Ah spring in Maine. The days are getting longer the sun feels warmer on your face and… the ground is a glorious squelching mess. Yes folks mud season is officially upon us!

We hit our first 40-degree temperatures last week a welcome change after a long winter! Honestly it felt amazing to work in the garage with just a light jacket. While we know there's likely more cold (-2 here yesterday) and maybe even snow ahead it definitely feels like we've turned a corner and are heading towards spring. The days are noticeably...

For many years now fishing licenses have been provided on our trips because the funds collected are a primary source of funding for biology and law enforcement on our waters. Think of it as our commitment to conservation at the smallest scale. I am able to gather the information I need to issue your licenses online and have them on file before we...

I'm excited for another season of sharing the Maine outdoors with you! After many wonderful years of running trips I've decided to scale back a bit this year and will be offering trips five days a week.

What a winer we are having. Even the newspaper headlines recognize that we are having a real Maine winter. This week certainly makes the point. Strong winds out of the northwest and chilly temperatures highs in the teens above zero and winds up to 50 MPH. The wind picks up the loose snow and swirls it down across the field in little whirlwind whit...

As I mentioned in an earlier post I am helping with the Maine SkillsUSA competition in Outdoor Leadership. Part of that involves reviewing the skills we assess. Some of them are straightforward—navigation first aid and responding to emergencies. But one area that quickly becomes a challenge is measuring basic customer service skills.

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow so it looks like we've got about six more weeks of winter.  Here in Maine that usually means we're looking at mid-March for the unofficial end of winter and ice-out sometime in early April.  For me that's about two months until I can get the boat back in the water and start guiding open water fishing trips – I can'...

14 degrees is the high temperature for the day with a stiff breeze. Nice and sunny today after a fresh coating of snow yesterday. For the record there is about a foot of good solid ice on the ponds in the area. I know that many of you are not winter fans but you have to admit that a flock of bluebirds in the yard on a snowy background is a huge bo...

Last fall I was approached about chairing the Maine SkillsUSA Championships in Outdoor recreation this year. The SkillsUSA Championships is a showcase of America’s skilled career and technical education students. It’s also one of the largest hands-on workforce development events in the world. The state competition is scheduled to be held in Bangor...

Yesterday morning I had a blast ice fishing with a wonderful family! The weather was absolutely perfect – hardly any wind and a balmy 40 degrees. The only minor hiccup was a bit of water on the ice due to the warm temperatures and some rain the night before. But it was just enough to make us slosh as we walked around.

I am preparing for my first guided ice fishing trip of the year and making the rounds of the local ponds that I like to fish in. I am checking a few things first how thick the ice is (about 6 inches everywhere I checked) is there a cleared parking space and finally is it crowded. A couple on my list while not remote are secluded and are usually no...

I frequently write about how clients become friends and some of those are really family members. Ron Ligon was one of the latter;  fishing with me many times over the years and through all of that bringing his children friends and eventually grandchildren to spend time on the water with me. His home town was one of the stops on our family cross co...

Stopped this morning at a chain coffee shop for a cup to keep me company on the drive home from the grocery store. The line for the drive through was out into the road. No worries I figure I’ll just walk inside and get my coffee. Backed up there too. Fortunately I am not in a huge hurry and taking the chance to watch what is going on.

As the end of another year approaches I slow down and appreciate all of the folks who have chosen to spend time outdoor with me. After all if not for them I would not be so fortunate to do work that I love. And I love it so much that I am having a hard time even thinking about stopping as I approach; well actually pass the normal retirement age.

I'm excited to announce I'll be offering ice fishing trips again this winter!

Going solar here was driven mostly by our need to avoid the regular power outages that have become part of our lives. Solar installations with a battery backup dropped in price significantly enough to make it attractive when paired with the tax incentive. So over the summer we had the garage roof replaced.

Last week Argy and I were on vacation and travelled south as far as Delaware to visit friends and family. We were of course planning Thanksgiving with family from all around the country. Along the way I learned some new things or had them reinforced.

Did you know there's a Travel Tuesday? It's happening on December 3rd as part of the Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday series.