As close to the dream property as I am going to get, at least for now

[CTM1]

Chainsaw 10-26-2015 06:59 PM
That was quite the adventure. I have a six mile drive a few times a season and it is always "fUN". One gets to appreciate those that pass cautiously as compared to those that recklessly pass and cut in short. Those that do that probably have never had the thrill of viewing the world from an orange, green or blue machine; POOR SOULS!

 

[wbpdeer]

Nothing beats the beauty of Fall.
If only I could work a camera and really capture what the eye is actually seeing.

God's creations are amazing. These photos are super! Thank for posting so we can enjoy them. I love your tractor stories - we each have tractor stories.

 

[lakngolf]

Glad to see you continuing the thread. I'm in

 

[CTM1]

Thanks guys.
Still cannot believe how quickly a year has come and gone.
Spent a few hours running the disc at one of my neighbors properties. I sprayed it for them a few weeks ago and given
the amount of rain we have had it made it really easy. Their dirt and rocks turned like butter.

 

[CTM1]

CTM1 10-27-2015 09:42 PM
So there are actually bucks in this valley afterall
I had six trail cams out, three old Wildviews that eat 4 C cells in a week and are pretty much worthless, and three Cuddeback's.

In the last week two of the old Wildviews have just flat out quit, and I missed out on over a weeks worth of pictures from the Cuddebacks because I failed to realize that the new SD cards needed to be formatted. I had not bought a new SD card since 09 so I flat out forgot about the need to format.

The mock scrape I made has been getting hit but I have zero pictures
as the camera on it quit.

 

[CTM1]

CTM1 10-27-2015 09:56 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by broom_jm (Post 804716)
Nicely done!

Only someone who doesn't get the term "seat time" would ask why you didn't pay to have your tractor hauled home. Are you going to build an equipment shed on the property so you can secure stuff on-site, in the future?

The old Kubota seat and springs leave a lot to be desired. You definately know it when you hit a bump in the road.

Trying to find a trailer at the right price so I do not have to leave the tractor over at the property for such an extended period of time. As much as I would like to have an equipment shed for it while it is there, my tax bill for the property is big enough as it is.

 

[CTM1]

johnl48 10-27-2015 09:59 PM
Looks like his belly is full of turnips

 

[CTM1]

I wonder if this is the one who dropped a pile back in Sept.

Now as far as the plots go, previous pics clearly show that the deer are into the rye, but I see no evidence that they have touched the brassicas. I see tracks in and around it but not a clipped leaf to be found.
When I first did brassicas at the house they were in it as soon as it sprouted. I guess the deer in this valley just have not figured it out yet.

 

[CTM1]

flyfixer 10-28-2015 09:42 PM
Thanks for the tractor ride along. Beautiful landscape you have, but I prefer my southern, mostly snow free location I catch a lot of grief over my orange tractor also! One of my hunting buddies owns a Deere dealership (if he was not 500 miles away from my land i would have a green tractor)

 

[CTM1]

CTM1 11-08-2015 09:00 PM
Some more trail cam pics

I would be pleased to make this one into backstraps

The new Cuddeback has been giving me blury pics at night

 

[CTM1]

johnl48 11-08-2015 09:02 PM
Me too, i would just like to get out

 

[CTM1]

CTM1 11-08-2015 09:14 PM
All of the hard work was rewared this afternoon, not with a kill, but simply because I had my first enounter with a buck in my food plot. It was this 3 pointer below. To actually see a buck eating the brassica that I worked so hard to plant made my day. He came in from field one and came over into field two and proceeded to chomp on some brasssicas. He did not stay long as something down below the field caught his attention and off he went to investigate. He was the only deer of the day but he was enough.

 

[CTM1]

CTM1 11-08-2015 09:27 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnl48 (Post 807210)
Me too, i would just like to get out

John, you just have to make the time or take the time

 

[CTM1]

Elkaddict 11-08-2015 09:34 PM
CTM, I love seeing other Catskills wildlife. It's clear you're dealing with the same genetics/pressure that I am. My tubers are being experimented with--but the tops are being creamed (5 acres worth). It frankly shows more usage than the corn/beans. I've found enough bear scat in the brassicas to believe they too are enjoying them. Thanks for sharing!

 

[CTM1]

johnl48 11-08-2015 09:37 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CTM1 (Post 807217)
John, you just have to make the time or take the time

I'll be up next weekend for the week. That daytime buck looks like its on a nice trail, get a stand up

 

[CTM1]

Strick9 11-08-2015 11:14 PM
You have a strong chin there buddy. Just wanted to give you a big internet high five and add a couple of things.

1. Your rock findings may very well be hides used during the earlier war years. If you get bored take a metal detector up there, likely you find all sorts of musket balls.

2. I run the same Kubota on occasion. Its a great tractor for lighter work. Please check your hydraulic lines. They consist of rubber over woven steel fibers. If you see severe cracking in the rubber of the lines and exposing the metal threads go ahead and replace them. They will bust at the most inopportune of times and dump hydraulic fluid all over your plots not to mention that Hydraulic fluid isn't fun or cheap to replace.. Just a hard learned lesson that I am passing on.

Best of luck.

 

[CTM1]

CTM1 12-22-2015 07:46 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Strick9 (Post 807247)
You have a strong chin there buddy. Just wanted to give you a big internet high five and add a couple of things.

1. Your rock findings may very well be hides used during the earlier war years. If you get bored take a metal detector up there, likely you find all sorts of musket balls.

2. I run the same Kubota on occasion. Its a great tractor for lighter work. Please check your hydraulic lines. They consist of rubber over woven steel fibers. If you see severe cracking in the rubber of the lines and exposing the metal threads go ahead and replace them. They will bust at the most inopportune of times and dump hydraulic fluid all over your plots not to mention that Hydraulic fluid isn't fun or cheap to replace.. Just a hard learned lesson that I am passing on.

Best of luck.

CTM1 12-22-2015 07:46 PM
I had a long talk with the son of family I purchased the property from. He is an older man and an abosolute pleasure to speak with. he conveyed that he has been coming to the property since he was very young. He said that over the years the entire family has wondered what these stone structures were but they never came up with a definitive answer. I like the idea of a holding area for animals to keep them out of the spring area. I got a metal detector from my grandfather when he passed, so perhaps I will take that up there next summer and poke around a bit.

 

[CTM1]

CTM1 12-22-2015 08:18 PM
I thought I would share some pics. Despite putting in some serious seat time in the stands, the property did not provide me with an oppurtunity to harvest a nice buck.

The club/neighbors up the valley had several deer hanging, and that made me pretty nervous as they were showing that they only had 105 acres. Based on my area the taking of seven deer off one piece is a a lot. After doing some additional research I found out the corp that owns the 105A is part of a family that owns a total of 398 contiguous acres. After I found this out I felt a little better about the valley.

When I passed by their camp I saw this hanging and was positive they had harvested the big 7 that was runing around. The kind of crab claw on the left side is what stood out once I zoomed in the picture.
You may not be able to see it in the pic.

Here he is on the hoof in the picture below. I swung by my taxidermist the other day to visit and what they say about the world being small place is true. As I conveyed the story of the demise of the big 7 I mentioned the name of the family and he pointed up into the ceiling rafters. He said see the third set of antlers back, that is the big seven. He said it almost had a twenty inch spread. He then said see the second set, that also came from the same family off the same property, it was a pretty nice 8pt. My taxidermist said the one son that got the 7 brings in a big one every year from the property. Nice to know at least one big one is running around the valley every

Well he certainly does not look like a twenty incher in the picture below but I thought they were.

Well what I thought was the same deer when I saw the rack in the taxidermist shop turned out not to be the same deer. As Kubota and others had said in the original thread on that other site they were completely different bucks.
My Bad but perhaps the smaller 7 above made it thru and it now a bigger buck.

 

[CTM1]

CTM1 12-22-2015 09:44 PM
The highlight of the season for me was taking my sister's boy on his first hunting trip. I drove 3-1/2 hours down to Long Island to pick him up and then turned around for another 3-1/2 hour trip home. Hopefully he will remember his favorite Uncle and take me hunting when I am old.
5am kid time to wake

Although he was excited he was camera shy.

He got a kick out of this one and called himself "Ghost Boy"

I elected for a little ground blind in the am as I did not want him climbing up into a two man ladder stand in the dark.

He got to see a small doe during the am sit. It started to rain a little heavier as the morning progressed and he was getting cold so we called it a morning. I realized later that I had forgotten to put a coat on the kid. I'm a bad Uncle!

We set up in ladder stand for the afternoon hunt and I strapped him in. I went over all of the safety rules, and told him while on stand not to figet, to be very quiet, and most of all not to make any sudden movements. Well after a couple of hours we had two does come out. I was not going to harvest any does off this property, but given I had been seeing as many as thirteen at a time I figured one would be ok. Besides I figured it would really make a good first time hunting experience for him if we took one.

So I quietly asked him if he wanted me to take one, and he said yes. As I was scoping the deer I told him to cover his ears. Well he started moving around, and then said very loudly "wait". Well the deer took off and as I turned to look at him his little white hands were over his ears. Apparently he thought he needed to take his gloves off to cover his ears. Nothing like waving two white hands around to let the deer know exactly where you are. He was very dissapointed in himself, but I told him it was probably the best lesson he could have learned.
He can't wait to tag along again. NYS requires a young hunter to be twelve for bow. When I asked him what he wanted for Christmas he said to be twelve. When I asked why, he responded by saying so I can go hunting silly.

If can keep his Mom from brain washing him into thinking hunting is bad he might become one. When she asked him why does he want to hunt, he responded to keep the population in check, that he likes venison, knows where it comes from and how it is prepared, and to have fun with Uncle Craig and the guys. He then turned to her and said "Mom do you know where the steak you like comes from". That shut her down quick.

A little hunter in the making!

 

[CTM1]

Native Hunter 12-22-2015 10:40 PM
Love to see family pics like that, and deer or no deer that is memory building at its finest. I love the "Ghost Boy" picture!