and got our fly rods ready with leaders and new flies. The next morning, the three of us ate a delicious breakfast (duck eggs and bear sausage!) and headed to the stream.  Our second year being in the stream on April 1.  I looked like I knew what I was doing which was a vast improvement from  last year.   It was also 30 degrees warmer that it had been so the extra layers were not needed. We had an idea of where we wanted to be and made our way across the dam.  Being outdoor bloggers, we needed to get a picture of us (my idea, not Robin's).  I asked the one person out of the water, a guy who clearly knew what he was doing, to take o...

You can learn a lot by what animals leave behind.  In this case, a bear was able to get a nice chunk of venison.  The size and the amount of hair (you can see the white and tan hairs closest to my foot) tells you that this bear took more than just a nibble at the deer.   Bear are one of the biggest predators of deer; especially deer fawns in the spring.  Clearly there is one less deer in this area then there was before winter started!

Each year, a pair of Mallard ducks land in the pond. Most of the time, they leave after a week or so but this year, they seem to be staying around.  We are hoping for some ducklings later on this spring. Female Mallard sits on a potential nest while the male looks on Male and female Mallard Male Mallard duck

I just have a feeling that this year will be my year and I will be bagging one of these birds. We moved our blind to a new spot this year and I am hopeful that it will put us closer to the birds than we have seen .  Dad, Hubby and I set it up and put a trail camera out to see if there are any birds around since last spring we saw everything but a turkey. A week later, we went back to tweak a few things and check the camera. On our drive in, two hens ran away from us and into the woods.  That was a good sign!  We parked and pulled everything out of the car and over to the blind and some newly transplanted trees.  I headed for the camera and SD card. I went through roughly 75 pictures of the trees before I came to the first of a handful of deer pictures. Unlike most springs, none of these deer were thin. The extra layer of fat that they put on in the fall was still visible and come hunting season, they should be in great shape and weight!  I kept flippi...

You can find some pretty cool things while walking in the woods and along back roads. I am going to try to share more of these finds with  you, more often.  First up, these awesome antlers! They were on the side of a hunting cabin at the very end of a dirt road. 

That is our mentality as we drag that target outside each weekend and measure out distance in the snow. For three years, I have been after this huge buck and he has stayed nocturnal.  After this past rifle season ended and Dad stayed in the woods with his muzzle loader, he saw the deer pattern back to their pre-rifle ways. They were back to traveling the paths that we assumed they used and they were coming out earlier and earlier. Dad didn't shoot a deer but he saw the small buck that we had around and a few does. For the first time, it was blatantly obvious that rifle hunters were moving these deer around.  While we had been toying with it, it was clear that we needed to get into archery to try and get the upper hand on those deer. My first grouping of the day Hubby is WAY better than I am right now and he can pretty much call his shot and hit it.  He is working on his distance now. I am back at the start, trying to figure out how to get my sights just right ...

Remember this guy?  I was fortunate enough to meet him last March when he was a brand new black bear. I knew that our awesome bear biologist were out checking dens and sent a message to one of them asking if they had gone to King's den yet and if the cubs were there with her.  My timing could not have been more perfect; they were heading to her den the next day! Using the same technology as they did the year before, they found King under a network of cedar blowdowns.  She weighed in at 156lbs - four pounds heavier than she was the year before, and looked totally healthy. Last year, King had given birth to a male and female cub.  Only the male cub was in the den with her this year. While the female cub could have denned up near by, odds are that it died from an illness, maybe it got hit by a vehicle, another bear could have killed it... there is no way to know. The male cub broke (to date) the 2016 yearling weight scale by coming in at 67 pounds!   The ...

Dan Johnson from The Nine Finger Chronicles started doing listener reviews of bows.  It was an unbiased way to hear from everyday people about what was working for them and what bows they liked or didnt like and why. As a beginner and newbie to the world of archery, I offered to review a couple of bows.  It also helped that I was in the market to buy one.  Dan posted what he was hoping to get for information on each bow and left it up to us. I was the first woman on the podcast and the first woman to review bows. You can listen to the podcast of Dan and me talking about the PSE Stringer and the Mission: Craze II  here .

I was going to get the first shot in.  I put the pin on the target and released. Hubby spun around, "where did it go?" I shook my head, "I have no idea" And just like that, I was down to five arrows. We put the kiddo down for his nap and lugged our gear outside.  This was the first time that we were shooting at our house and not in the archery shop.  I lined up again to shoot and realized that I hadn't lined up my peep with my sight for that first shot.  I tried to determine how far off my first shot had been but it was pointless.  I still haven't found that arrow. I had Hubby take photos and video so that I could look at my form and posture and attempt to fix some of the early issues that I was noticing; like leaning too far back in my stance.  I also wanted to work on holding the bow correctly and not twisting it like I have a tendency to do with my rifle. It also helps that I have an incredible support team with EvoOutdoors  a...

One of the few good things about social media is connecting with folks who are like you in order to compare notes, get tips and tricks and share in successes.  One of the coolest women that I have met is Skye Goode who is a rock-star trapper.  Learning from the book "Hoofbeats of a Wolfer" by O'Gorman, Skye watched her family members as they trapped mink, raccoons and muskrats.  Her uncles got into beaver and fox trapping which helped to give Skye a more complete picture of how to learn each animal’s behavior and habitat and the types of traps, lures and set ups that worked best for each.  The tipping point for Skye’s own trapping career happened when she shot a buck, “I shot a buck with my bow in the evening and because of the shot, I let it sit overnight.  When I recovered the buck the next morning, it had been consumed by coyotes. It was that moment that I had the notion to try trapping those specific coyotes, almost a sort of revenge plan.” ...

On January 22nd of 2015, I semi-conquered my fear of coyotes.  I went with Steve to his bait pile and we called in my beautiful 37lb male coyote. My coyote from 2015 A few weeks ago, we went back to the same spot.  The coyotes had been staying close to the bait pile and their well worn trail ran just behind the shack. When we got there, the wind was blowing and the temperatures were dropping.  It was a lot colder than it had been last year and for some reason, I had forgotten by good hunting boots and had to wear my 'normal' winter boots which were not big enough to get two layers of socks in. Getting ready to head to the shack There were fresh tracks when we got to the shack, which was promising. Steve set out the rabbit decoy and call and we got settled in.  I kept hoping that it would be like last year and one would come right in.  The full moon was two nights away but it was bright enough that we planned to have some decent lighting. Steve...

When I said that I was interested in trying out some bows, the first thing out of the guy's mouth was, "these are the only ones we have in pink or purple."  He hadn't even finish the sentence when I noticed Hubby take a step back. "Good, then those are the only ones I don't want to shoot." I replied. The guy had no idea what to do or how to respond but after an awkward pause, he said that he should measure is to see what our drawn length will be. As he fumbled with the measuring tape, I wondered if it was even worth staying there. I did not feel like I was being taken seriously and it was clear that the employee was hoping he would be helping Hubby and not me.  I knew nothing about bow hunting going into this.  I was surprised that I had to put on a wrist band that had the trigger connected to it.  I was as green as they come. Me "shooting" the PSE The first bow that I tried was the PSE Stinger X.  He had set the drawn length to 27...

** 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...

There was running water on almost every trail but sometimes, you just have to get on the snowmobile and ride. Last weekend Dad, Hubby and I decided to ride around and see if we could find our deer.  I secretly wished to find a shed but that didn't happen. An eagle flew from a tall spruce tree as we crossed a field and headed into the woods.  There were wet spots, muddy spots and running streams but we pushed on.  The amount of deer tracks were incredible.  Crossing the snowmobile trails, gathered around ground hemlock... our herd was having an easy winter with lots of food available with no real effort needed to find it. We headed down a side snowmobile trail that runs parallel to the trail that we take to get to T3. I almost ran into Dad's sled when he came to a stop at the bottom of the hill.  He got off of the snowmobile and walked over to the cluster of trees.  What I wouldnt give to have seen this deer during hunting season! Swamp deer rub...

Mentally, I am not ready to hunt with a bow.  I am confident in my rifle to know that I can drop a deer dead in its tracks.  I have seen the damage that my 150 (or 180) grain bullet can do to the inside of a deer and I am comfortable with that because I know that the deer did not know what hit it when I squeeze the trigger. Maybe that sort of shot is possible with a bow but from what I have seen on tv and with other hunters posting on social media, it is more likely that the deer will run off and die, assuming that it is a good shot. I have also seen far more bow hunters talk and post about how they have lost a deer than my fellow rifle hunters.  That is the last thing I want to happen! After this season and talking with Dad about all of the deer he started seeing when rifle season ended, and he was out muzzleloading, it made me really think about getting a bow and trying to get into the woods before everyone else does (including me) with their rifles. If I make arc...

The last few days of hunting season were eventful in the wrong ways.   Just to the right of the stick is a deer track in the leaves.  In order for my mom to prepare and cook what she needed to for Thanksgiving dinner, I stayed home to watch O while Dad and Hubby went out for a few hours. In the afternoon, Hubby stayed home while O took a nap and Dad and I went out.  The woods were quiet and calm. We didn't even see a squirrel.  Thanksgiving night, O got sick; throwing up sick, which for a two year old is a scary thing. We made the decision to not hunt on Friday morning in case he still didnt feel good.  I have been criticized in the past by readers who think that in order to be a good, qualified hunter, you need to prioritize hunting above all else. I willingly stayed home to take care of my son.  No rack of antlers is worth the comfort of your kid. None. It might make me a 'bad' hunter but it also makes me a great mom.  Friday afterno...

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.