WOW, more than a year since an update here. I guess it comes down to either dealing with you guys or trying to keep up with grandkids. The grandKIDs have been winning!!
The Bull Pen, Mandy Hollow and Cari's Corner are still progressing along. Soon I hope to get a few current pictures to compare with the exact picture spot back when this thread stareted on qdma forum. The most crucial aspect has been the joy the grandkids have in going to the "farm" to hang out and hunt. They try to keep Poppa young and he appreciates every minute of it.
We still have lots of trees, especially Sawtooth, throwing food to the ground. Jack and I grafted pear trees a couple years back and they are doing great
As you can see from the Pear tree pictures I spent a few hours mowing this week. Each year I let the food plots mature and go to seed. The turkeys love it and this year I am not buying the normal amount of seed. My plan is call "LowMow" to give the seed bed the opportunity to take off. I plan to throw a good bit of fertilizer in a few areas. I remember one of the first articles I read about foodplots said "if you can only afford seed or fertilizer, go with the fertilizer". When I read that in the 1990s I thought "we will always be able to afford $5 wheat and $8 13-13-13." Well now they are both 13+13.
My neighbor bought a brand new Spartan zero turn mower. He wanted to try it out so he took care of a food plot in no time.
One issue we will have this year is getting Robert into the shooting blinds. He recently had ACL and MCL surgery on his left knee. He is #4 in the picture below. This is halftime of one of their games. #17 he is throwing with is a 5 star QB headed to Clemson in January. In the first half of this game they had connected 7 times for 85 yards. About two minutes into the second half Robert was blocking for a fellow receiver and something in the crash got his left knee. Surgery at Andrews Sports Medicine and he will be fine.