A Walk Through Sam's Place

[catscratch]

I've seen a lot of trees get mowed a few times (don't ask) or survive harsh conditions for a while. Sometimes,once they get their feet under them they take off like crazy. Hopefully they sunrise you soon.

 

[OkieKubota]

One thing about being an absentee landowner/habitat manager is that nothing ever goes according to plan. I typically have a list of things that I want to get accomplished, and a list of back up things to do. It is not uncommon that something is not working correctly, and requires a change of plan to keep from wasting an entire day. Today when I arrived my tractor tire was flat. Thankfully, it was the front tire. I keep a small compressor just for such occasions. A few minutes later, I was up an running.
View attachment 1825

Where are the rest of your lug nuts?

 

[Doctorbrady]

Funny you ask. I just noted that the lugs and bolts were missing when I went to air up the tire. Gotta make a stop at the Kubota dealership this week.

 

[deer patch]

I've been thinking about getting an air compressor for my farm, what brand is yours and is it very load while running?

 

[Doctorbrady]

I've been thinking about getting an air compressor for my farm, what brand is yours and is it very load while running?

Cheap Campbell Hausefeld for the barn. Just use it to air 4 Wheeler tires or front tractor tires, or blowing out dust

 

[catscratch]

Here's a pic of my jujube. It was planted this spring and has grown a lot more than I expected (first experience with one, but I had read they were slow growing). Everything above my finger is this summer's growth.

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[Doctorbrady]

This year has been a great year for my jujubes. Last year they sprung up a bit after years of really tough conditions. This year they have thrived.

 

[Doctorbrady]

With the recent moisture some wildflowers have come back to life. Here is a butterfly weed which is a milkweed.

 

[Doctorbrady]

I was able to check on a few of my persimmon grafts. I am blessed with hundreds of rootstock ready to be grafted scattered all across the property. Here is a Lena.

 

[catscratch]

I hope this yr isn't a fluke and it grows this well every yr.
I did find a little sucker coming up from root. I'm hopeful that I can start transplanting them soon.

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[Doctorbrady]

Here's a nice Celebrity persimmon grafted last season.

 

[Doctorbrady]

Here is a Dollywood, the fasting growing variety I have grafted. I have grafted many "wild" persimmons as well as "improved" varieties, and the named varieties generally put on much bigger leaves and more aggressive growth.

 

[Doctorbrady]

Another of this year's grafts. Growth has been much slower than the past 2 years grafting. I suspect this is due to the dry Spring weather.

 

[Doctorbrady]

This young graft was attacked by tent caterpillars. Look at the flush of new growth courtesy of recent rains.

 

[Doctorbrady]

Here's a nice chestnut of some variety, grown from seed by our own Brushpile. Lumite around these seedlings have allowed them to grown vigorously even in dry conditions.

 

[Doctorbrady]

Not every part of Sam's Place is as I would have it. This is an area that was once planted in food plots, but has become overgrown with lespedeza sericea. This is far from an ideal habitat plant, though it does still over some cover for both quail and deer. This patch is about 6' high. I also have areas of Johnson grass that are similarly thick and difficult for deer sized game to move through. What I like to do in these areas is to mow wide paths in mid to late Summer. These will grow back up to some degree prior to season, in effect camouflaging the fact that they are a mowed trail while at the same time providing a path of lesser resistance to traveling game. I like these paths to be at least 8-10' wide when surrounded by very tall, dense grasses. Narrower paths seem to make game uneasy, and provide easy ambush spots for predators. Conversely, I do similar mowings in shorter, brushy areas, like blackberries, as well as wooded areas. I prefer that these paths remain narrower. These types of paths consistently provide shot opportunities as deer travel them, but the secret is getting them in early enough in the season to allow some regrowth to occur. Areas mowed low and not allowed to regrow some are much less attractive to wary deer in my experience. The paths can also be used as screening cover for the hunter to move across an otherwise open area.

 

[Brushpile]

Have Japanese Beetles made it to your area?

Funny you mentioned paths, as I made paths today myself. I was also up on public land by Stockton scouting, but couldn't find a place where I could fit an arrow through the brush.

 

[Doctorbrady]

I saw 2 Japanese beetles there last season. This season they made their real debut. There to stay now, I suspect. I always watch my fruit trees at home to know when to start spraying since my farm trees only get a couple if spraying a per season.

 

[Doctorbrady]

Brush, just a little further trip would get you to Schell-Osage which is an awesome bow only management area. I suspect it will get a lot more traffic this season now that crossbows are legal for everyone during archery.
I've done some tracking up there. They put in food plots and everything!

 

[Brushpile]

I saw 2 Japanese beetles there last season. This season they made their real debut. There to stay now, I suspect. I always watch my fruit trees at home to know when to start spraying since my farm trees only get a couple if spraying a per season.

Japanese Beetles totally defoliated almost all of my apples, which added new growth after rain, and now the beetles are working on the new growth. This year has been the worst and the Japanese Beetles have still not gone away!