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...
I didn’t see the fawn but I watched in slow motion as the doe hit the corner of the oncoming jeep and disappeared into the tall grass. I hoped that it was just a brush with the bumper and that she would be OK. The driver pulled over and began to walk along the edge of the road to see if the deer was OK. I pulled over on the opposite shoulder and asked if he was OK. We saw the doe struggling to get up and she made a horrific noise. I assumed that she had a broken leg so I asked my mom to leave me on the side of the road with the driver and go to my house to get the gun. I placed a call to dispatch was put in touch with a warden. He asked if I was able to dispatch the deer and if I wanted to. The last thing I wanted was for this...
In an effort to learn how to trap, I asked my uncle to take me out when he set his traps last winter. He agreed and we went out to set some beaver traps and learn how it’s done. My uncle has been trapping for most of his life, so he knew which areas to check for fresh sign and he had been asked by the landowners to come onto their property to take beaver out and keep the bog from flooding and eating up more land. Unfortunately, that was the case for a section of our trail and we had to get out and walk. We loaded up an ax, the traps, lures, gloves, a shovel and started hiking, which in waders is no easy task! We looked for slides, caster mounds and freshly dropped trees. It was obvious that there were beaver...
A few years ago, I decided to collect skulls and furs from the animals that I killed or trapped. It was partly selfish to be able to highlight the hunts that I have been on but it was also in an attempt to educate my kids about the animals that we eat and interact with here in Maine. My first skull was my bear’s and even though there were a lot of issues with it (cut into pieces and put back together), it was great to see what was under the fur of the animal that I killed and ate. My son loved touching the teeth and seeing the ridge where the two halves of the skull were fused together. The bear rug is thick and soft and it’s my son’s favorite spot for reading/listening to books on tape. Since that bear, my...
While I have been away, I have been busy advancing my hunting plans for this fall. And joining new, exciting projects. One of those is DeerCast, an app created by the folks at Drury Outdoors to give hunters the best tools available to identify peak times to be in the woods and when the deer will be moving. I have had the chance to interview hunters who have used the app and have taken some impressive deer! There are a handful of us writing articles, the entire Drury family contributes and instead of waiting a year for footage to come out on television, you can see the videos almost as they happen. Some impressive deer are being taken this year and DeerCast is free! So far, more than 218,000 people have...
I had just called in for a radio interview when I saw something land in a tree across the yard. I could tell that it was larger and lighter than the birds that are usually around. I held the phone to my ear and answered a few questions while getting my camera out, sliding the screen door open and frantically trying to snap a photo and then show it Hubs so that he could take more photos while I went back to my interview. It was a beautiful Barred owl. It flew away after sitting there for more than 30 minutes and I didn't get a chance to see where it went. A few hours later as we were getting ready for bed, we heard two Barred owls calling back and forth, one was close to the house and the other was further...
We moved to a new house about a month ago. The second night that we were there, a doe came out from the woods. Since then, we have had three does hanging around, one of which was VERY pregnant the last time we saw her (I am hoping for twins!) They are out on the back lawn at least twice a week and one morning, I had a doe only a few yards from the house. When I threw open the curtains, she just looked at me and kept eating. If I draw a doe tag this fall, they are not necessarily safe but until hunting season arrives,, we will keep watching...
Every spring when the cows kick their yearlings out of their comfort zone, there are news reports of them showing up in the wrong places. This spring, it was near the kid's school. Friends had posted pictures of the moose but it wasn't until I took the littlest kiddo to the doctor that I saw the moose. Knowing O would love to see this, I drove home and swapped kids. I prepped him just in case the moose had moved on, but we were in luck! Aside from the fact that it was next to the interstate, the moose looked healthy with no signs of ticks or illness. The Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife got so many calls about this moose that wardens ended up tranquilizing the moose and moving...
I had the distinct honor of being named the 2018 Sportsman of the Year from the New England Outdoor Writer Association at their annual meeting. Staci and I went down to southern Mass. to attend the annual meeting and network with fellow outdoor writers. It was great to put faces to the list of familiar names there and I was voted in as one of their newest board members. Being presented the award by Ellie Horowitz Staci and I Mary Julius, Executive Secretary of NEOWA It was a long but fun day of talking with fellow writers and hearing their stories of the outdoors all across New...