As the Crow Flies Guide Service

01/12/2024

Streaming now! 🍿

16/11/2024

Another Saturday on the hill in Solon blowing a gale. I took over puppy duty so Kevin could hunt down back. Around 7:10 I heard a shot while I was out with the dogs and a few minutes later Kevin was back to get Shrek to haul this sweet little 8 pt. 135 lbs. buck. The buck walked right in on him, what a gift on a hunt right from home. Grateful.

03/10/2024

Shout out to a guide, springer spaniel breeder, and dog handler I always looked up to. This is Joann Moody and one of her springer spaniels when we shared some time together one bird season. As an upland guide myself back in the day, stories of Joann inspired me and when I finally met her I was surprised at her diminutive stature and gentle demeanor, her reputation was large and preceded her after all. We shared many loves, like upland bird hunting, working dogs, and appaloosa horses. Cheers to Joann Moody for inspiring me and others, the great dogs she produced, and the thunder of grouse wings in front of a working dog! And cheers to the best time of the year! HAPPY HUNTING - and be safe out there!

26/09/2024

Some images of our WMD2 moose hunt with Dean's Den and guide Scott Allen. It was a beautiful reunion of guides and familiar stomping grounds that we visited like an old friend. On Monday morning at 6:15 Scott called this 53" 739 lb bull in as if on a string. Thank you Scott for humoring me and reminiscing and for a dream hunt! It was a pleasure being on the receiving end of your experience and professionalism as a guide.

13/09/2024

We're expecting! ✨🐾 I've been dreaming of a little black English Cocker Spaniel (ECS) for a very long time, since I watched Cricket (handled by Kelly) retrieve after my GSP Re*****on was on point and Kelly Hamilton Stoddard Cotiaux sent her springer to flush. Then I watched Barb & Cary Haupt's delightful ECSs work and I knew "someday" I would like to add an ECS to my family. Well, that day is nearing! Very soon that little black female will be entrusted to us as Eshod's She's Got Grit (Gritty). 🥰

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13/09/2024

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10/09/2024

When you go to the polls in November, this is something we can all get behind... VOTE YES ON 4.

08/09/2024

What a humbling honor bestowed on me last night while sharing an evening with my peers celebrating our hunting and fishing heritage at the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine banquet! Somehow a whole bunch of you kept this secret from me so it was an emotional moment when Tim Peabody read my name and nomination. There are so many to thank... my family for their love, support and encouragement to chase my dreams sometimes at their sacrifice - this is for you too 💖 Thank you IF&W for managing our fish and wildlife resources so we can all enjoy them, Bob and Andrea Howe who were the first lodgeowners to give me a chance to launch my guide service and the outfitters who followed by hiring me too and inspiring me to branch out into the sporting camp and outfitting business myself. Thank you clients, many who remain my friends long after entrusting me to take you into the woods or on the water. And thank you Cornelia "Flyrod" Crosby and Joann Moody, and other women like Avis Skolfield and Gladys Baker who inspired me. To the youth and novices getting started and yet to come, I hope I have helped you develop skills and build confidence to get out there on your own or inspired you to try. In my lifetime I have enjoyed watching barriers come down for women entering the hunting and fishing community and it has been a privilege to serve in various capacities the people and fish and wildlife resources of this place we love.These are just some of the thoughts I would have shared at the lectern last night when I was feeling kinda speechless! 🥰 Also, congratulations to Alexandra Conover Bennett who was also recognized and received the Flyrod Crosby Lifetime Acheivement Award last night! She is another formidable outdoors woman who has been a leader on the water and in the woods, building skills and inspiring others! 🛶

27/08/2024

Some work days are more inspiring than others. I had the privilege to spend today with Enock Glidden of Go Beyond The Fence as he guided us to see our community's trails through a different lens. Enock lives each day with the motto, "If you try, things happen". Whether it's challenging himself to "go beyond the fence" to climb Cathedral Ledge in New Hampshire and then El Capitan in Yosemite, evaluate hundreds of miles of trails in Maine, or through his consulting work to inspire others to challenge themselves, today we were reminded that the scenery is better when EVERYONE is a part of it. Our work begins as we "try to make things happen" and answer the question, "What can we do to get EVERYONE outdoors?"

21/08/2024

You know the phrase, "Tell me what you do without telling me what you do."? Well, part of what I do in my work is "beg for money", which means write for grants. I am thrilled Main Street Skowhegan was awarded a Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative grant for which I requested funding. It allowed our Skowhegan Outdoors program to offer four weeks of summer day camps, FREE to all participants: Mountain Biking, Hiking, Introduction to White Water Kayaking, and Intermediate White Water Kayaking. Read about our Introduction to White Water Kayaking camp in this article!

Six students, ranging from grades 8th to 12th, participated in an Introduction to Whitewater Kayaking Camp offered by the Main Street Skowhegan Organization. Thanks to the Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative, these students could participate in the experience at no cost to them. The Maine Outdoor Lear...

10/08/2024

What do you know about the North American Non-lead Partnership? Until today I knew nothing about it but curiosity motivated me to learn more. Thank you Ron Fournier at IF&W for scheduling this opportunity for hunter safety instructor continuing education training. It was fun to see familiar faces like Virginia P. Parker and meet other instructors at the SAM Outdoor Education Facility. My big "take away" was seeing the astonishing amount of lead fragmentation left behind after pe*******on. And THANK YOU Ron for preparing a sampling of moose, mule deer and bear sausage sliders for lunch!

02/08/2024

Skowhegan Outdoors hosting the Maine Outdoor Film Festival, beneath a stary sky, on the bank of the Kennebec, on this Penobscot land. How magical is this?

24/07/2024

17/07/2024

Walkabout, because I had to break out of the confines of four walls. Beneath a blue sky shaded by tall clouds, I sat with the whisper of the river, smell of pine, and a cool rock to rest. There my spirit was fed.

17/07/2024

Good morning friends! Look how fast these little phoebes have grown. They remind me, time passes much too quickly so remember that when you're working through the rough spots but embrace every second of the good stuff!

10/07/2024

Rivers for Change ambassadors Chris Morgan, a local Stand Up Paddle athlete, Jessica Sterling, and Stuart Hickey are working with Rivers for Change to paddle the length of the Kennebec. They started at Moosehead on July 5th and plan to finish July 12th when they reach the ocean at Popham. Today a group of us from Skowhegan Outdoors joined them on a section between Norridgewock and Skowhegan. It was a beautiful trip where my mind was often on the Wabanaki people who lived along and traveled this river that we now enjoy. Wabanaki homelands.