And A Strong Cup of Coffee
A blog about hunting, fishing, trapping, foraging and taking on new adventures in the woods of Maine.
And A Strong Cup of Coffee
A blog about hunting, fishing, trapping, foraging and taking on new adventures in the woods of Maine.
Most Recent Article
Tree stand Trespassing
Hunting property in this state can be hard to come by. I am aware of that. 94% of the land is privately owned. I have put posted signs on the land that Dad and I usually hunt on to informed trespassers that the land is actively being managed, watched and hunted on. I also have a tendency of posting trail camera photos of trespassers on my Facebook and IG pages. I have no problem making these people internet famous. In almost every situation that I have encountered, simple communication would have taken care of any property line confusion or permission being (or not being) granted. The number of hunters is declining every year. We need to get creative in how we encourage more people to join our ranks. But, sometimes things happen that make me question. I recently bought some land. The...
Other Recent Articles
Sloppy shooting results in suffering
It was a miserable walk into the stand in the dark. Sheets of rain and wind pelted us as soon as we stepped out of the truck. Even though Dad had filled his buck tag, he was willing to head into a stand and hunt for a doe. We walked as quickly as we could to our respective stands and waited for daylight. I wondered if it was even worth being out because of how poor the conditions were. But, you can’t shoot a deer if you’re not in the woods. Around 7:30am, a deer hobbled into view and...
Welcome to Hunt & Harvest
When George Smith died three years ago, I lost one of my biggest cheerleaders. He was always trying to figure out how I could advance my outdoor writing career. He connected me with the editor at Downeast Magazine when they produced an issue all about hunting. My article was featured on the cover, and I was the center article. George published his book, "Maine Sporting Camps," one year before he was diagnosed. He asked me to write a chapter so that I could say that I was a published...
Black bear hunting on Vancouver Island
In October 2023, I met Jim Shockey during his stop at Cabela’s on his book tour. We talked writing, the outdoors and hunting. He invited me to come up to Pacific Rim Outfitters on Vancouver Island and hunt spring black bears. I couldn’t say no. When I stepped off the small plane at the Port Hardy airport, the weather had turned gray and rainy. I rented a car and made my way to camp. Dave met me when I arrived, showed me to my cabin, and told me that I could drop my bags and change before...
A decade of hunting bears
As the 2024 hunting season kicks off, I can not believe that it has been a decade of hunting bears in Maine! I remember planning the initial meeting at Cabela’s and inviting every hunter I knew in the greater Portland area. I wanted to prove that there were plenty of people who were passionate about bear hunting in Southern Maine. If I remember correctly, the room was close to packed when James Cote started talking about the bear referendum and what the plan was to win at the ballot box. ...
Trail cameras bring early season excitement
I leave my trail cameras out all year long. Photos of coyotes, deer, porcupines and racoons show up on my phone. But in the spring, those first trail camera photos of babies, cast off yearlings and bucks bring early season excitement to all of us. There is a fun uncertainty of what animals will show up in the photos. You don't have to be a hunter to enjoy getting a sneak peak into the woods around us. I think we can all enjoy the start of new life and new adventures. ...
Are you Fit to Hunt?
The last thing you want to think about when you are chasing animals through the woods, is if you can physically do it. There are a lot of things that I can not control on each hunt but the one thing I can control was how healthy I am. So, when I saw my name had been called for my moose permit in 2021, I called my friend Jeremy and started training. Jeremy owns and runs Fit to Hunt, an online training organization that works with people to meet their fitness goals. He has created a few...
Why The Name?
Because everything is better with a strong cup of coffee – especially going out on a hunt.
If you’ve ever gotten up at 3am to head out in the turkey woods or sat in a tree stand deer hunting in Maine when it’s 4 degrees outside then that strong cup of coffee can be a critical piece of the hunt.
We hope you enjoy And a Strong Cup of Coffee at whatever hour you have time to read, and we hope the coffee is strong.
Meet The Author
Erin started deer hunting with her Dad when she was 20 and soon found herself spending as much time as she could in the woods and fields hunting deer, bear, and turkey.
Erin is a registered Hunters Safety Instructor with Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife and has given lectures and been interviewed a number of times on the challenges and opportunities for women in the outdoors.
In addition to And A Strong Cup of Coffee, Erin is also currently a writing contributor for Northwoods Sporting Journal and a senior writer for Drury Outdoors’ DeerCast. Her work has also been featured in Downeast Magazine.
In an effort to get more women and girls outside, Erin co-founded and is the president of Women of the Maine Outdoors.
