The purpose of this site is to share with you the images I have captured of this special place we call Maine.

Being the most northeastern state and having such a diversified landscape and subject matter along with four distinct season’s, (five if you count “mud” season!) gives Maine a uniqueness all of her own. There is so much to see and experience up here in Maine.

Lord willing, along with bringing back images from my wanderings that best represent what Maine has to offer I will share some of my experiences and thoughts on what I encounter along the way as well.

If you live, visit, or vacation in this great state, you very well may see an image in my gallery that is familiar or strikes a sentimental chord with you that you would like to purchase for your camp, home, or office. I assure you I have made ordering matted prints easy and affordable. So come on in and poke around and I think you will find that MAINE is a STATE of MIND!

Enjoy it!
Thayden C. Farrington

I would like to share with my readers some general fox habits and facts, I have found through research, about this very intriguing animal that is common to Maine and so much of the northern hemisphere.

The scientific name of red foxes or foxes, as they are commonly known, is Vulpes vulpes. Foxes are a member of the dog family, the Canidae and for this reason they are known as canids. Wolves, coyotes, arctic foxes and the domestic dog are also canids. Red foxes are native in North America and can be found throughout the United States and Canada except in the far north, where the arctic fox (scientific name Alopex lagopus) is better adapted to live, and in some parts of western United States.

The canids are carnivores (meat eaters) but their diet is generalized and opportunistic,

adapting

to whatever foods are available locally. Red foxes are solitary hunters who feed on rodents, rabbits, birds, and other small game—but their diet can be as flexible as their home habitat. Foxes will eat fruit and vegetables, fish, frogs, and even worms. If living among humans, foxes will opportunistically dine on garbage and pet food. Primarily active at twilight, the red fox stalks its prey like a cat, gets as close as it can and then pounces on it and chases it. They will bury any left over food to save it for later. At this particular den site I was watching I saw, turkey parts, groundhog skins, moles, and domestic chicken feathers as evidence of the varied and opportunistic characteristics of this cunning and intelligent predator.

Similar to a cat’s, the bushy thick tail of a fox aids it’s balance, but it has other uses as well. The bushy tail aids the fox in keeping warm in cold weather and as a signal flag to communicate with other foxes.

Foxes make scent posts to signal each other by urinating on trees and rocks to announce their presence. Foxes are very territorial.

Foxes mate in the winter. The vixen (female) will give birth to 2 to 12 pups, the average being 4-5 after a gestation period of 52 days. When fox kits are first born, their eyes and ears are closed, they remain secluded in their den with their mother. The kits open their eyes at 14 days and are fully weaned by 10 weeks. As they develop, at about one month, they start venturing out to

play, attacking twigs, leaves and their siblings, but never far from the protection of the den. The vixen chooses a hollow log, an empty woodchuck hole or a roadside culvert for the nursery. This nest site provides her young protection from predators, especially coyotes. The male fox (called a dog) helps with the rearing by bringing the vixen food while she nurses their young and keeps the kits warm. Then later in the kits development both parents teach them how to forage for food.

A fox will have several den sites and will use the larger ones for rearing young and winter quarters. Prone to a variety of diseases and insects (ticks, fleas) the vixen will move the litter to a new cleaner den if the original den gets too infested. If one of the young become sick or diseased the mother will separate that one from the other kits far away from the den for protection of the remaining litter. That practice seems cruel to the one left to die on it’s own but is a instinct that helps the overall survival of the population.

The red fox has all the makings of a true predator. Its eyesight, nose and hearing are highly tuned to pick up the slightest traces of nearby prey. Unlike other members of the canine family, the red fox’s hearing is attuned to low frequency sounds, enabling it pick up the quiet, digging sounds of a mouse or rabbit. A fox can hear a mouse in the grass nearly a hundred yards away in a field. There is reason for an old Native American Indian saying….” When a pine needle drops to the ground an eagle sees it, a bear smells it, and a fox hears it”.

The fox is much more active at night. Their

retinas in their eyes are dominated by photoreceptor cell called

rods. While rods can not detect color or produce images as sharp as the cone cells that dominate human eyes, they are much more sensitive and function better in low light. To further improve night vision, nocturnal animals such as foxes and cats developed a reflective layer behind the retina called the tapetum lucidum. It serves to reflect light back onto the retina, thereby doubling the animals acute chances to see something it might otherwise miss. This layer is what makes a cats acute eyes glow in the dark, and has the same effect with foxes. Under conditions of bright light, pupils constrict to protect the delicate photoreceptors. Dogs get by with round pupils, but with their more sensitive eyes, foxes have distinctive elliptical pupils that contract more fully. These features provide excellent ability to detect movement in the dark, although at the cost of clarity and detail particularly under lighter conditions.

By autumn, the pups begin to disperse. They start to spend more and more time away from the home den until they finally leave to find their own territories. The males leave earlier than the females and travel farther, being less tolerated by their father. The young foxes will frequently invade the territories of other established foxes and get chased out. The mortality rate is fairly high when this dispersal and finding new territory process takes place. Eventually, they will either take over another foxes range or find an unoccupied area of their own. At this point, the cycle begins anew, with male foxes and vixens seeking out one another to begin a new generation. A fox will not set up in a area where there are coyotes in that territory, unless it is on the very outskirts of it. Coyotes often will kill foxes.

So there you have it. I hope you have been as fascinated as I have been learning more about

God’s wonderful creation, and in particular this time, a creature so common to our state of Maine, The Red Fox!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 at 11:33 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

As I groggily unzipped the sleeping bag the next morning it was evident that the temperature was even cooler. During the night another rain had fallen but the weather report was calling for mostly cloudy skies early with partly cloudy skies in the afternoon. I thought it safe to keep my previous made plans to attempt to climb North Traveler Mt., so after a solid breakfast I readied my day pack. Today I would go much lighter but I would still need water, trail food, light weight rain coat (just in case), trail map, compass, and a few survival items for the unexpected such as survival blanket, a couple of hand warmers, warm knit hat, and gloves. One camera body with attached lens without a tripod for this trip would have to be sufficient.

I stopped at the Rangers station before I left Trout Brook Campground to check the posted weather

report one more time and to check on that apple tree. Ranger Gardner was up and about and he had some news for me. There was another raid last night on what apples were left on the apple tree! He also exclaimed that he had solved the mystery as to what apple loving creature had been ravaging this tree. Ranger Gardner had gotten up at 2am determined to catch this culprit in the act and catch him red handed he did. His flashlight found not one but four luminous set of eyes in the apple tree. Masked bandits! A whole family of raccoons evidently and everyone had a belly so big that all they could do was lay stretched out in the crotches of the apple tree either to full or to drunk to move! Maybe it is a common thing but I had never heard of raccoons going after apples with such a gluttonous partying vengeance as these had. Well mystery solved and I learned something new about raccoons. Now it was off to South Branch Pond to attempt North Traveler Mt.

Upon arriving at South Branch Pond Campground I double checked on the posted weather and trail conditions at the Rangers Station. Traveler Mt. Trail is listed as strenuous and is closed at times if the weather renders it unsafe for hiking. With all cleared I started out on the 2.5 mile hike that starts about 200 yards out along the Poggy Notch Trail.

Each day I noticed the autumn leaves changing a bit more especially this morning as I made my way along the trail. It helped that it was a mostly cloudy day as that usually makes the colored leaves more vibrant with out the harsh sunlight. I also noticed that the newly fallen leaves were covered with raindrops from the nights rain that had fallen. As I climbed higher the senses were sharpened and the brain was cleared of any remaining cobwebs as I took in the air cooled oxygen.

The first overlook with a view of Upper South Branch Pond and connecting Lower South Branch Pond was but a tease as to what lay ahead. The views unfolded as more spectacular after each accent to a higher elevation. The trail was well marked with blue paint and numerous cairns along the way. I was holding up pretty good as I paced myself and stopped often to photograph the breathtaking views and interesting subject matter along the way.

After a length of time I reached sort of a plateau with a slightly uphill meadow looking terrain which I thought led up to what appeared to be the rockier summit. When I reached the top of what I thought previously was the summit I could see the trail leading through but another meadow and a wooded section of mostly white birch which seemed out of place that high up the mountain. It was very pretty walking through this section of mostly stunted hardwood. Coming out the other side of this wooded section of the trail I could see up ahead another stretch of meadow with the trail leading into a softwood growth of trees.

By this time I was starting to drag a bit and was wondering if I would make it to the top, especially when I came out the other side of the spruce forest and still could see the trail leading up to yet “another summit”. With a slower pace, more stops and a gritty determination I finally made it to the top. I was rewarded with spectacular views in all directions. Mt. Katahdin could be seen in

the distance although the top was in and out of the clouds.  About a hundred yards off to the side of the North Traveler summit I found a nice place to rest protected from the wind by a three sided rock cubby space facing the sun and a view of Katahdin and the valley which held Howe Brook where I had traveled the day before. Nestled into the protective rock cubby sheltered from the cool wind, I could feel the sun’s warmth upon the rock at my back as I opened my day pack and eagerly got out my food supply for the day. I gave thanks and enjoined the view as I took a good amount of time to relax and re-energize myself for the long walk back.

Before heading back down the mountain I took a photo of me at the summit marker as proof I actually made it. Not having my tripod with me I was forced to improvise by placing the camera on rocks and then level it the best I could using little rock wedges. I thought I had done most of my photography on the way up but the light was getting more golden as the afternoon wore on. The sky was less cloudy now and the wind was dying down. So much for making good time on the way back! I wanted to catch as much as I could in the golden light of the day while it was available. I also took some time and photographed some lichen that really caught my eye on some granite rock. You can see that creation has it’s beauty and wonder even in the tiniest of places if you look for them. I am usually looking down as much as I am up when looking for subject matter to photograph or just out nature walking for this reason.

Well I did finally make it back to South Branch Pond Campground at about dusk. I was a bit sore and bushed but

I wouldn’t of traded the temporary physical discomfort for the good day and great scenery I experienced for anything. A challenge was taken on and with the Lord’s blessing and watchful eye upon me I conquered the task I put before myself. I could not of hoped for a more satisfying day.

I kept my eye out for moose and bear on the drive back to camp but again saw neither one. As I drove slowly along the winding gravel road I reflected on the still fresh experiences of the day. I remember seeing fresh moose tracks quite a ways up on the North Traveler Trail in one of those woods sections I walked through but no moose. Up in that spruce forest I also saw some spruce grouse. Again I thought that the wooded areas that held game up that high an elevation seemed unique.

Camp was a welcome site that evening and I went right to work in the gazebo preparing hot water for a good sponge bath and readying all the fixings for a hearty meal. After I was cleaned up, my belly satisfied and my hot water bottle filled I was anxious for the sleeping bag. Cuddled in my sleeping bag with the warmth of the hot water bottle on my shoulders I read for a bit until my eyelids were too heavy to hold up any longer.  From the comfort of my well padded captains bed I reached up to shut off the light knowing my stay at Baxter was about over.  But not quite. A change of plans! Continued……….Baxter State Park: Part 4 -  Cozy Cabin at Nesowadnehunk,  and a visit to Kidney Pond and Daisey Pond!

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 at 1:58 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

It was September 19^th 2009 and there I was “finally” in Baxter State Park. The only other time I had visited Baxter was a day trip into the Park about 10 years ago. This was my first stay at the park with serious time to see what Baxter was all about. I had reservations for 7 nights at Trout Brook Farm and ended up staying 3 more nights at Nesowadehunk Field Campground.

I had come close to canceling this trip. I had surgery July 20^th. The hospital stay and recovery was longer then expected. Time allowed for only a few good walks since the surgery to start building my strength back but I felt good enough and was determined to put things to the test. It was something I had to do. I needed something to push me, to raise me up and meet the challenges that lay ahead. Surgery did not go as well as planned to remove all the cancer so I knew there would be more struggles down the road. I guess in my mind this was a time to recoup, reflect, and get myself prepared for the battles that were coming. With a resolute determinedness I had picked up my walking stick and started on a different kind of journey where I had never walked before.

I would be camping and exploring on my own so I would have to stay within my physical bounds, pace myself and be extra careful. But I was in

no hurry. The weather cooperated nicely as I went about setting up camp which consisted of a large Cabela’s screened gazebo with attached rainfly. Inside were three tables (two small and one six foot), a reclining camp chair, lantern, cook stove, large cooler and all the utensils and food to last me two weeks if necessary. This was my space to relax, prepare meals and wash up. Sleeping quarters were in the Shamrock Cap mounted on the pickup where I have a comfortable captains bed, chair and enough storage for clothes and other miscellaneous gear.

Trout Brook Farm is the most northernmost campground at Baxter located about two miles into the park from the north entrance. The campsites were well spaced. All were very tidy and came furnished with a picnic table and fire pit. Outhouses were clean and handy close by. The campsites were nicely situated around the outer edge of a large grown up field. At the lower end of the field was a couple of group sites and a bridge that spanned Trout Brook. A trail (Feezeout Trail) continued on the other side of Trout Brook which led past several walk in sites.

As it turned out there was less then a handful of campers that stayed at Trout Brook while I was there. It was me and nobody but the Ranger for probably four out of the seven nights I was there. I knew it would be less crowded at the end of September but I was not expecting that much solitude!

After camp was set up and everything seemed to be in order I took a leisurely walk on the Freezeout trail beyond the bridge. The Ranger said there had been some bear sightings at the beginning of the trail near the bridge so to be on the lookout. There were some wild berries close by that they were feeding on but I did not see any bear nor any moose. I did see a grouse or two that first walk and a merganser in the brook on my way back.

Upon returning back to the campsite I prepared and enjoyed a good meal and made plans to take a longer walk on the Freezeout trail the next day. Once settled in for the night I gave thanks for a safe start to my stay at Baxter and drifted off to sleep anticipating the days of exploring ahead.

I spent part of the next day photographing and exploring the Freezeout trail. This is a long trail that extends all the way to Webster Lake 14.5 miles “one way” from Trout Brook Farm. No way was I going to attempt that! I had to pace myself and so I ventured out maybe 2.5 miles on a relatively flat part of the trail and then came back checking out some of the walk in campsites along the way. My body was telling me that was good enough for now. Many of the trails in Baxter especially the ones less traveled are not much more than foot paths which meander gently through the untamed wilderness of the area. The weather was perfect and the September leaves were changing into their autumn colors. I walked about five miles and felt no worse for the wear. It was a good peaceful walk. I only saw one couple that day hiking the trail. I saw no moose and no bear. I believe the most scenic part of the

trail was beyond the point of where I went. According to the map the trail eventually comes along side majestic Webster Brook which has many dramatic water displays and waterfalls. If you ever decide to cover the full Freezeout Trail plan for at least two days of hiking!

The next day looked perfect again although a bit warmer then the day before. I could feel just a slight coolness in the September air through the warmth of the mourning sun. Ranger Gardner was on a ladder with paintbrush in hand as I went past one of the out buildings in the morning headed towards the Five Pond Loop trail-head. They call it Five Ponds because you go by five ponds along the way. It is about a six mile loop. There are four remote picturesque campsites located on three of these ponds with canoe rental available. I Heard one of the Rangers say there is some nice fishing in these ponds. It was a pretty day and I saw no other hikers on the trail. I did see two or three more grouse on the trail and a few ducks in the ponds. I saw no moose and no bear.

This was more challenging physically then the first hike. It was longer and I took more camera gear. It was also warmer and I ran out of water about three and a half miles in. I was definitely feeling it when I came dragging back about eight hours after I started out. I thought I would be

curled up in one big cramp the rest of the trip but I recovered quite nicely after getting re-hydrated, eating a hardy supper and a good nights rest. I filled the hot water bottle with water heated on the coleman stove and took that to bed with me that night and boy did that feel good on the sore body parts! My hot water bottle is an essential on camping trips. From soothing sore muscles to warming up the sleeping bag on cold nights it is one item I never leave without on an overnight stay in the woods.

The next couple of days were warmer then September should be so I did not go on any long hikes. I did explore and poke around a bit and among other things found a huge poplar tree a beaver had tried to gnaw down but had gotten snagged up in another tree. I did not see the beaver around so I posed for the camera by the tree with all the wood chippings looking my best trying to imitate a big bad beaver. (see insert) Too much time alone in the woods you think? Driving into the South Branch Pond area I spotted the trail sign that led 3/4 of a mile into South Branch Falls. This was an easy hike and I was rewarded with some nice cascades and a sighting of a mink that came out of the woods, swam into the stream and stopped and sat on a rock in the stream about fifty feet in front of me while I was sitting down and munching on some trail mix. Of course I left my zoom lens resting on the stream bed ledges about thirty yards behind me. The mink tired of posing and disappeared before I could get up and back with my camera. It was a good encounter nonetheless and a reminder to myself to always have the camera close and ready! You never know you might even see a moose or a bear.

After leaving South Branch Falls I continued on into South Branch Pond Campground. What a pretty pond and setting! I could see it was a favorite place of many as there were more people camping than I had seen previously, mostly in the lean-to shelters that were situated right next to the very scenic shore.

Besides the 12 lean-to shelters there are 21 tent sites and an 8 person bunkhouse at South Branch Pond. There are numerous trails to go exploring on from this campground and after checking out the area and The Baxter State Park Map a bit I decided I would be coming back to do just that! To be continued….!

Next time Part Two: Howe Brook Trail and “Mystery under the Apple Tree”!

This entry was posted on Monday, May 17th, 2010 at 6:09 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Yes I have it. Spring fever! I am thankful for one of the easiest winters and shortest mud seasons we have had in Maine in a while. Even with a very moderate winter the signs of spring are surely welcomed. Spring in Maine is certainly something to celebrate.

Once the snow is off the ground it seems I am already two weeks behind with the outdoor “to do” list. I will be getting things in order for a camping/photo trip before long. In the mean

time I will be getting one of my camo blinds setup in a patch of woods nearby to hopefully capture some “woods shots” of turkey and whatever else that might come by.

It was May last year when I could not resist the calling any longer. I had to get on the back roads and out into the woods, poke around and explore with my camera. So I headed north to a familiar area up around The Forks. One of the things I had in mind to photograph was a ruffed grouse (partridge) drumming on his drumming log. This would take considerable planning as a male grouse is on his drumming log by 4:30am doing his best drumming (wing beating) sound to defend his territory and impress in a female to mate. I am sure you have heard that put…put…put… sound starting slowly and then very fast and finally tapering off. It sounds like an old motor trying to start. This seasonal ritualistic drumming begins in March, peaks in April and ends in May.

To be successful in photographing this unique ritual I would need to locate from a distance a male grouse drumming on his log without disturbing him off his log, come back later in the afternoon after he is off his log and then set up a blind within camera range and be in it before daylight the following mourning with an external flash set and ready to go. If a grouse gets disturbed too much he will abandon his main platform and move to one of his secondary logs which he has previously chosen as backups.

Things did not go as planned as I could not seem to get close enough to locate the grouse on his log. I definitely heard several drumming but the nearly constant breeze was seriously affecting my hearing aids

which consequently hindered me from telling which direction the drumming grouse was coming from. I never did get close enough to get within eyesight of any of the grouse I tried to track down. I had no luck trying to locate one of their logs either, which would of been covered with droppings if it was being used. I may have to bring a second set of ears next time I try to locate a grouse’s drumming log! Between my less then perfect eyesight and my bad hearing and my …….., well you over 50 folk know what I have run head on into at this stage of life. The senses ain’t what they used to be!

The unhurried time spent in the woods still produced some great sightings. Although not ruffed grouse I did see another game bird that is familiar to the Maine woods in the Forks area and that is Woodcock (also called timberdoodle). As I was creeping along in my pickup on a logging road I looked up ahead of me and I instantly recognized the quirky bobbing strut of a timberdoodle that was slowly making his way across the gravel road. I pulled over, got out of the truck, grabbed my 100-400mm lens attached to the 40D Canon body on a Bushhawk shoulder mount and got off a few good shots as the Woodcock was crossing the gravel road. Then I went over and laid down in the ditch hoping to intercept the woodcock if it kept coming in my general direction. As providence would have it, it did and I got another couple of good frames off  as it made its way into the weeds and grass in the ditch a few short yards in front of me.

The few days I spent up in the woods in The Forks area meandering and poking around the back roads and some ponds as well resulted in many other sightings of wildlife and plant life. All of creation seemed to be lifting it’s praise to God for the new life and beauty of springtime. Flowers were popping up everywhere. Woodchucks were outside their borrows taking advantage of the most nutritious spring greens available.The moose were shedding their shaggy winter coats.

The first put-in of the year with my canoe on a remote pond brought sightings of a newly arrived pair of common goldeneye ducks. On another pond I witnessed a few beaver that were exploring after ice out and loons that hopefully would nest and raise new chicks. I even caught sight and managed to get a fairly decent picture of a black bear feeding on new shoots of green grass and plants on the edge of a cutting.

Amongst all the sights of plant and wildlife was the backdrop of the soft pastel colored newly unfurling deciduous spring leaves. When the new  greenish/yellowish leaves of the aspen, red maple, and many other hardwoods trees are illuminated by the early and late golden sunlight of the day it is truly a pleasure to the eye. Ahh….springtime in Maine!

The demanding inner response to all that I was experiencing those few spring days in the woods was thanksgiving and praise. I was thankful that I was alive and

in the care of the one who had given me life and was sustaining life in all the natural world around me. Even after being recently diagnosed with cancer I was thankful that I was able to experience those few days the particular way I did. I was thankful that the Lord had provided the means that made it possible. I do not know about you but I can not gaze upon nature for long before I am struck by the awesome power and wisdom of God.

Whether it be a tiny trout lily, moose or majestic landscape all bring a response of praise to the one who created it all.

I hope you can get outside and enjoy springtime in Maine or wherever you are. You do not have to go far nor spend much money to do it. A walk in the back yard, a hike on a nearby nature trail, a boat or canoe ride or a ride in your car on a back road is all that you need to see and experience more than enough to be thankful for. It is best when we spend time in nature that we go at

natures pace. Unhurried with attentive eyes and ears to all that is around you. Leave your cares behind and enjoy the moments and build some memories. I did and these images are but some of what I experienced those few spring days in the woods of northern Maine.      God Bless,

Thayden

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 at 12:18 am and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Gobble…gobble…gobble..! The distant but unmistakable sound of a male turkey brought me to my senses in a instant. I had been patiently sitting in my blind since 6:30AM and now at 11:30AM I finally heard my first gobble. It was one week before opening day of turkey season in Maine and Eastern Turkey was on my list of wild game to capture with my camera and hopefully Lord willing with my single shot 12 gauge come opening day. Getting a good image though was my first priority.

I had my Lucky Blind set up on the edge and near the bottom of the “back field” as the family calls it, where I had seen turkeys previously. Everything was set up nicely and comfortable. I was prepared to stake it out as long as it took in order to photograph a decent gobbler. My camera was set up on a tripod and I could see in five different directions through the see through camo mesh windows. I could see up, down and across the field all from the comfort of my chair and

concealment of my blind. I had plenty of reading material handy as well which consisting among other material, my cameras owners manual which I find is a great time to go over many of the controls of my digital camera and refamiliarize myself with them while waiting for something to appear.

The first tom who alerted me to my senses finally appeared in the upper corner of the field and with the help of a couple of hen yelps with my push call, came down part way and then disappeared into the woods. He was the first of about six or seven male turkey’s I witnessed and got a few photographs of the week prior to the first legal hunting day. A real nice tom came out near the bottom of the field who had, near as I could tell had a ten inch beard at least. I got a pretty decent photo of him and I felt pretty blessed to have done so. All in all the thirty hours or so I had sat in my blind had proven fairly productive. I had seen at least one turkey each time I was in my blind. Not all produced great photos. Some were far away and some were in low light but that is how it goes in photographing wildlife.

Now it was opening day and although I still had my camera ready on tripod I also had my H and R single shot 12 gauge ready as well. It did not take long for the gobble…gobble…gobble to break the cool 37 degree still air. I am hard of hearing and it sounded like the tom was quite a ways off so I gave a return call on my push caller and got a reply. Still sounded like a ways off so I waited about six or seven minutes and tried the hen yelp again. This time when the tom responded I could tell he was closing the gap so I sat still and waited. I had a drake decoy set out about six yards in front of my blind in hopes that if a tom appeared the decoy would draw him in or at least get his eye off any movement coming from the blind.

Shortly after 7:20AM they appeared! Four of them. A good sized tom leading the charge and three drakes. This was getting exciting. The tom was looking for that hen he had heard and gobbled loudly from the top of the field where they came into view. I was fully expecting to see something from the lower part of the field

which is where most of my other sightings came from, although that golden morning light was catching my eye from the top of field. Because of the location of the previous sightings I had set up my camera on tripod poking out the window facing the downward side. As carefully as I could I rearranged the camera so it was poking out the camo mesh facing the encroaching turkeys from above.

My heart was beating a little faster by this time anticipating, especially the boss tom to get into shooting range. Meantime I still kept firing away with my camera. Then they seemed to stop and started to strut towards the woods so I gave a soft purr… putt on my call and that did the trick. Old tom let out a gobble and he and the young boys came right down the field. Tom was putting on a display for the hen he thought he heard. I got one more camera shot in and decided that at nineteen paces that was close enough. I got out from behind the camera and reached back for the shot gun, eased it out through the camo mesh window,  steadily got the bead on his head and BANG! It proved to be a good shot as he went instantly down.

Startled by the sudden blast the three drakes half hopped and half flew a few yards, came down and stood there wondering  what had just happened. They walked nervously around for a few minutes waiting for the leader to show them the way but little did they know old tom was as good as in he kettle so they eventually wandered off but not before I got a few more pictures of them.

It was a beautiful spring morning that could not of worked out much better. I got some great images of eastern turkey in great light, experienced the great outdoors, and came home with an eighteen pound turkey (which I must say is tasting pretty good). As I stood over the turkey I had just harvested, I took a minute to take it all in, gave thanks and remembered again of how blessed I am to live in such a beautiful place as this State of Maine. Upon arriving home after tagging and weighing the turkey I dressed it out, put some small chunks into the cast iron skillet, boiled up some dandelion greens freshly picked off the back lawn and gave thanks again as I sat down to enjoy the bounty and blessing that the Lord had provided.

The reintroduction of the eastern wild turkey into Maine has been a success story that has turned out better than anybody ever expected. Turkeys are seen now even in some of the most northern parts of the state and

certainly looks like they are here to stay. Whether you just like to watch them, photograph them, or hunt them they are numerous enough now for all to enjoy. You never know what your going to see here in Maine when you get out and poke around. So what ya waiting for? MAINE is a STATE of MIND!

Get out and enjoy it!

Thayden C. Farrington

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 at 1:58 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.