Travis Barrett's blog

It's that time of year again, so off we'll head this weekend.

Lee Kantar wishes he could give you good news, but the fact is, he simply can't. Maine's leading deer biologist saw the effect last season's harsh winter had on the state's deer population, helping to cut it by nearly 20 percent, and sees how bad this winter is shaping up to be.

Not all was lost last week to central Maine's miniature warming trend. Continuous efforts by area groomers $ for all things mechanical or otherwise $ have actually left the area with some pristine trail conditions. And just in time for school vacation week, too.

Ed Murdock is a fisherman first, an artist second.

Good news from the dead of winter: Maine's loon population is on the rise. According to a press release from Maine Audubon, after two years of declining numbers, the 2008 state loon count showed that loons are rebounding across Maine.

Even though we're deep in the dead of winter these days, ice can still be tricky $ as a couple of visitors found out last weekend.

My brother calls me up and tells me he's not sure he wants to fish with me again this weekend. "Why not?" I ask him.

I'm not one of the curmudgeons out there -- and you know who you are -- that doesn't like the snow. In fact, even though I don't ski and I don't own a snomobile, I'm all about the snow. Love it. Can't get enough of it. Think it's what makes winter, well, winter.

You've got to feel for John Lamoreau, who's far and away the most accomplished woodsman in his own Windsor household.

Who can stand to wait in all those lines this time of year, anyway?