Dream ... what's coming for you 5-10 years from now?

[Baker]

Dreams. My how I love to dream. At 62 yrs old and retired for many years my dreams are delicious and exciting.

My son with his family and most important my 3 yr old grandson are moving to my farm. I cannot tell you how excited I am to have them join me and my wife for the lifestyle we have carved out here. I can't wait to see my grandson padding around the farm barefoot and dirty. 5-10 yrs....teaching him and sharing with him the glories of our outdoor paradise. Chasing his first deer or squirrel or rabbit, or turkey or fish,.. I don't really care which or what. I am digging today and thrilled about tomorrow.

For most of my life I have managed the farm for me as I wanted. My son and I are exploring expanded interests including organic farming, including cattle, chickens....frankly whatever he wants to explore. 5-10 yrs should be very exciting with delightful changes. A creative lifestyle. I'm all in.

I have a daughter/sil in Boulder. She has been awarded teacher of the century twice for the state of Colorado plus numerous other teaching and charity awards. . They may be moving back to the farm within 5-10 yrs, probably sooner. She is amazing. Pilates teacher, yoga teacher, best school teacher in the world and a beautiful human being. We will explore expanding the family farm business with her wisdom.Perhaps even build a school under her guidance. I am excited and can't wait to see what direction it takes.

As for the farm itself. I have been managing it for over 40 years. It is a wildlife paradise , very mature, and in immaculate shape. Now is the time to share the rewards and allow the next generation to take it where they want. Our vision will be sustainable, healthy, quality lifestyle and joyous.

I have been managing my ranch for over 20 years. Our results have exceeded even my lofty expectations. There simply isn't much else that can be done to improve it other than the usual annual fine tuning. Unfortunately coal mining will be moving in to one side of the ranch in the next few years and when the price of oil goes up just a tad I expect significant exploration to happen. That will ruin the pristine remote granduer that is so special . Nonetheless when I think out 5-10 yrs, think of my grandson entering the fray down there and consider how our program continues to mature it get quite jazzy. If I were to take a wild guess I think we may have over a hundred 1-2 yr old bucks this year. Imagine having that recruitment power all turning 7-10 yrs old which in spite of what many think is THE magic age for whitetails.

Dream on!

 

[Fish]

Guess if i drove up to my property in 5 years, i would be excited to see the road screening of shrubs, pin oaks, and cedars filled in and growing strong. That alone will be a major bonus for the Little Blue property. The food plots would be lined with chestnuts, apples, persimmons, and sawtooths....... all ready to drop mast real soon.
100 other habitat things of interest, but those are my first and biggest goals.

 

[Booner21]

5 years out and these two on the trigger is my dream. Every second of habitat work will have been worth it.

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[Osceola]

Good topic, Bull. I planted about 500 white oaks and white oak hybrids in 2009. The hybrids were supposed to produce acorns in 5-8 years, but nothing yet. I dream of the day all that work comes to fruition with a bumper crop of "candy corn" that brings every deer in the county to my little property. 5-10 years should also really put the growth on the thousands of pines and spruces my wife and I have planted through the years. Yes, it will be fun to finally sit back and see those trees providing food and shelter to my woodland friends.

 

[OkieKubota]

Good topic, Bull. I planted about 500 white oaks and white oak hybrids in 2009. The hybrids were supposed to produce acorns in 5-8 years, but nothing yet. I dream of the day all that work comes to fruition with a bumper crop of "candy corn" that brings every deer in the county to my little property. 5-10 years should also really put the growth on the thousands of pines and spruces my wife and I have planted through the years. Yes, it will be fun to finally sit back and see those trees providing food and shelter to my woodland friends.

Welcome aboard Osceola! Was hoping you would join our family here...

 

[Osceola]

Welcome aboard Osceola! Was hoping you would join our family here...

Thanks, Okie. I was spending my time at a Michigan focused forum, but it lacks the quality discourse I was used to on the QDMA site. Found you guys to see how things are going here.

 

[The Famous Grouse]

Really an interesting post and a reminder of how time flies!

In 5 years, I hope:

- To have all my plots cleared of rock and in full production. I've got about 3/4 of the last large 5 acre plot to go.
- For both my sons to be interested and the oldest to be getting ready for his first season on the stand.
- To have cleaned up the competing softwoods around all the oak trees on both my high ridges. This should release about 300 oak trees from competition and really accelerate their growth.
- To have at least 25 apple and crabapple trees planted.
- And now the biggie. I want my cabin to be done-done. As in all finished, lock, stock, and barrel.
- I'd just like to SEE more bucks. I don't have specific deer hunting aspirations, but I want to see more bucks overall and with that I'm sure opportunities will come.
- I want to take one deer with a bow. I'm late to the party on this one, having got my first bow at the age of 45 just this past year. But I think it's doable, currently I can honestly say that I COULD hit a bull in the @ss with a handful of arrows. At least half the time.

Grouse

 

[Paradise725]

No property line stands for us either as I really don't like fence sitting or fence sitters. I know in AG country this may be the only place there is a place to put stands as everything else is crops but in our neck of the woods and it being all big timber I just don't understand the reasoning of trying to get as close as you can to your neighbors to kill a deer. Makes for awkward tracking when you are constantly tracking deer you shot over on the neighbors place...

On our plots over on Home 10 we shoot does all the time and field dress them within 50 yards of the plot and have deer back in the plot while we are dressing deer out in plain view...

The way our farm lays out, the deer come off our ridges to feed on the neighbors in the evenings and then return to bed in the mornings. My property is the sanctuary. Every deer I've shot or spooked near the property line always runs further into our property, even though it's uphill. In this case, I don't feel guilty sitting near the property line. If I swapped properties with my neighbors, then I doubt I would hunt the property lines.
There's generally a difference between fence sitters in that some face their own property while others face their neighbors. I can personally handle those who face their own property much better than those who face their neighbors.


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[Bullwinkle]

I only sit near the property lines to shoot does with neighbors not doing QDM. Best does to shoot are the ones leaving your property.

May as well put all the bad pressure in one area and train the deer to stay on mine. Never shoot a doe in the core of our land is a rule that works. Takes about 3-4 years to see the real benefit

 

[Osceola]

I like this thread and don't want to see it drop off, so I'll tell you about another dream for my property. Warning: this may get a little sappy.

Before I owned my ground, I used to drive by it and look out at the pretty little lake on the property and dream of someday owning it and putting a cabin up on the bank overlooking the lake. In 2014 I was blessed to acquire the 40 acre parcel with the lake which is adjacent to 20 acres I already owned. My dream is to not only build a rustic cabin on the lake, which we plan to do this year, but to eventually build a permanent dwelling and live there in retirement. The cabin can then be a guest house for my visiting children and grandchildren. I want to create the kind of paradise my future grandchildren can't resist; hunting, fishing, swimming, shooting, trail riding, camp fires...

My children's current ages range from 14 to 20, so the next 5-10 years should see them leaving the nest, marrying and starting their own families. I want this ground to be the favorite gathering place for them and their future families.