I shoveled bait from a 55 gallon drum into five gallon buckets and we loaded up the truck. Eight buckets of assorted types of bait, two buckets of disgusting beaver and some secret ingredients and we were off to check the bait sites for the 2015 bear hunting season! A truck full of bait ready to go Steve and Lorri had set up the two bait sites a few days before and we were eager to see if any bears had found the sites. The monsters from last year were not killed so we knew that there would be some big bears around. We hiked into Site 2 first and carried buckets and tools in. Steve led the way and we anxiously kept peaking around the corner to see if things has been moved. They had!! We dropped the supplies and did...
I have been saving all of the 'good' trail camera pictures over the years partially because it is fun to see the animals that were around but also because it is a reference check for what the norm is for our area. We have not had a lot of bucks on the trail cameras yet but I keep telling myself that it's late August when they start showing themselves. The small buck that we have seen is no where near the size of this guy: he is one of the two large bucks that we have seen over the past couple of years. No one shot either one last season so they are still around assuming that the winter did not kill them off. We have seen hawks like the one above, deer, coyotes, turkey, fisher, racoons and a mystery cat on the...
When Staci and I headed to our last spot to fish, we flushed two birds from the trees. Initially, I could not tell if they were hawks, turkeys or what... it wasn't until they landed on a tree across the stream from us that we could see them! Young Great Horned Owls! We are assuming that they are this year's chicks since they look big but do not have the classic tuffs on the top of their heads. Any bird experts out there who can confirm?
Staciand I headed out again for our second fishing adventure! For the second time, the water levels where we wanted to go were too high so we headed to my hometown to try our lines in the river. The Kennebec River The Kennebec River It was fantastic to be fishing there since I had never done it but I quickly learned that my lures were way too heavy for the water and the grass and slim covering the rocks. I would get caught on every two or three casts while Staci was using a fly rod and was able to cast out and relax for a few minutes before casting again. We walked about a mile down the river closer to town and tried again to get a bite. Seeing town from this angle was great! And the weather was perfect. My lure sunk worst...
My parents have had a snowshoe hare around the house for a few months. Typically, we see one and within a week it is gone (via interaction with a vehicle) but recently, there were two and then three. All of the adults and kids were outside playing and those hare would race across the back lawn, run along the edge of the garden and at one point, one of them ran along the edge of the house. They were cute at first but they are getting a little too comfortable around humans. Maybe they will head somewhere else this fall... or maybe their lack of caution will result in more car altercations and less human ones. Life with wild critters is never...
While cutting some firewood, Dad, Hubby and I scoped out some of the land that we hunt on. We were looking for tracks and maybe a sighting or two. It was a great day for wildlife; I had seen a 4 or 6 point buck in velvet along the edge of the road that morning when I went to get some coffee. It almost looks like a chair The birds must be eating well The rain wasn't too bad so we explored as threw some firewood into the truck. It was a quiet, nice day in the woods and we were able to look around and plan our routes into the woods for this fall. The road into the woodlot Tools of the trade Dad can spot an animal track while in a truck traveling along. I am not nearly as good. I missed these tracks but Dad...
Here is how we got to this point. The two men did not seem to see is and Tim and I tried not to give ourselves away but we were on the edge of the field. Tim tried calling the land owner because the property was posted and he was supposed to be the only one hunting. No answer. We stood there and listened as the two men began calling and waiting for a response. They were much closer to those two birds who had just been calling back with us. One gobble and those guys would be headed into the woods. Luckily, those stubborn birds kept quiet. But the idea of hunters in the area made us question our decision to move on from a spot that we knew had active birds. Tim placing decoys in the field So we...
As you know, Dad and I saw way more deer than turkey when we attempted to turkey hunt for the third spring season in a row. It is still a little surreal to think about because our first turkey season ended two weeks before I had O. My schedule was so busy that I had to cancel a turkey hunt with David Hodgkins of Blackfalcon Custom Calls and reworked my schedule to get a half day hunt in with Tim Cote of Cote and Son's Guide Service. I met Tim at 4am and we headed to a spot where he had been the night before. He knew that there were toms around and he knew which spots they would be in. It was a perfect set up. Come on turkeys! We sat just over a little knoll with a couple of chairs and bushes helping to keep us...
