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Sep 2021 22

Bear hunting can be exhausting

By | Adventures in the Woods, Maine Black Bear, Maine Outdoors, Maine Trapping, Winters in Maine, Women Who Hunt | 2 Comments | 5 min read

I need to start by thanking my friend Staci and her husband for making this happen. They helped to get the bait site up and running.  Staci was as determined as I was to get me a bear. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a hunting partner like her!   The 2021 Bear Hunting Season kicks off! My limited view of the bait site Bear hunting season opened on Monday, August 30th, and trapping season opening on Wednesday, September 1st.  With my trapping license and Staci and John’s help, I planned to initially hunt over bait and try trapping.  The first night with the traps out, we watched as a bear tripped my trap, looked at the cable and walked away. The next afternoon, Staci and I headed out to reset the trap and sit.  We adjusted...

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May 2016 18

In the woods: my deer

By | Whitetail Deer | 1 Comment | 1 min read

There is something so wonderful about not living in a city; wildlife!  The deer are looking fantastic this spring since we had such a mild winter.  They are in the process of shedding but if all goes well, they will be big, fat and healthy once fall comes. Yearling deer steps into the driveway Doe eating grass on the edge of the...

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May 2016 5

It’s a tradition: fishing GLS on April 1

By | Maine Fishing | 1 Comment | 4 min read

The above average temps and lack of snow this winter had resulted in the fishing season kicking off two weeks ahead of schedule so Robinand I scoped out the stream the day before we were set to go fishing to see how high the water was and how many fellow fishermen were there. We went back to her house where Taylor joined us and got our fly rods ready with leaders and new flies. The next morning, the three of us ate a delicious breakfast (duck eggs and bear sausage!) and headed to the stream.  Our second year being in the stream on April 1.  I looked like I knew what I was doing which was a vast improvement from last year.  It was also 30 degrees warmer that it had been so the extra layers were not needed. We had an...

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May 2016 3

In the woods: learning from what’s left behind

By | Hunting in Maine, Maine Black Bear | 1 Comment | 1 min read

You can learn a lot by what animals leave behind.  In this case, a bear was able to get a nice chunk of venison.  The size and the amount of hair (you can see the white and tan hairs closest to my foot) tells you that this bear took more than just a nibble at the deer.   Bear are one of the biggest predators of deer; especially deer fawns in the spring.  Clearly there is one less deer in this area then there was before winter started!

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Apr 2016 30

In the woods: Spring means ducks

By | Adventures in the Woods, Hunting in Maine | 1 Comment | 1 min read

Each year, a pair of Mallard ducks land in the pond. Most of the time, they leave after a week or so but this year, they seem to be staying around.  We are hoping for some ducklings later on this spring. Female Mallard sits on a potential nest while the male looks on Male and female Mallard Male Mallard...

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Apr 2016 26

Turkey time!

By | Turkey Hunting | 0 Comments | 2 min read

I just have a feeling that this year will be my year and I will be bagging one of these birds. We moved our blind to a new spot this year and I am hopeful that it will put us closer to the birds than we have seen.  Dad, Hubby and I set it up and put a trail camera out to see if there are any birds around since last spring we saw everything but a turkey. A week later, we went back to tweak a few things and check the camera. On our drive in, two hens ran away from us and into the woods.  That was a good sign!  We parked and pulled everything out of the car and over to the blind and some newly transplanted trees.  I headed for the camera and SD card. I went through roughly 75 pictures of the trees before I came to the...

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Apr 2016 12

In the woods: Antlers

By | Whitetail Deer | 4 Comments | 1 min read

You can find some pretty cool things while walking in the woods and along back roads. I am going to try to share more of these finds with  you, more often. First up, these awesome antlers! They were on the side of a hunting cabin at the very end of a dirt road. 

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Mar 2016 14

To hunt a huge buck, you need to think like one

By | Whitetail Deer | 2 Comments | 2 min read

That is our mentality as we drag that target outside each weekend and measure out distance in the snow. For three years, I have been after this huge buckand he has stayed nocturnal.  After this past rifle season ended and Dad stayed in the woods with his muzzle loader, he saw the deer pattern back to their pre-rifle ways. They were back to traveling the paths that we assumed they used and they were coming out earlier and earlier. Dad didn't shoot a deer but he saw the small buck that we had around and a few does. For the first time, it was blatantly obvious that rifle hunters were moving these deer around.  While we had been toying with it, it was clear that we needed to get into archery to try and get the upper hand on those...

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