And A Strong Cup of Coffee

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Year: 2014
Year: 2014

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Best of 2014: My bear

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...

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A frozen selfie

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...

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My goals for 2015

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...

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Karma is…

...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!

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The skull of a bear

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...

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The big boys are still around

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...

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Why We Hunt: Belonging

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

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Joining the movement of the National Deer Alliance

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...

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One and done

As I walked into the woods with Dad, I noticed many more posted signs than in previous years.  And more than what had been there even two weeks before.  No one had signed them but they were clearly on the property next to ours.  We walked along the property line towards my treeseat.  It was raining hard enough so that I could see the drops flash in front of my headlight but I was in my wool pants and coat so I knew that I should be OK for the five hour sit that I had planned. Dad waited until I had climbed up, got situated and clicked off my headlamp (it was a new purchase that I had made when I decided to go bear hunting and it was very useful now as we walked into the dark woods.)  I settled in and waited for...

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