The snake plot, can't find a snake up there anymore. Reclaiming the carbon seems to have it's advantages. Inputs are next to nothing other than seeds. Clovers are growing where they seem to be suited. Germination is helped by some shade and retained moisture. I put the beans out for a summer snack and don't expect them to last long. G
I had thought that the corner sunk into the ground but the lower 2 1/2 logs just rotted out with the foundation stone kicked out from under. The barn is levitating slowly between rains. I added another pad after a 1" rain yesterday, I'm close enough for now. I had a river floodplain through my work area. It's all about hydraulics around here. G
Went up today to sprinkle out some more seeds and pet a snake. I saw him right off, can you? How about now? No pets, he would have lit me up faster than a blink of the eye. This guy has been with me for 4 years now, it may be a bit premature but I'm calling him Target 8, he looks tasty, maybe 120". G
A nice little rain popped on top of us, me and the dogs were standing in the barn when I turned to find a big ass snake with stripes heading my way 2' before me. Not sure why I'm so jumpy these days. These are constrictors and this is a substantial snake. Now I've got some figuring to do. G
I loved Marlin Perkins, I was knee high to a grasshopper when he wrestled that anaconda. I went back up this evening, I wanted to see another rattlesnake match. Wheat and brassica look good, I probably didn't need to add more seed yesterday. The snakes are protecting some beans. So, what are the chances that the same snake would be in the same spot that he was in yesterday, good. No sooner than I took this picture I saw another snake moving his way under the log. He started moving around, tasting the air. I have never seen a timber tasting the air before. He went under the log to the left, came back out, and went under to the right. From the backside of the log, I could see his sweetheart that he was tending coiled up under the log. He came back out and retook his position letting out a big ole yawn. G
George I don’t care much for poisonous snakes but you really should offer those pics to certain magazines out there. Those are really amazing. Could even garnish some money if you care. And it would help pay for your therapy!!! Plantings looking good btw. Saw this local pic the other day and although Coppers , I still thought of you. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks Doug, gravid females congregate at rookeries. I bought my fancy camera with my pandemic relief and I sure do like having it. I store each file in jpeg and raw, huge files. I am always threatening to do something with them. And, Mother Nature is my therapy which also happens to be part of my problem. G
Bill Knott head forester for my region out of Moorehead had the UK interns this week and wanted to bring them on to my property for some hands-on experience. Here Josh, below, works the prism, Bill tallies, and Joe and Shelby measure DBH and determine the number of logs within the tally radius. 25 tally points total for 12 hours of hiking over two days It's a rare landowner that serves as the tour guide, but I would have been an idiot to have not taken the chance to learn all I could from Bill. We toured the snake plot but it was too hot out for snakes, the young lady was the most disappointed in not seeing one. We were in a gnarly thicket on a steep slope, I walked past it, and Bill drew my attention back to it, my remnant american chestnut forest. I learned more about mapleleaf viburnum, blueberry, and seviceberry, which I have a lot of waiting for more sun, black cohosh a seng associate, we found more persimmons than I was aware of. I have an average tally of 3,000 board feet per acre and up in my mature chestnut oaks, more like 9-10,000 board feet. I learned a lot and it was well worth my time. Motion triggered my snake plot camera Sunday morning, zooming in I believe that the camera caught another timber wrestling match just 10 o'clock of center. My 8 is in the snake plot a lot and also, under one of my bow stands nearby. The time on the snake plot camera wasn't adjusted for day light savings. A better look at the goofy rack. G
Good stuff as always George. Pretty cool to have interns out on your property and for you to tag along. I've done that 3 times with senior students from the UGA Warnell School of Forestry, allowing them and their professor to use my farm as part of their field studies. Always enjoyed the interaction with them.
We have a similar goofy racked buck running around, I'm curious what he could turn into, if the neighbors leave him alone. Last year This year
I think perhaps yours and mine are 3 1/2 years old deer, they will be bigger, goofy deer in the future that don't net 100". But I would eat either of them. G
Whole lot of nope ropes in these pics… really great pictures but you can keep the snakes there. I run across a king snake from time to time on my place but glad I don’t have to look out for the rattlers. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks TC, are you enrolled into any government programs? I've about sprinkled everything that I need to up in the snake plot. I know deer browse poke sallet but spicebush is a new one on me. 980 pounds off to the land fill. I was celebrating all of the garbage moved off of my property when I remembered that I still have one more shed full, crap. G
Hey G, go back and check that shrub again. I see Spicebush in the background, but I think the browsed shrub is Strawberry Bush (Euonymus americanus), which is a highly preferred browse. Note the alternate leaves on the spicebush and the opposite leaves on the SB. I dug a bunch of those up from the edge of my yard this spring and transplanted to the farm with cages until the roots get settled in. PS - This shrub has been known to be browsed out of existence in areas with very high deer populations.
Thanks, Steve, for responding to my cry out for help, I subconsciously knew I was wrong. I got euonymus americanus right on the final exam back in 82. G
