Yes...and that may explain why I haven't seen them before! Kinda cool!
Egyptian wheat....mowing.....planned grazing
- Thread starter dgallow
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Yes...and that may explain why I haven't seen them before! Kinda cool!
catscratch
Well-Known Member
Not just kinda cool, Very cool! I didn't know they were around until one attacked my buddies bird feeder one night.
catscratch
Well-Known Member
What is it and where is it growing? I can't see the seed head very well, it's kind of blurry. It kind of looks like something I've seen down by the creek but not sure. Is it full grown because nothing eats it, or because it's in a recovery pasture?
Eastern gamma is what I would call a mid succession high seral plant. That meaning it may take the better part of a decade of high disturbance frequent impacts followed by complete recovery periods before a highly desirable plant shows in the landscape. Early succession plants pave the way for the good stuff. Patience is rewarded.
Flaming sumac (identified my 'wing leaves' on leaf vein between main leaves) would fit the bill of mid successional. Hopefully turns into patches which quail will use....a good part of the trees must be recycled before that happens.
5 is alright.....3 will make you itch.
There is that deer forb again.
I really think they eat on one side of the hinge while I cut the other. Don't remember seeing these tracks while cutting. Maybe our attention is focused on canopy while cutting and on ground while seeding? That would explain why I fell knee deep in a dillo hole!
Figured she's cast a lifetime of elm seed on this slope and her offspring are in no hurry to leave!
Hits on sessile leaf tick clover come a little later in spring. Not in great abundance so when hit you will notice!
People often ask if deer hit spring vetch. My reply is the same.....there are so many growing points on spring vetch that I doubt you will notice. I was running new string in a bottom and the vetch at my feet didn't look quite right.....yep deer hits.
A native legume hit....prolly butterfly pea.
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Flaming sumac (identified my 'wing leaves' on leaf vein between main leaves) would fit the bill of mid successional. Hopefully turns into patches which quail will use....a good part of the trees must be recycled before that happens.
5 is alright.....3 will make you itch.
There is that deer forb again.
I really think they eat on one side of the hinge while I cut the other. Don't remember seeing these tracks while cutting. Maybe our attention is focused on canopy while cutting and on ground while seeding? That would explain why I fell knee deep in a dillo hole!
Figured she's cast a lifetime of elm seed on this slope and her offspring are in no hurry to leave!
Hits on sessile leaf tick clover come a little later in spring. Not in great abundance so when hit you will notice!
People often ask if deer hit spring vetch. My reply is the same.....there are so many growing points on spring vetch that I doubt you will notice. I was running new string in a bottom and the vetch at my feet didn't look quite right.....yep deer hits.
A native legume hit....prolly butterfly pea.
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dogghr
Well-Known Member
The flying squirrels are a protected species. Moderately common in my area. And they like small areas such as chimneys. One got in mine and down into the fireplace one year and that was a trip to get it out. Asked a exterminator about them and he just said whatever you do don't let it get loose in the house. He had seen them tear up a place in short order. Chimney got a cap after that episode. Pretty cool to see them glide thru the air. Occasionally I will see one right at dusk when hunting. Looks like a bat at first.
catscratch
Well-Known Member
No wings on my sumac.
Lots of forbs and grasses coming up. I don't know nearly enough about them yet.
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Lots of forbs and grasses coming up. I don't know nearly enough about them yet.
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I had a grey squirrel get into the lab one weekend through an instrument duct....unreal what he did to blinds on the window.
We sealed the mortar cap on chimney last week and put an SS cap on the flue tile to keep water out. Ironic you mention that. We had a very small owl which preys on chimney sweeps come through damper one summer. Catch and release with a dip net.
Cat I will have to look at ur pics on a PC....one looks like common milkweed and the other either wing stem or basket flower.
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We sealed the mortar cap on chimney last week and put an SS cap on the flue tile to keep water out. Ironic you mention that. We had a very small owl which preys on chimney sweeps come through damper one summer. Catch and release with a dip net.
Cat I will have to look at ur pics on a PC....one looks like common milkweed and the other either wing stem or basket flower.
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Another legume in burn unit.
Deer hit hickory on your place? They are tearing it up in the burn unit! Stressed plant = stimulated soil microbes = energy rich and nutrient dense forage = increased animal preference due to enhanced palatability! Hard to find a hickory sprout they didn't hit!
A magazine quality plot pic (eg lush growth with little animal impact) of the native legume, trailing lespedeza.
Wonder why Mr Magazine won't publish this plot pic after cattle dunging and trampling? Where do you think deer will be in a few weeks?....the uninterrupted growth or the regrowth after interruption?
ATV is dead center top of ridge....not bad for a dry winter!
The last cut wasn't trampled to the same degree. That creates complexity and wildlife benefit from complexity!
Typed and lost this post twice now....so train of thought has lapsed. I will get to the point eventually!
Just graze and observe,
Doug
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Deer hit hickory on your place? They are tearing it up in the burn unit! Stressed plant = stimulated soil microbes = energy rich and nutrient dense forage = increased animal preference due to enhanced palatability! Hard to find a hickory sprout they didn't hit!
A magazine quality plot pic (eg lush growth with little animal impact) of the native legume, trailing lespedeza.
Wonder why Mr Magazine won't publish this plot pic after cattle dunging and trampling? Where do you think deer will be in a few weeks?....the uninterrupted growth or the regrowth after interruption?
ATV is dead center top of ridge....not bad for a dry winter!
The last cut wasn't trampled to the same degree. That creates complexity and wildlife benefit from complexity!
Typed and lost this post twice now....so train of thought has lapsed. I will get to the point eventually!
Just graze and observe,
Doug
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lakngolf
Well-Known Member
Hate it when that happens. Small neglected field of fescue below my Mom's house. You can view it all from back porch. I have noticed deer in late afternoon on edges, wondered what they were eating. Drove tractor thru three four foot fescue and found hairy fetch growing on it. So I cut a few strips along edge (I did the disturbing) and I am sure they will be back on regrowth soon. Also, threw out some corn for good measure. In the background you can see how tall is the fescue.
Cattle farmer who rents the land could get good grazing from this field but would require too much fence work to make it happen.
Cattle farmer who rents the land could get good grazing from this field but would require too much fence work to make it happen.
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Eastern Gammagrass....you likes moist soil areas....highly preferred by cattle. It has been recovering since 9 Feb and won't be hit again until this winter with fire.
No wings on my sumac.
Lots of forbs and grasses coming up. I don't know nearly enough about them yet.
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1 is staghorn sumac
2 is unknown
3 is common milkweed with a cool bug
4 is yarrow or wild carrot
5 is oats
6 looks to be a tick clover
7 is a bit puzzling....fire weed, wing stem, and basket flower are possibilities....fire weed is a bit general...there is one with serrated leaf just like that.
Hate it when that happens. Small neglected field of fescue below my Mom's house. You can view it all from back porch. I have noticed deer in late afternoon on edges, wondered what they were eating. Drove tractor thru three four foot fescue and found hairy fetch growing on it. So I cut a few strips along edge (I did the disturbing) and I am sure they will be back on regrowth soon. Also, threw out some corn for good measure. In the background you can see how tall is the fescue.
Cattle farmer who rents the land could get good grazing from this field but would require too much fence work to make it happen.
That is a dense sward of grass...quite sure the mower had a time with it! It will take frequent disturbance to get diversity in a field like that. Vary mowing height and observe the response!
lakngolf
Well-Known Member
If you notice in the picture I did just that. I cut 4 or 5 rows with the bush hog raised
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Photo point reference. The area where gamma was found. TSI is post oak Savannah. 2nd fire 2nd thinning starting 2011....slated for 3rd fire in 2018.
29 January
1 April
14 May
Close up showing regrowth on 14 May after winter grazing impact. 3 native grass crowns in pic....middle and right no impact and few new leaves....crown on left was impacted and full new green leaf compliment.
Healthy historic rangeland was healthy because it was heavily impacted then afforded long recovery. Native grasses adapted to handle infrequent heavy impact and long recovery, but not constant heavy use and no recovery. Removing livestock from such land if it is grazed properly is not a wise move....in the long run as degrading as overstocking. When livestock are removed from rangeland, seldom do folks realize the coursework of intense management they have just undertaken! A lot of blood sweat tears and gray matter use goes into transforming and maintaining these native units, but cattle have lessened the load and need for frequent fire! That makes a difference as the body ages!
The soil is completely covered in last pic and it's a tough decision to burn such! With completely covered soil and living plants, we can trap the majority of rain drops where they fall. This creates a functional water cycle which makes the soil mineral and organic cycles come full circle. At that point soil organic matter reaches a level which supports the high seral plants, such as gamma grass. Obviously all new growth after winter impact and really close to being fully recovered! Soil here is 100% soil microbial driven which is a true blessing!
29 January
1 April
14 May
Close up showing regrowth on 14 May after winter grazing impact. 3 native grass crowns in pic....middle and right no impact and few new leaves....crown on left was impacted and full new green leaf compliment.
Healthy historic rangeland was healthy because it was heavily impacted then afforded long recovery. Native grasses adapted to handle infrequent heavy impact and long recovery, but not constant heavy use and no recovery. Removing livestock from such land if it is grazed properly is not a wise move....in the long run as degrading as overstocking. When livestock are removed from rangeland, seldom do folks realize the coursework of intense management they have just undertaken! A lot of blood sweat tears and gray matter use goes into transforming and maintaining these native units, but cattle have lessened the load and need for frequent fire! That makes a difference as the body ages!
The soil is completely covered in last pic and it's a tough decision to burn such! With completely covered soil and living plants, we can trap the majority of rain drops where they fall. This creates a functional water cycle which makes the soil mineral and organic cycles come full circle. At that point soil organic matter reaches a level which supports the high seral plants, such as gamma grass. Obviously all new growth after winter impact and really close to being fully recovered! Soil here is 100% soil microbial driven which is a true blessing!
catscratch
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I figured the bug would get noticed (why I posted that particular pic of the milkweed). We have lots of each of these plants spread throughout the place.
#7 tends to grow in groups, don't see it as an individual plant very often if that helps id it.
That fescue gets awfully thick. I can see why it takes a long time to get something else mixed in with it.
#7 tends to grow in groups, don't see it as an individual plant very often if that helps id it.
That fescue gets awfully thick. I can see why it takes a long time to get something else mixed in with it.
Fescue there is thick because it has formed a sod....fescue is inherently a bunch grass which can form a sod under certain types of management.....for example, mowed fescue lawns. Fescue when dominant in a field substantially depresses total soil microbial activity (ex, fescue depresses Cu availability, thus the reason many black angus fescue calves have a brown coat color). Why were deer using the edge of lak's fescue field?....that is where brush competition with fescue allows for plant diversity. Within the last 2 weeks, a few grazing friends of mine custom hired paraquat application at 8 oz per ac to set fescue back and allow diverse warm season forage succession (and they get some cool season diversity too). It is a wicked herbicide....best to hire it done! Herd impact should preceed herbicide application....regrowth sprayed....prescribed grazing to follow favoring warm season forages once established.
catscratch
Well-Known Member
I've read studies that fescue substantially reduces tree growth when it is allowed to grow within a drip line. Does it produce allelopathic chemicals, or does it inhibit growth through microbe depression and tieing up minerals?
I'm not to interested in many chemicals, but I do use gly often. What's your thoughts on gly and it tieing up nitrogen or killing microbes?
I'm not to interested in many chemicals, but I do use gly often. What's your thoughts on gly and it tieing up nitrogen or killing microbes?
dogghr
Well-Known Member
Along those same lines, how is fescue sod different from native grasses of the plains and the sod they once formed?? I know my fescue is a thick deep mass of roots easily a foot deep not easily killed. Gly will set it back, but easiest and cheapest way to rid it is one time tillage. In a well established field, it will only return along the way with just gly app. Sod is so thick and controlling it will not allow ohter seeds to establish enough to suppress it. Yea I know.... fire.
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