And A Strong Cup of Coffee
Hunting Blog

Maine Black Bear

The bears are back

By | Aug 24, 2015 | 0 Comments | 2 min read

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...

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Trail Camera Views

Trail cam obsession

By | Aug 21, 2015 | 1 Comment | 2 min read

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...

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Adventures in the Woods

Watching Great Horned Owls

By | Aug 17, 2015 | 0 Comments | 1 min read

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...

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Maine Fishing

More fishing adventures

By | Aug 14, 2015 | 4 Comments | 3 min read

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...

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Adventures in the Woods

Wascally wabbits

By | Aug 7, 2015 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

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. ...

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Adventures in the Woods

Walk in the woods

By | Aug 4, 2015 | 0 Comments | 1 min read

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...

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Turkey Hunting

Stay away from my bird!

By | Jul 31, 2015 | 3 Comments | 2 min read

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...

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Turkey Hunting

Third time is the charm… right?

By | Jul 27, 2015 | 0 Comments | 4 min read

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...

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Maine Moose

Moose Crossing

By | Jul 25, 2015 | 0 Comments | 2 min read

Dad and I were making our normal trip to check the trail cameras.  We pulled out of the driveway and drove 1/2 mile up the road.  I was looking for the snowshoe hares since they have a tendency of playing in traffic when Dad slowed the car down, moose! Maine moose heading across the field I got my camera out as Dad brought the car to a stop. "I bet he is headed over to the mountain." The moose was headed in the direction of the land where we had seen the moose tracks the day before. Maine Moose In order to get a few more pictures, Dad pulled the car into a roadway along the edge of the field and slowly stopped.  The moose...

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Trail Camera Views

Trail camera pictures

By | Jul 22, 2015 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

Still no bucks on the trail camera but the does and fawns are still around and looking very healthy!  The coyote is still around and the deer tracks in the muddy areas are proving that there are some big deer around.    

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Whitetail Deer

Making T3 invisible

By | Jul 20, 2015 | 0 Comments | 2 min read

The 4th of July was a sunny and warm day so Dad, Hubby and I headed into the woods at 7am to paint T3 and beat the heat.  We carried down paint, ladders, rollers, another trail camera and some rags.  I was excited to see what deer sign were around since this is the same spot that I shot my deer last year. We needed a weed-wacker to blaze trail! I was so happy that I was dressed the way that I was: jeans, rubber boots, sweatshirt... and enough deet to (hopefully) kill all bugs that came in contact with me. I snapped a few before shots and then grabbed a gallon of paint and climbed the ladder.  My job was to paint as much of...

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Trail Camera Views

Trail camera mystery critter

By | Jul 17, 2015 | 2 Comments | 1 min read

When we pulled the memory card a week or so ago, we saw this picture.  Nothing before and nothing after, just this one glimpse in time.  I posted it on my Facebook page and got some great comments about what it could be.  What are your thoughts?

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Turkey Hunting

They mock me

By | Jul 13, 2015 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

Ever since the season ended on June 6, we have had turkeys on every pull from the trail camera.  Every time! Clearly these guys are just mocking me.

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Maine FishingUncategorized

GoPro Bass catch

By | Jul 11, 2015 | 0 Comments | 1 min read

As I was reeling in the first bass that I would keep, Don started the GoPro to document the actual catch.  Hmm... I may need to get one of those! Come here please. Gotcha! Bringing him into the boat   YUM A big thanks to Don at Maine Outdoors for sending these...

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Maine Fishing

Bass: it’s what’s for dinner

By | Jul 6, 2015 | 1 Comment | 3 min read

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to catch Don Kleiner of Maine Outdoors with some free time on his hands and convinced him to take me fishing.  We could not have picked a more perfect day to be away from the world and on the water. We set off to catch Smallmouth Bass.  Having caught my first fish with Robin, I was hopeful that I could at least catch something besides grass.  Don was brave enough to attempt to teach me how to fish a few years ago and I hoped, as I stepped into the boat, that I had improved my skills a little bit since then. Our first spot was a fairly shallow spot near some overhanging trees. ...

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Turkey Hunting

Look at the babies!

By | Jul 3, 2015 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

I was thrilled to see these pictures on the camera.  I dont think I have ever seen a fawn this little in the pictures.  We had three of them, but he was in a hurry so this is the least blurry one.  I can not wait to see if there are more pictures when we pull the card next time. Doe and new fawn run across the field And even though we saw the rafter of turkeys, it is nice to see the hen with such a healthy group of babies. Hen with 10 poults It will be great to see them grow over the next few months.  Hopefully they can do that without any interference from this.  Otherwise, Dad and I will have to take care of...

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Coyote HuntingScat and Tracks

You are not welcomed!

By | Jun 29, 2015 | 1 Comment | 1 min read

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. 

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Trail Camera Views

Welcome back critters

By | Jun 26, 2015 | 2 Comments | 1 min read

Dad was able to mow the field around the Sky Condo the other day and when we pulled the memory card from the camera, I instantly put it into my digital camera and started turning the wheel to see if we had any bucks.  The first picture that I came to that had hunt-able animals were these: The bird that we swore had disappeared into the ether when we were hunting suddenly came back in full force.  There were all kinds of pictures of turkeys.  Like this one.  I especially like that the jake made sure to show me his beard.  I was more excited about this photo.  Not because it's a button but because that means...

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Maine Fishing

Fishing with friends

By | Jun 22, 2015 | 0 Comments | 2 min read

My friend Staci is a fisherwoman.  She had the gear, knows her stuff and has years of experience.  Somehow, someway, I convinced her to take me fishing. We were watching the water height and strength online and it looked promising so that is where we headed.  An hour later we arrived to this:  the water had been released from the dam above and was raging.  I snapped a couple of pictures and we headed to a different spot to try out luck. Staci said this was a little high compared to what it was a few days before when she was there with her husband but it seemed doable and we wanted to be able to cast a few times...

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