Last weekend my wife, son, and I took off Friday morning for Gilman, Vermont. Gilman is a small mill town that sits on the Connecticut River, which separates Gilman from Dalton, New Hampshire.

We followed Route 2 from Newport, Maine all the way into Lancaster, New Hampshire. Where we then took 135 to Dalton, crossed the bridge into the town of Gilman.

My wife had a baby shower on Saturday for her cousin. So that left my son, brother in law, and myself alone on Saturday. So we made plans for a “man” day. It all started early in the morning while my wife was getting ready. I took off up the mountain on the four wheeler, a polaris sportsman 500. This was a beautiful ride to the top of the mountain. Once on top there were tons of hay fields that spread out over the mountain top. All this land owned by the town. As I rode this piece of land all I could think about was the opportunities this parcel had for hunting this upcoming fall. What made the ride up the mountain interesting was the mud. It had been raining in Vermont for the previous four days. So I kicked the wheeler into four wheel drive and had some fun in the mud. Upon arriving back at the house after about an hour of riding and scouting out the area, it was time for the ladies to leave. We kissed them and wished them a great day spending time together. Then we chuckled to ourselves as if we had just won a prize. A man’s day. No ladies around, what would we do?

Shortly after the ladies left we jumped in our buggy and headed to the local fish hatchery. This hatchery was spread out with many tanks of trout and salmon ranging in sizes. The amazing coloring on the small stock size brook trout caught my eye first. As we moved out way down along the tanks, there were browns, rainbows, brookies, and landlocked salmon. Then we arrived at the breeders tank. These fish were enormous. My son thought he had hit the jackpot. He looked over in awe of the size of the fish. Of course Charlie and I were doing the same. We found food to feed the fish. We placed a couple bucks in the machine and off we went. Most of the feed we did manage to let my son, Kolten feed. However, Charlie and I couldn’t resist to feed the breeders. Watching them come up and swallow the feed pellets led our minds to dreaming of the pellets being a fly on a river somewhere far, far away.

Then we again jumped in the buggy and headed north. We were going to travel up through New Hampshire. Our plan was to go ride through the “13 mile woods” and spot some moose. We did manage to see three moose. One cow that really did not look like she was doing so well. I believe the ticks were getting the best of her. The following two moose were yearling bulls who had some nubs for antlers, completely covered in velvet. The Androscoggin River was raging. At one point it had crossed the road and we had to drive through about a foot of water. We then followed Route 16 into Errol, New Hampshire.

In Errol, we spent quite a bit of time looking around LL Cote’s. This place is amazing. If you ever get a chance to make the trip, do it. The prices cannot be beat on their items. Talk about items, you will find everything for the outdoor enthusiasts here. A huge selection of guns, atv’s, snowmobiles, fishing gear, rods, reels, and whatever else is of interest to you.

On our way out of town we grabbed some hot dogs, chips, and a soda pop. We then headed back south towards Gilman. The scenery along the way was breathtaking. To ride through the mountains and view the valleys was an experience that I will not forget.

We arrived back at the house in time to unload some shingles and kick our feet back for a bit. Then later on that evening we fished the Connecticut river down at Walkers Pit. The river was raging and the temperature cold. The only fish that we landed that day was a small yellow perch. The following day we fished the river in a few more spots and I was able to land a three pound shad. This was an experience for me, as I had no idea what a shad was.

I have some film developing and will get some pictures to you of the moose that we saw. I do have a few pictures of the area that we were in taken from the digital camera, that my wife had with her at the baby shower. I know, I should have had it…but you know how it is guys….,if momma aint happy aint nobody happy…..!!!

We had a great family trip to Vermont. We will be returning in July for a family reunion. I have been promised the fishing will be better then. So I am excited to return and do some fishing and visit with some of the outlaws…I mean inlaws.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Yesterday on one of our many spins across our land my son and I came upon a spot where something had been digging and hunting up something.  I figure something was after a squirrel or maybe some bugs as spring has sprung here in Maine.

We have a fox that has taken up residence in one of our ledges close by to where this was. My guess was that he was maybe after some squirrels.  For a few minutes I thought maybe the bear had done this as we have recently seen him and found scat and sign in the area.  This area did not allow me to see any tracks in order to tell exactly what made this.  So it’s all a guess.  Anyone have a theory?

The other day while I was at work and we were receiving our first snowfall of the week, my son and wife went outside to play in the snow. My son absolutely loves the snow and being outdoors. My son and I take walks in the woods on a daily basis and we cover different aspects of what we see in the woods. At two years old he knows a couple different kinds of trees, some animal sign, and our most recent discovery is the ability to sneak and hide. My wife was able to snap a couple pictures of him practicing his new skills.

Oh yeah and my son loves being a ham. He has mastered the art of showing off for people. He loves the camera and is not shy of pictures in any way shape or form. Maybe he’ll grow up to host his own outdoor show someday.

When I came upon a recent article about a golden retriever saving the life of his owner by performing canine Heimlich it brought a big smile to my face. Why? Well first off it is one of those feel good stories that I love to hear about. Secondly because I am a big fan of the golden. I own two golden retrievers.

If you are looking for a great family dog, I highly recommend a golden. My two Goldens are awesome with my two year old son. They mind very well and are fun to have around.

My retrievers are now three years old. They are a brother and sister pair. My wife had wanted a female golden ever since I met her. So two years into our relationship we decided go find a lady golden for her. After weeks of searching on my wife’s part she located one in Charleston, Maine. One Saturday morning the entire family took off for Charleston. We arrived at the house where we would look at the only little gal they had left. We looked at mom and dad, as well as previous litters. Then we went into the basement to look at our potential new family member. She was cuddled up in the back of the box all alone. An independent female, my wife loved it. Along with this cute little female, she had seven brothers left. My wife had quickly decided that this little fur ball was exactly what she wanted. One of the males was really big and light in color. He was amazingly handsome. He sat there in the puppy box staring at me. Then I made the mistake to go pick him up. He licked my ears and cuddled in. The rest is history, a quick run to the bank to get some cash out of the atm machine and we had two pups on the way home.

I am and have been currently in the process of looking for an upland bird dog, probably either a Brittany or German Shorthair to go along with the family. I am taking my time with this one and in no rush. If you are looking for a great dog to go along with your family, a golden would make a perfect match. They are awesome with kids, reliable, and all around great dogs.

Today is my wife and I’s anniversary. Three years ago today I became the luckiest man alive. Since then we have experienced the wonderful gift of having a child together. I am lucky to have such a understanding and patient wife to put up with all my imperfections. She stands behind me and supports me in all of my adventures whether she thinks they are crazy or not.

I had already posted a devotion for today, however due to this being my anniversary I wanted to post something for husbands to think about. This is an old devotion that was back last summer while I was working at a hotel.

Be that husband that our wives deserves. Be that “true sportsman” in all aspects of your life.

Wooohoooo!!!! Today is Thursday. Which means this is my first of three days off. You see the job that pays my bills comes from working with “at risk” youth. One of the best benefits of the job is I get three days off a week.

My son loves to spend time with me and looks forward to getting outside with me on these days. As he gets older he seems to get more excited. I still believe that I enjoy them way more than he does. So we have been making plans to get outside for the past couple days. I told him when his momma (aka my wife) goes to work on Thursday afternoon we would spend a lot of time outside. Of course I woke up this morning to rain. This didn’t matter to my son though. So we bundled up and headed outside.

This is certainly the time of year that I struggle with Winter. I’m having major Spring fever. I am tired of being inside and ready for some outdoor activities. My son is a mini me in a lot of ways. It appears as though Spring fever has set in with him also.

With all the rain and warm temperatures we have been having a lot of the snow has disappeared. As we were outside playing around I started to fiddle around the yard. I went over to uncover my small aluminum fishing boat to check on its condition after winter. Also in great hopes of sitting in it on some stream somewhere very soon. As soon as I flipped it over Kolten was inside that boat looking like he was ready to tackle a local pond on a fishing excursion.

Of course within a few minutes he was on the snowmobile in high hopes of holding onto Winter and being able to ride.

Take the time and spend time outdoors with your kids. I can honestly say there is nothing I would rather be doing then being with him in the great outdoors.

Well here are some photos I shot today while walking with my son in back of my house. Each of these are from my ground blind or very close vicinity to the blind and areas that I can see while sitting and waiting for that deer to cross my path.

So there she is. The honey spot. This place has provided me some nice deer. This past year I was chasing after Mr. Buck so I didn’t utilize this great spot very often.

I can’t wait until the day I can put Kolten on stand there and have him harvest his first deer.

What a gorgeous day it is out there today. It’s hard to believe at 39 degrees I’m feeling as though it is summer. The snow is melting, ice if fading away, and everything is looking fresh and bright outside today.

I guess what topped the day off was spending it outside with my son. Up until Kolten was born there was no doubt trout fishing or whitetail hunting took first place. Now they are not even a close second to just spending some time with him.

We walked down to the stream that runs across my land in search of tracks, other sign, or any wildlife. Other than a few birds and squirrels we did not manage to see any actual wildlife. We did manage to see a couple sets of prints.

Here are some photos of our adventure outside this afternoon. Click on the picture for a larger picture.

Here he is before we got dressed to go outside.

Just like his daddy, he loves being silly and enjoying the outdoors.

Nothing better than a boy and his dogs.

Looks like I am not the only one anxious for Spring!!!

During my time away my son had his 2nd birthday. Where does the time go. I know the past two years has gone by so fast it is hard to believe.

Kolten is growing up to be quite a little guy though. He’s a prankster like his daddy, stubborn like his daddy, and thank God has his mother’s brains…: )

We had a birthday party for him at my parents house and his “nanny” bought him a rifle that shoots rubber bullets. Man do I come from a great family or what…..?

He gets excited about deer tracks in the woods. He has love for animals. I guess what I’m trying to say in this article is “I love being a dad and Kolten is awesome.”

My son is exactly like me. My wife hears that and makes a big sigh…..

I love the fact that he just wants to be outside as often as he possibly can. No matter if it’s raining, cold, snowy, or sunny he wants to be out in it.

One of his favorite past times during winter is eating the snow.

I’ve put some pictures on here of him enjoying the Maine arctic.

Working outside is so rough!!! Time for a break….

Time to eat some snow while I’m resting.

We’ve learned to say “cheese” for the camera, however Kolten thinks “cheese” means squinch up your face

I wrote this poem as my wife was pregnant with our son Kolten. I had put this on our old computer and it crashed. I thought it was gone forever. Today I was pulling out my old winter jacket and found this in the pocket. I was very excited to find this poem I had written for my son before he was born. So excited I thought i’d share it here..: )

A gift from above that’s what you are
waited upon for such a long time
its hard to believe your finally here
I love you so much my precious son.

So many things you’ll want to do
so many dreams I hope they all come true
whatever your dreams search them through
and know your daddy will be there to support you

This was my thoughts before my son came into this world. My thoughts tonight are how very thankful I am that he’s here. Being a dad is so much better than I could have even imagined. There is nothing I would not do for him. There’s no end to a dad’s love.

We have a heavenly father that loves us even more than we love our own children. There’s no end to what he’ll do for you. He even sent his son Jesus Christ to earth to die on a cross that you and I could have eternal life.

John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life”.

This is our promise and the greatest demonstration of love ever shown. That love was shown to you and I. Take this wonderful gift of love. Strengthen your personal relationship with Christ or if you have never experienced that personal relationship with him read this verse and ask God to help you. Ask him to forgive you of your sins, have faith that Christ came to give this gift to you, then search his word and talk with him in order for him to touch you in your very own personal way.

This past weekend my wife, son and I went on an outing to southern Maine. During this trip we took in the Portland mall, lunch at Old Country Buffet and LL Bean. My son really enjoyed the trout streams with live trout in them at LL Bean. I could have spent an entire day in that place had I not had a 21 month old that is “investigating” or better known to us parents as getting into stuff. Did I say stuff, I meant EVERYTHING!

Then on Saturday we went to a concert that was focused on preschoolers. I know, I know, a Saturday in November. One thing is obvious the doodlebops are not hunters. If they were there is no way they would have planned a concert on a Saturday in November. Even though I love deer hunting and Saturdays are my day to have a chance to do so I passed up on hunting this past Saturday. You see my love of hunting does not compare to my love for my son. And to make a special day for him will never compare to a day in the woods for me. So at 1p.m. we were in the midst of a bunch of other parents, preschoolers, and even some teenagers appeared throughout the audience. One thing I was surprised although glad to see was the amount of dad’s that were present. It did my heart good to look around and with I would guess about 90 percent of the families there, the dad was present. This speaks of my generation of dad’s that are happy to go to an event with their kids even on a hunting day.

For an hour and a half my son was thrilled at the site of the Doodlebops. See my son does not watch much tv, he is way too much like his daddy and can’t sit still very long. With that said he only watches the Doodlebops on t.v. He can watch them for quite an amount of time. We have watched every episode on tv, tape and dvd. If you need the words to ALL their songs just ask me I can tell you.

So there is no chess 4 story from this weekend. Norm didn’t get out in the great Maine woods to hunt for Mr. Buck. I did get out to build upon my relationship with my wife and son though. Which in the all around picture is the most important thing I can do as a husband and dad. Rest assured though I will be out pursuing Mr. Buck this upcoming weekend.