and a strong cup of coffee

I missed seeing what was happening in the woods so I decided to put a couple of cameras back out to see what was roaming around.  I am not a fan of this.  I have had pictures of this coyote for a while now and he (I assume it's a he) is always solo.  He's healthy and makes his rounds in the same area that we do during the season.  And I assume that he is the coyote that I saw while I was sitting in my stand last fall.  Coyotes are a part of the woods and I get that but what I don't want to find are dead deer. This is the first time that I have had pictures of the two animals so close together (timewise and location-wise)   Usually, I will get deer on the cameras, then he shows up and it takes 2-3 days before the deer return. We have not had a lot of snow so the deer have not yarded up yet. Maybe that will help keep them safe for the time being.  Let's see how the winter unfolds...

We have seen the tracks and scat and now... urgh! There were three pictures of him coming down a deer trail.  We had pictures of a doe walking in the opposite direction about 30 minutes before and then this. I might end up buying a call and seeing if I can lure him into the field by the Sky Condo.  The last thing we want are coyotes around, especially if we have a nice herd of deer and flock of turkey. 

I don't know if I should have eaten more or less but my stomach was freaking out when Steve and I sat in the blind.  I kept adding layers to keep warm and to see if I could muffle the growls.  I hoped that nothing would hear me and run off. Steve and Lorri (who had taken me bear hunting) had put out deer carcases from a local butcher about a week before.  The pile of bones were strewn all over the field by the coyotes that had been there.  We got settled into the blind and watched the crows picking away at the pile furthest away.  My stomach growled and they flew away.  I hoped that something else scared them away but I wasn't sure until I saw this guy sweep in.  The Red-tailed hawk flew down onto this pile and started picking away.  I was able to get a few photos until the sun started reflecting off of the lens and spooked him. Red-tailed hawk picking at the deer bones Steve started the call when the sun sank behind the trees.  The f...

A few weeks ago, I sat down with the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Chandler Woodcock to talk about the increase in moose and doe permits across the State and what it means for sportswomen (and men) this upcoming hunting season.  Q: The number of moose permits has been released for 2013 and they have increased since last year (from 3,725 to 4155).  What's changed? A: Our biologist, Lee Kantar has been working tirelessly to get an accurate moose count.  He has gone up in a helicopter and used some new technology to get accurate numbers of moose around Maine.  The majority of the increases will be seen north of Bangor and we looked at each WMD individually to make sure we are carefully monitoring the harvest.  Greenville and Rangeley are both hunting and viewing areas for moose, so we have limitations on how many permits are issued in those areas.  We also have areas in the State that have come to us and asked us not to increas...

... at this point, no one knows I am pregnant and the season is pretty much over. Click here for the post.

Last week I sat down with Commissioner Woodcock to talk about the highlights of the 2012 hunting seasons and where he saw the Department going in 2013: Last year, the moose hunting system was reworked . Do you think it helped with the numbers this year? YES! 34% of the top tier were picked this year. Of course, we add people to that top tier every year but we are predicting that in the next five years, everyone in that top group who has been waiting for more than 30 years to get drawn, will in fact get drawn. We even had a few people, probably 1% get picked on their first try this year. Overall, we are very happy with the results this year and looking forward to a successful hunt next season. Do you see any other changes being implemented this upcoming season? The Legislature makes those changes, not the Department. We are always looking at our resources and we may end up tinkering with the number of permits in different areas because of the success of last year’s hunt. ...

I miss hunting season already! Is that weird? This is the first Friday I have been at work since mid October. And while it is freezing out right now, Dad and I do have a heater for the Sky Condo. The good thing is, once we get snow, we will start tracking the deer around the SC to see where they are yarding up for the winter and see if we can get some pics on the cameras of our targets for next year. Coming up in the blog world : * My post about shooting this year's deer * A GREAT interview with Bryan White about getting his first ever buck this season * (Hopefully) an interview with Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's Commissioner Mr. Woodcock about the past hunting season, where the numbers are and if he is happy with the progress of the predator program. * A great blog about a group in Maine who track wounded deer and how they train their dogs and what the process is for them to be called in and try to find the hit deer. * AND - I will have a BIG announcement aft...

In my new tree seat, I have seen a ton of wildlife! Does, partridge and turkeys are the norm. All have been super fun to watch. We are still waiting for Dad to get that big buck that he wants! As I was sitting in the seat on Saturday morning around 10:30am, I hear a shot. Its close because it makes me jump. From where I know Dad was going, it could be him!! I pull out my cell phone waiting for the call to confirm. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes go by. All I can think then is that Dad jumped a deer towards another ground blind that must have had someone in it. As I sit there, I see a movement coming from my right. It looks like a fluffy dog. It is about 30 feet from me trotting along a broken down tree then turns and heads towards my left. My the time I realize that it is a big coyote, he has ducked under some downed trees and I can just see his feet. I sit there almost in shock. Not only have I never seen a coyote in the wild, but this one was close and out and about ...

(From left, John Ford, me, Paul Fournier) Thank you to all who listened, called in, tweet'd and left me questions for the show! We had a blast and you can listen to it here . I swapped some great stories with these guys and they were so gracious and kind - they even gave me a copy of their book and signed it for me. Yes - I geeked out! I have said it before and I will say it again - hunters/fishers/outdoors people are the best people around!

When Maine's Governor LePage signed new legislation that gave Inland Fisheries and Wildlife an additional $100,000 for their predator control program, I wanted to follow up with Mr. Woodcock on how this money will truly impact the program and the State. How do you see this additional money helping IFW this year? We had a plan to target critical deer yards around the State (These are in areas D, E, F, G, C) . This additional money will help us by providing another funding source. There are 10 locations covering about 1000 acres that are our top priority. With this additional funding, we are able to increase our efforts without worrying about stretching the budget too thin. We can expand the number of people who can participate and regulate the hours put into this. It really needs to be an ongoing effort in order to sustain itself. Last year, we started the program in November and with the additional funds, we can start it this year around September 1st. It is only one y...