and a strong cup of coffee

I am decent at deer hunting and I am learning how to ice fish. This Christmas, my sister and brother in law got me a couple turkey calls since inane said that I want to learn. There is a round scrape thing, a mouth piece and wooden box thing (like my terminology and details?). After I opened my gift, ironically there were about 20 turkeys on the back lawn. I stepped out on to the back porch and tried the round scrape. I thought I did ok but when the turkeys heard it, they took off! Not just like walked off, but started running into the woods and up the mountain. They couldn't get away from me fast enough. So, I need to work a lot of my calling techniques or put Dad in one location and have the turkeys run towards him. But what do you all recommend? What or how should I start to learn these new hunting toys?

I got an Ipad!!! My wonderful hubby saved since August and couldnt wait to give it to me, so I got an early Christmas gift last night. YEAH!! Welcome to the 21st century right? So now, my question to all of you is; do you blog from yours (if you have one) and do you find the touch screen works ok or that you wish you had a keyboard? It takes video and photos, which I am hoping will be better than some of the ones I have taken and posted in the past. So, what should I know about this? I dont see myself taking it into the woods with me but maybe fishing...

Apparently, I am hard to buy for. I don't think I am but I have been told that I am by multiple people. So, here is my helpful personal list of what to buy a hunter for Christmas or Hanukkah or Festivis. 1. Books . My suggestions this year are: Meat Eater by Steven Rinella. I asked Santa for it and I am pretty sure its wrapped and waiting under my tree. I have not read it, but I did read American Buffalo and it was fantastic! Suddenly the Cider Didn't Taste so Good by John Ford. John is a former Game Warden who tells wonderful Maine stories of the adventures, animals and people he encounters. Light hearted and a quick read. Tales from Misery Ridge by Paul Fornier. Paul was a Maine Guide and worked for Inland Fisheries before he retired. He tells great stories of the people and places he traveled to around Maine. 2. Clothes . Anything but cotton. If you can find women's wool pants, without the weird stitching around the knees that will make me scrat...

I am getting spoiled. Actually Dad and I both are. I am afraid to write this for what it might mean for next year, but I will; Dad and I have not had to follow a blood trail in a long time. Three years ago, Dad dropped this guy (below) on opening day. Last year, I dropped this one: and this year, I dropped him right at the base of the Sky Condo: We are getting spoiled but really, I have a great teacher who has taught me where to shoot a deer for the quickest, least painful death. And it has worked out well. This year, we spotted the buck coming to eat grass early in the day. He walked out from the upper right corner of this photo and headed down almost to where the camera is and then started to walk back and eat on the clump of brown grass when I shot him (you can see him laying there post gutting and see the brown grass just to the left). It was a good shot because it dropped him but in my mind it was a bad shot because it was SO LOW! I shot him right in the heart. If you...

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...

We called it a season yesterday at noon. It was an overall warm season this year, I was bummed not to have snow to hunt in. The season flew by and I can not believe that it is already over! Here is a quick recap of what we saw: A group of 20 turkeys around all season A group of 2 does and 2 fawns around the Sky Condo 3 single does in the woods 5 partridge 3 coyotes (shutter) 3 ticks (shutter and start scratching) and 1 buck

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 ...