Category Archives: Hunting

Ten things I plan to do in 2015

tomah stream

Thanks to my fellow BDN bloggers and their support during my time of healing (end drama here) I have ideas of what to write here. It’s hard to blog about what I’m doing outdoors when I’m not doing anything – including indoors. Here are ten things I want to do this year as scribbled on […]

Talking Hunting on Maine Outdoors

Maine Outdoors, deer hunting, bear hunting, turkey hunting, Robin Follette

I was a guest on Maine Outdoors on WVOM a couple of weekends ago. Thanks to Kevin Smith for inviting me to be on the show again. It was a blast! I love radio. I slapped my hand over my mouth a couple of times to quell what would seem like inappropriate laughter since listeners […]

My big buck’s shoulder mount – ruined or saved?

whitetail shoulder mount

It’s been an excellent year. Patience has paid off. I’ve put a lot of meat in the freezer this year. My spring turkey hunt produced a large tom with a 9.5 inch beard early on opening day. I shot my first bear on September 4 and have an awesome story to go with it. Finally, […]

Politics, Hunting, and Sunrise on Democrat Ridge

Surise on Democrat Ridge

The television was spewing hateful political ads and bad news when Steve turned it on this morning. I wasn’t long in turning it off. Facebook wasn’t much better. I’m sick to death of all this trash talk. It seems like there’s no getting away from hate and discontent in today’s connected world, and Tuesday can’t […]

Veterans, House in the Woods, and a Camp on a Lake

Partridge, ruffed grouse

About six years ago George and Terry Gallagher drove to Lee and knocked on a door. That knock helped improve many lives. The Gallaghers were looking for someone to share their beautiful camp on Upper Sysladobsis (Dobsis) lake in Lakeville Plantation. They were specifically hoping to open their camp and hearts to veterans. At House […]

Getting Reacquainted & Outdoors Fitness

Hi! Remember me? “How vain it is to sit down to write, when you have not stood up to live.” Henry David Thoreau I’ve been away from this blog for a while. I have been living so much I’ve barely written a word in months. We fished a lot this summer. I caught the biggest […]

The weather was lousy on opening day of turkey season but that didn’t stop me

It was raining hard at 2 am and pouring by 3:30 am. Howling wind kept me awake most of the night. It was opening day of the spring turkey hunt. “I’d be happy to just go for a ride and stay dry and see what happens,” I offered. Steve, my husband, didn’t answer me. We […]

Turkey season opens Monday and I won’t be hunting here

Eastern Wild Turkey (hen)

We’ve been scouting turkeys for more than a week now and haven’t found anything close to home to pursue when the season opens Monday morning. We’ve seen two lone hens, always in the same spot so they’re most likely on nests, jakes and a tom. The jakes and tom are in an area we can’t […]

Lifetime licenses are an investment in the future

Lifetime hunting and fishing licenses.

Lauren Cormier blogs over at Oh, Honestly!  She’s guest blogging with me today after purchasing lifetime hunting and fishing licenses for her sons (Her daughter isn’t quite two yet but will have hers in plenty of time.). Thanks, Lauren! I love to hear about kids who love the outdoors. By Lauren Cormier I grew up […]

Jennifer Vashon, bear biologist, talks about Maine’s bears

Jennifer Vashon, one of Maine’s bear biologists, was a guest with Tom Saviello on Talkin’ Maine. I was happy to see the show on Vimeo as this isn’t a program I can watch at home. Have you ever wondered how biologists age a bear? Are sows pregnant during hunting season? And when do they give […]

Mountain Feist puppies

Gray’s Prairie Daisy, Mountain Feist

I’ve never met a puppy I didn’t love and these little guys are no exception. I have a soft spot for working dogs and have raised two litters on our farm. I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about Mountain Feist as much as I have. Thanks to Marc for sharing his information and obvious love for […]

Traits of the squirrel dogs known as Mountain Feist

Mountain Feist with squirrels

Today’s installment mention two things that caught my eye – Mountain Feist can be used for hunting upland game birds, and they catch squirrels. Red squirrels cause problems for us on a regular basis. The first installment is here. There are numerous strains and bloodlines within the Mountain Feist breed umbrella. A variety usually comes […]

So, you want to get into squirrel dogs? Mountain Feist are addicting

Gray's Barefoot Nelly, Mountan Feist

Late last fall my daughter Taylor told me someone at Unity College has a breed of dog called Mountain Feist. Squirrel dogs. I had no idea such a breed existed. Hunting squirrels with dogs never occurred to me. I thought you walked through the woods hoping to find squirrels. When I started looking for information […]

Cooking Wild Game: Moose meatloaf

Some of my favorite meals are based around wild game. Supper is hours away and my stomach is already growling. I mixed up moose meatloaf this afternoon to let it set for a few hours before I pop it into the oven. You can read about the day this moose became an ingredient in my […]

Maine Bear Hunting Referendum: hunting with Bob Tigro

This is an incredible story. Refill your coffee and get comfortable. You’ll be drawn in quickly. This is Bob Tigro’s story of bear and coyote hunting at Oxbow Lodge in Oxbow. What do coyotes have to do with hunting bears with bait, snares and hounds? If it weren’t for bear hunting Bob wouldn’t have made […]

Maine Bear Hunting Referendum: Thoughts from an out-of-stater

Pat Rayta and his Maine black bear taken in 2005.

I met Pat Rayta online in a group devoted to saving Maine’s proven hunting methods. It’s a big group, more than 1,300 men and women who love the outdoors, understand or are learning about hunting as a means of conversation, and who are passionate about keeping Maine’s bear population healthy. It didn’t take long to […]

Maine Bear Hunting Referendum: Ballot box biology shouldn’t replace biologists

Tenley Bennett, Registered Maine Guide

I’ve asked people who are involved in Maine’s bear hunt to tell us their stories. We’re likely to be voting on a referendum in November that calls for the end of baiting, hounding and snaring/trapping. If this passes it will affect the bears, hunters, timber management companies, store owners, guides, lodge and camp owners and […]

No deer but it was a good year

Year six, no deer. I’m a little disappointed, especially because this was such a good year for hunters. It was a good year for me. I saw the first and only buck I’ve ever seen while hunting. People asked if I’d regret not shooting him if I didn’t have another one at the end of […]