Category Archives: Outdoors People

Women and Our Woods (WOW)

Women and Our Woods

Women and Our Woods I don’t have to be looking for a new way to get involved with the outdoors – it will find me all in good time. Tanya Rucosky from Downeast Lakes Land Trust emailed me about Women and Our Woods (WOW), and there it was, my new way to get involved. I’m […]

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 […]

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 […]

Ice fishing with college students who help shape our outdoors

Taylor Follette and a 16" smallmouth bass

Before she went back to Unity College for the new semester Taylor and I made plans for a weekend of ice fishing, home cooked food and hanging out. She arrived home Saturday morning with Rebecca Zirlin, Grainne Dougherty and Connor Shaw. They unloaded the truck, changed into warm clothes and loaded the truck. Steve left […]

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 […]

Reader Story: Wildlife in The Basin

I enjoy being able to share readers’ stories. This is one I’d love to see myself. Lifelong friends Dave and Barb Shaw of Glenburn were out for a ride recently. Hi Robin, Barb and I saw something unusual while nosing around Veazie and Orono to see the effects of the removal of the dam. That […]

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman at Maine Sportsman’s Night

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman

Yes, that’s right. You can get a head start on Becoming an Outdoors-Woman at Maine Sportsman’s Night on Saturday. Members of the board of directors of Friends of Maine BOW will be there. We’ll have a display with photos, newsletter, handouts and a raffle. Friends is a non-profit entity with a mission to raise funds […]

Our Epic Moose Adventure

It started in September when Erin Merrill and I won a moose safari with Epic Adventures. Brian Donaghy donated the day-long trip to Friends of Maine BOW for our fund-raising auction. It’s the trip she mentioned in Thoughts From a Tree Stand last week. The alarm went off at 3:45 am. Not that I was […]

Janet Abrahamson of Thorndike got her moose

Janet Abrahamson's Bull Moose

The parking lot of Waite General Store was so full I had to park on the side of the road. Janet Abrahamson and Charlie Bryant were there to register Janet’s moose. A crowd gathered around the Weight General scale, and I arrived just in time to see the big bull being lowered onto the trailer. […]

BOW Intro Skills Weekend has openings

The board of directors of Friends of Maine BOW met Wednesday Evening at the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. Emily MacCabe, BOW coordinator for the state, gave us an update. There are still openings for Introductory Skills Weekend and a few of the workshops are full. The cut off date to apply for a […]

The grand opening of Princeton Farmers Market

It’s Thursday afternoon. A sandwich board sign sits on Rt 1 at the end of West Street in Princeton, pointing you in the direction of Princeton Farmers Market. Just down West Street there’s another sandwich board pointing to the ball field. If you blink you could miss the row of eight vendors set up past […]

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman, 2013 Intro Skills Weekend

Maine Game Warden Kris MacCabe teaches ATV Safety

It’s time! Last year’s Introductory Skills Weekend filled quickly and had a long waiting list. Emily MacCabe, coordinator of Maine BOW, released the workshop schedule and registration form (opens a pdf file) this afternoon. The cost of the weekend is $225. The fee includes meals from Friday’s through Sunday’s lunch, all equipment, bunking in a […]

Paddling Tomah Stream with friends

The weather forecast looked good. Partly sunny, 60 degrees, a breeze. Steve loaded the kayaks-an Otter, a tandem Otter and a Vapor 10XT (10 for ten foot), the lifejackets and a small cooler for lunch. The bug spray and other necessities were stowed away in a waterproof box in the Vapor’s well. Taylor, our youngest […]

Making maple syrup at Chandler’s Sugar Shack

It started out as a few hundred taps in 2006 and has grown to 3,000 taps this year. The small, inefficient evaporator in a small sugar shack has been replaced by a huge, efficient, state of the art evaporator in a beautiful building I thought was going to be someone’s home as it was being […]

Bear Sausage Quiche

bear sausage, quiche recipe

I led a workshop called Cooking Wild Game for Maine BOW’s Winter Skills Weekend. One of the dishes we made is Bear Sausage Quiche. Thanks to Jeremy and Gene, generous hunters who donated sausage to my workshop, we were able to taste the sausage alone and use it in quiche. It was a big hit. […]

A Glimpse of Maine

We have freezing fog this morning, and I’m in for a while until the roads clear. I thought I’d share this video, A Glimpse of Maine, while I’m drinking another cup of coffee. It’s a nice reminder of why we live here and why so many come to Maine to vacation. Don’t hesitate because it’s […]

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman: Winter Skills

Thanksgiving is barely over and Christmas is a month away. I’m in holiday mode but BOW’s Winter Skills weekend at Bryant Pond 4H Camp & Learning Center the weekend of February 22-24, 2013 is in mind. The registration packet and details on each workshop being offered is available on BOW’s website. Winter Skills workshops include […]

Campfire Cuisine

Campfire Cuisine. Is it as fancy as it sounds? Yes and no. It’s time consuming but simple once you get the hang of cooking on a fire. And it’s delicious. The same meal cooked indoors just isn’t as tasty as food cooked outdoors. The combination of cast iron, fresh air, wood smoke and atmosphere can’t […]

My Weekend at Introductory Skills Weekend, Maine BOW

Packing the backseat of the truck with my gear was almost as difficult as stuffing my husband’s extra long sleeping bag into its stuff sack. The weather forecast called for a warm and humid day, a cooler but still humid day, and a day in the 50*s with a chance of showers so I packed […]