Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Dang that looks good.
Foodplotting In The Mountains...The Sequel
- Thread starter dogghr
- Start date
deer patch
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info. I must of missed the first review. It looks like it did a good job but I was hoping that the residual would take care of summer grasses. Is the crabgrass what's coming back?
Triple C
Well-Known Member
I stopped by the local feed n seed about a month ago to order cleth and the minimum order was gonna run me about $250. I passed and decided to mow for another year. I gotta find a source that doesn't require me to order such a large volume. Summer grass is putting a hurting on parts of my clover that I've come to cherish, particularly in areas that get full sun. Maybe I shouldn't worry so much but I don't like seeing the grasses out competing my clover. Never considered Imox. In the end...I'm still what I consider a novice at all this stuff.
dogghr
Well-Known Member
To be honest what aggravates me most is what I also like elsewhere, the goldenrod. Some grasses like Cheat, Swampgrass, Thistle(which I knew it wouldn't perm kill), and yes that damn fescue that will survive nuclear holocaust. I should be able to get my farm limed next week if rains hold and that makes a huge difference with my management typically.
I'm still debating on using Imox or Cleth on the field I'm rotating. Prob last minute dicision. I'll try to update early Sept when I do that planting.
It is an expensive hobby sometimes. I enjoyed my trip to the other main feed store last week as I asked them if they were up on Imox. They had no idea what I was talking about and wrote down the name to research it. I felt cool in front of a bunch of for profit farmers. LOL
I think overseeding with WR really helps control much this stuff and then only need occasional spraying. I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I cringe on the appearance of my plots these days but they still perform well compared to my anal years and the deer don't mind. I think even the grasses use excess N allowing clovers to grow weed free as I've shown in my Buffalo Plot experiment. ( and yes Dr Grant copied that one too!). But I'd be ashamed to let you guys see most my management as it is way off the typical charts. But it works and is cheap.
dogghr
Well-Known Member
Well number 3 showed up in the blue corner weighing in at 8#11oz last Monday night. Three boy grandpups I can use as free labor one day just as my dad used me. This lady waited a while for her first so be interesting how their lifestyle changes. Better than tv. Nothing puts one closer to God than an new born. Amazing stuff.
blondy
New Member
Well number 3 showed up in the blue corner weighing in at 8#11oz last Monday night. Three boy grandpups I can use as free labor one day just as my dad used me. This lady waited a while for her first so be interesting how their lifestyle changes. Better than tv. Nothing puts one closer to God than an new born. Amazing stuff.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Congratulations you old rascal!!!
deer patch
Well-Known Member
Congrats from friend. Nice looking grandpup.
dogghr
Well-Known Member
Since the site has been updated I guess I’m going to give a more proper conclusion the this thread I left hanging after the last post of my grandsons birth in 2019.
I have always appreciated the following of this thread beginning in the days of the old QDM forums.
Within 3 weeks of that last post my world went thru a drastic change in late August. First my dog of 14 years passed. That is pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
The following Friday , my 39 year old son, who had wrestled with seizures for years, died in a seizure caused drowning accident. He had been seen by friends standing on his lakeside house dock when he suddenly disappeared right before dark. Rescue, including divers were called in but the finding of his body was too late. He left behind 2 boys age 5 and 9. We were on vacation in SC and received the call of responders having been called in. In denial and disbelief at first, we then loaded up headed back home, getting the final call of his death an hour up the road. No words for me to use to describe this feeling of hopelessness.
The following January in 2020, my best friend, hunting partner, and business partner died of stage 4 bladder cancer at the age of 59. Then December of that year, my father would pass from altzheimers complications.
Needless to say I had no desire to have much of anything to do with my farm and for the first time in my life no desire to even hunt the seasons. Gradually the pain has been buried deep, tho still there and I spend a least some time at the farm. It was timbered this year and some changes are coming about, especially as my grandkids begin to show more interest in it and hunting.
If you have followed my thread you know one of the things I have always preached is the importance of the 3 Fs, Faith, Family, Friends. And I can assure you if not for those 3 I’m not sure I could have overcome those few years.
Apologies for that depressing post but with that said I plan to update happenings at the farm the last few years, especially my logging experiences. I hope each of you still do as I harped, and that was to get down on your knees and study the small community below your feet that truly affects most everything you do from plant to animal management.
This is still one of my favorite pics which is an early morning planting of brassica with my son years ago.
“Let all the earth be silent before him “——-Habakkuk 2:20. Peace
I have always appreciated the following of this thread beginning in the days of the old QDM forums.
Within 3 weeks of that last post my world went thru a drastic change in late August. First my dog of 14 years passed. That is pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
The following Friday , my 39 year old son, who had wrestled with seizures for years, died in a seizure caused drowning accident. He had been seen by friends standing on his lakeside house dock when he suddenly disappeared right before dark. Rescue, including divers were called in but the finding of his body was too late. He left behind 2 boys age 5 and 9. We were on vacation in SC and received the call of responders having been called in. In denial and disbelief at first, we then loaded up headed back home, getting the final call of his death an hour up the road. No words for me to use to describe this feeling of hopelessness.
The following January in 2020, my best friend, hunting partner, and business partner died of stage 4 bladder cancer at the age of 59. Then December of that year, my father would pass from altzheimers complications.
Needless to say I had no desire to have much of anything to do with my farm and for the first time in my life no desire to even hunt the seasons. Gradually the pain has been buried deep, tho still there and I spend a least some time at the farm. It was timbered this year and some changes are coming about, especially as my grandkids begin to show more interest in it and hunting.
If you have followed my thread you know one of the things I have always preached is the importance of the 3 Fs, Faith, Family, Friends. And I can assure you if not for those 3 I’m not sure I could have overcome those few years.
Apologies for that depressing post but with that said I plan to update happenings at the farm the last few years, especially my logging experiences. I hope each of you still do as I harped, and that was to get down on your knees and study the small community below your feet that truly affects most everything you do from plant to animal management.
This is still one of my favorite pics which is an early morning planting of brassica with my son years ago.
“Let all the earth be silent before him “——-Habakkuk 2:20. Peace
I remember you telling us of your sons passing and I am so sorry for your loss. I could not imagine the loss of a child and I am thankful you had the people behind you to hold you up and help you beyond this and other tragedies. I look forward to the updates on your land tour!
Elkaddict
Well-Known Member
Glad you are returning…we’ve missed your contribution. While I haven’t lost a child, I’ve lost a best friend and my father who were at respective times, my closest friends…who I shared countless opening mornings and campfires with. Over time, I did find peace and healing in the cathedral of the mountains ….. I’m wishing you the same gift along your journey.
Triple C
Well-Known Member
Good to see you posting brother. Can't imagine the devastation that surely comes with a parent losing a child. Oddly...I recently watched Jonah Hill's documentary about he therapist on Netflix - think it was Stuutz. Not sure why I watched it. Maybe because I recall how good Jonah Hill was in Moneyball. One thing that struck me in the documentary was that there are 3 things certain in life...pain / uncertainty / and constant work in dealing with life's pain and uncertainty. Not sure why that came to mind other than the immense pain I know you surely must have felt and still feel in losing a child.
Look for and cherish joy in the journey my internet friend. And keep posting!
Look for and cherish joy in the journey my internet friend. And keep posting!
dogghr
Well-Known Member
Logging. My main two goals in timbering my property were to create greater browse in my mature stands, developed access roads to back of property for free, and of course income from sales a bonus. The problem over the years is getting someone to consider doing just 15-20 acres which proved to be futile. And even when I decided to timber 90 acres, it was difficult to get a logger interested as most around here were only interested in 500-1000+ acres.
I walked the property winter of ‘21 with state forester. He made several excellent suggestions. One most important is to remember that when a logger says he will take for example 18” trees, he is referring to stump measurements, not dbh , so they can take much smaller trees than you want timbered. He also said my stand could benefit another 10 years growth but at my age I wouldn’t enjoy the benefits and money. It was kinda an insult but one I already knew to be true. He gave me several names of loggers and couldn’t say just one, but he did push on person kinda. Due to my schedule, I couldn’t reach out until early spring ‘22. We met up and walked the property and he and I really clicked as to not over timbering but a selective cut like I wanted. We signed a contract within couple weeks.
I had no stipulation other that 18” dbh and each acre there was to be left at least 2-3 mature hardwood left of 20+ dbh. My land is virtually entirely Red, White, Black oak with very little trash timber. The other stipulation was no use of my fields for travel or landings. I did let him use end of one field near top for a landing.
No the fun part. In April he had a mild coronary and had 3 stints placed which held up moving into my property for 6 weeks. Planning to start in Aug, he moved in his equipment. And then he was diagnosed with lime disease which knocked him flat for 4 weeks. And still deals with its after effects to this day. He’s lucky to be young man.
Logging went as planned with not much issue except one. Good news WO was selling at unbelievable dollar at a local mill. The demand for white oak is crazy as so many winerys and microbrew establishments have need of barrels, of course with WO staves. They make them on sight and would buy as many as we could supply.
Bad news, RO was almost worthless. Most red oak goes to China which is made into furniture and the shipped back to US. Well China in some political ramifications that no one understands had put in stringent stipulations for shipping of timber products even though they have no such in regards to shipping to the US. With that said we timbered very little RO, and have put it on hold hoping prices return to normal. We cut hardly any pulpwood due to low prices also.
Of the WO taken, with a 50/50 cut with the logger I made near 6 figures, and that much in RO still stands if prices return.
I had no problems with my logger. He was clean w management and I actually had to tell him to get more aggressive on the trees he was taking. No horror stories from me like I had heard. There is much to be said over a guy you can trust with a hand shake. I seldom even went to the farm while this was being done. He was finished in about 4 months with the WO .
Hunting. I hunted thru out the logging. Did not affect deer or their travels and in reality had more daytime movement than typical. I always let my logger know where I would be and he often offered not to work when I was there but I declined. I saw numerous mature bucks each sit. All of which were quite relaxed. I witnessed and filmed one of the most aggressive buck fights I’ve seen, which is posted somewhere on this forum. I passed all shots , even thought a couple were tough to do so, since I had shot 2 mature bucks previous season.
I plan to spray deer pathways much the same as Chainsaw used to speak. I left all my treestands, 15 of them, in place and had no damage to any of them. I marked any trees I did not want cut with red paint, and the property line with purple paint. Otherwise I plan to do nothing but let nature do its work. As you have read on here, lazy I am. These phone pics suck but I didn’t take much time with them. Hopefully show some of what happened. I’ll take better pics in near future.
I walked the property winter of ‘21 with state forester. He made several excellent suggestions. One most important is to remember that when a logger says he will take for example 18” trees, he is referring to stump measurements, not dbh , so they can take much smaller trees than you want timbered. He also said my stand could benefit another 10 years growth but at my age I wouldn’t enjoy the benefits and money. It was kinda an insult but one I already knew to be true. He gave me several names of loggers and couldn’t say just one, but he did push on person kinda. Due to my schedule, I couldn’t reach out until early spring ‘22. We met up and walked the property and he and I really clicked as to not over timbering but a selective cut like I wanted. We signed a contract within couple weeks.
I had no stipulation other that 18” dbh and each acre there was to be left at least 2-3 mature hardwood left of 20+ dbh. My land is virtually entirely Red, White, Black oak with very little trash timber. The other stipulation was no use of my fields for travel or landings. I did let him use end of one field near top for a landing.
No the fun part. In April he had a mild coronary and had 3 stints placed which held up moving into my property for 6 weeks. Planning to start in Aug, he moved in his equipment. And then he was diagnosed with lime disease which knocked him flat for 4 weeks. And still deals with its after effects to this day. He’s lucky to be young man.
Logging went as planned with not much issue except one. Good news WO was selling at unbelievable dollar at a local mill. The demand for white oak is crazy as so many winerys and microbrew establishments have need of barrels, of course with WO staves. They make them on sight and would buy as many as we could supply.
Bad news, RO was almost worthless. Most red oak goes to China which is made into furniture and the shipped back to US. Well China in some political ramifications that no one understands had put in stringent stipulations for shipping of timber products even though they have no such in regards to shipping to the US. With that said we timbered very little RO, and have put it on hold hoping prices return to normal. We cut hardly any pulpwood due to low prices also.
Of the WO taken, with a 50/50 cut with the logger I made near 6 figures, and that much in RO still stands if prices return.
I had no problems with my logger. He was clean w management and I actually had to tell him to get more aggressive on the trees he was taking. No horror stories from me like I had heard. There is much to be said over a guy you can trust with a hand shake. I seldom even went to the farm while this was being done. He was finished in about 4 months with the WO .
Hunting. I hunted thru out the logging. Did not affect deer or their travels and in reality had more daytime movement than typical. I always let my logger know where I would be and he often offered not to work when I was there but I declined. I saw numerous mature bucks each sit. All of which were quite relaxed. I witnessed and filmed one of the most aggressive buck fights I’ve seen, which is posted somewhere on this forum. I passed all shots , even thought a couple were tough to do so, since I had shot 2 mature bucks previous season.
I plan to spray deer pathways much the same as Chainsaw used to speak. I left all my treestands, 15 of them, in place and had no damage to any of them. I marked any trees I did not want cut with red paint, and the property line with purple paint. Otherwise I plan to do nothing but let nature do its work. As you have read on here, lazy I am. These phone pics suck but I didn’t take much time with them. Hopefully show some of what happened. I’ll take better pics in near future.
