I took the family on a little road trip earlier this week to get out of the house. We ended up in the same area that I was bear baiting and were I would eventually shoot my bear. It was the first time I had been back there and it was fun to show Hubby where I had been. When we stopped for lunch, the coolest painting was in the bathroom. I know, I know but it was such a cool picture that I had to take a photo. And what were the odds that near my hunting area, in that specific restaurant and in the lady's room, there would be this painting. Pretty...
As I was looking through photos of 2014 and printing some out, I couldnt help but get nostalgic. I had no intention of bear hunting a year ago. I had actually told my Dad (a few times) that I had no desire to shoot a bear, didn't think I could like the meat and that it was just not in my wheel house. Skip ahead a few months and with the invitation of Steve and Lorri, I learned how to prepare and set bait and went hunting. Then, given the opportunity to hunt with hounds, I took a chance to learn more about it and came home with an incredible story and some delicious meat. I may look calm but I was freaking out Grateful Look at those scars! I told the taxidermist that I want each one of them to be seen when...
You do "funny" things when you are a hunter. You willingly wake up at 4am. You willingly spend hours tracking, sitting and walking and you willingly sit out in 0 degree weather waiting for an animal (coyote) in my case. Some mornings, it is fun to document my questionable saneness and the last weekend of deer hunting season was one of those cases. I never did get a coyote but night hunting for them starts this week! Frozen...
In 2015, I have a few goals that I am hoping to finally accomplish. 1. Get a turkey! I came close last year, but I am hoping that the 3rd time is the charm. 2. Goose hunting. I had plans last year that fell through so I am hoping to try that this year. 3. Catch a 'keep-able' fish. 4. Go bear hunting again. I will never beat this year's hunt, but I can try. 5. Get that 8-pointer! 6. Go with biologists to a bear den. 7. Shoot a moose (this will be on my list each year until I do.) 8. Shoot a coyote. 9. Learn about trapping. I don't know if I will actually do it, but I want to go and see how it's done. What else should I add to my list? My too-small-to-keep salmon Turkey hunting My magnificent...
...having a deer bed down next to your tree stand. This bed was about 15 feet from the bottom of my stand. When I went out to see where the deer was that Hubby jumped, I noticed this. The deer were everywhere the guys were, but they just couldn't make a connection. Maybe next year!
I got my skull back from Lori and Jim at New Frontier Taxidermy! They are incredible. Not only are they tanning my bear hide but they saved my skull. Saved it! A look into my bear's mouth One of the things that I did not want to tell people was that when my bear was getting cut up at the butcher's, his skull was cut. I knew it was bad and the look on my guide's face was a give away for how bad it may be. But, I had my bear head, hide and an extra bag with the back part of his skull in it that I took up to New Frontier Taxidermy for Lori and Jim. I lied to people when they asked me about it and hoped against hope that Lori and Jim could but it back together. I wanted a complete skull and...
Well, I can still look at the photos right? Since Dad and Hubby still need to fill their tags, we are still looking at the trail cameras to see which deer are around. It is also fascinating to see how the deer change their behaviors as the season progresses and the rut starts. Case in point - those two big 8-pointers that I want the guys to shoot, are still around! These are from a couple week ago. I forgot to get the newer pictures from Saturday am when they walked through. I have been chasing this second deer for two years now. If the guys don't get him this year, I want to land him next year! Also, how funny that the two biggest deer around are within three minutes of one another in the...
For those of you who live out of State or have not picked up the November issue of Downeast Magazine, here is my article online. I would love to hear what you think about it. Thanks! Why We Hunt: Belonging
What happens when you tag out in the first 30 minutes of deer season? You get bored and are done hunting. Hubby and Dad both needed to be elsewhere last weekend so we stayed out of the woods. This weekend though, I am going into the woods. I will bring my camera and play photographer but I may also bring my gun and look for some coyotes. We know they are around - we saw a ton of high traffic areas in the snow recently. The issue of coyotes came up recently in a weekly newsletter from the National Deer Alliance. The NDA is a new organization that was started by hunters and managers at the North American Whitetail Summit. The goal of the group is to get all deer hunters involved and talking about the...
