And A Strong Cup of Coffee

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Staci Warren
Staci Warren

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Reflecting on my 2021 grand slam

When I was drawn for my moose tag, I set the goal of going for my grand slam. I needed a bear, moose, turkey and deer between September and November.  Now, the hunting season is over and I find myself reflecting on my 2021 grand slam and the people who helped to make it happen. Mom and Hubs managed childcare/school pick ups and drop offs and sometimes full days of babysitting so that I could be in the woods. Jeremy at Fit To Hunt went to work and helped me customize a training program that would get me into shape for walking through the Maine woods to get my moose.  I would load weights into my backpack and walk for miles.  Sometimes with the kids and sometimes alone. When it came time to hike those choppin's looking for a moose, I was...

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Spring Turkey Hunting in Maine

I sprayed my clothes with permethrin and packed my bag.  Staci and I planned a day in the fields hoping to get a shot at a tom or two.  We hadn't been out on an adventures in a while and we needed it. I had turkeys on my trail cameras coming through a certain trail every morning. Staci's husband had seen a flock of them in a field near her home.  We made a plan to start there and then head over to the Sky Condo. For May, it was hot and buggy.  Temps were going to be in the upper 70s.  I had to think about what was worst; sweating while walking, scouting and wearing all of my hunting clothes or black fly bites, ticks and any other crawly critter.  I drank a lot of water and looked like a camo-clad Marshmallow Man.   In the woods...

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Utilizing Technology to Make You More Aware

Staci and I were roaming around the woods on a piece of property that she knew. It was snowing and we were chasing deer tracks to see if we could find some early sheds. It was a perfect day to be out in the woods and we were relaxed and not really paying attention to where we were going. We knew the border of the property and we knew that if we walked long enough we would hit roads or the bog and find our way back. We got to a point where we thought we knew where we were but we were not sure. Staci got out her compass to take a waypoint to make sure we were going in the right direction to get back to the truck. I took out my phone and turned on OnX. Within seconds we knew where we were, where the property borders were in relation to us...

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Utilizing Technology with OnX Hunt

Snowshowing in the sun

Have you ever looked up at the sky and marveled at how blue it was? There was not a cloud up there when Staci and I packed up our snowshoes and headed into the woods to look for sheds. The recent rain had made the snow unstable and we would break through the crust and sink with every step.  It wasn't the best option, but we ended up on the snowmobile trail looking for active deer crossings.   Wet holes had opened up and streams were roaring.  It was a perfect day to be out in the woods. The rain had made some spots icy and some soft and water logged.  We had to pick and chose where we walked and how fast we could go.  I was surprised when we met three snowmobilers on the trail.  They were...

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2018 recap

No doubt that I have dropped the ball on posting my adventures here, but I have had a lot of fun happenings this year!  Here is my quick recap: * Beaver trapping - with my uncle and friend Staci. * Honored as Sportsman of the Year from the New England Outdoor Writers Association. * Turkey hunting. * The Maine Moose lottery held in my hometown and my friend Bryan performed. * Mushroom foraging with Staci. * Going to the ribbon cutting of the Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservation area to honor my friend George. * Bear hunting with Staci and then going out with Bill Dereszewski and having Robin comes with us. * Deer hunting with Dad and Hubs. * Taking O out for his first sit in the new deer stand. * Seeing lots and lots of wildlife...

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More than just turkeys

For three days leading up to my turkey hunt, I woke up and looked at the clock to figure out how much earlier I would need to wake up to be at Staci's house on time.  Aside from ticks, the worst part of turkey hunting is the early start time.  The day of my hunt arrived and armed with my coffee, I drove to Staci's house to find some turkeys.  Her husband, John, agreed to be our designated turkey caller. Deer ran through the woods off to our right and a partridge drummed continuously as we walked to our first spot.  The world was waking up all around us but there were no turkeys to answer our calls, so we moved. I spotted the first birds of the morning, a tom fanned out with three hens (or two hens and a jake) so we...

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Maine’s youngest fisherwoman

How do you create outdoor kids?  You have them grow up experiencing outdoor adventures like it is a normal part of life. Over the summer, as I was on maternity leave, I was determined not to let the nice weather slip away without getting some fun, outdoor adventures in.  Staci from MyMainelyGirlAdventures took me to one of her favorite fishing spots.  I loaded up the baby, my waders (which I fit back into!) and into the water we went. We didn't catch any fish, but we did have a few bites.  I had the most action on my fly line that I have ever had!  Could have been the flies we put on or, maybe, this baby will be my good luck charm! The weather was perfect and we got to enjoy a few hours in the water wetting our...

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We may never find a shed

At this point, Staci and I just say that we are doing shed hunting but in reality, we just walk through the woods and see what we can find.  Our latest trip was quite the adventure.  I took Staci to T3 and showed her where Dad had shot his doe.   The trick was getting there without getting hurt. There was enough crust on the snow to be able to walk on it in the morning.  We debated bringing our snowshoes, but ruled that we could handle the crust with the occasional inch break through.  The amount of deer tracks right from the start were nice to see.  They had been checking the old apple trees and following a lot of the same trails that they had been taking during hunting season.  We started off at the...

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