J-birds place

I stumbled across this page when looking for some other things and thought I would share. Lots of free information - some of it I am sure is "old hat" for some, but maybe it will helps some as well. For those that are not familiar with Purdue University here in IN - they are one of the leading agriculture schools in the country and they have a strong wildlife and natural resources program as well - and no I didn't go to college there!

https://edustore.purdue.edu/subcategory.asp?subCatID=319&CatID=13
 
Probably because recreational use of land for wildlife has become an over capitalized industry which attracts academia. Some of those topics are similar to NRCS enhancement plans....that has an influence on academia interest as well.
 
j-bird said:
I stumbled across this page when looking for some other things and thought I would share. Lots of free information - some of it I am sure is "old hat" for some, but maybe it will helps some as well. For those that are not familiar with Purdue University here in IN - they are one of the leading agriculture schools in the country and they have a strong wildlife and natural resources program as well - and no I didn't go to college there!

https://edustore.purdue.edu/subcategory.asp?subCatID=319&CatID=13
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Thanks for the link j-bird! I'll be downloading many of those articles when I have some time over the holidays.
 
I must have been a good boy this year as I got what I asked for from Santa - Steve Bartylla's new book! I hope everyone has/had a great holiday.
 
You're gonna like it. There's something in it for everyone from bare bones basics to some pretty advanced stuff.
 
Great link you posted from Purdue University j-bird. It has some interesting topics. Have enjoyed a couple so far and will watch more throughout the winter.
 
Back when i purchased my property I scoured the internet for all manner of info on land management and found the Purdue site. Actually have several articles I printed stashed away at the cabin.
 
Well my son was home for the holidays and boy did he do something stupid that some of you trappers out there will find humorous. He went squirrel hunting to get some time int he woods, being home from college. While he was out he decided to shoot a mink (they are in season/trapping here currently). He brings it and a squirrel home and decides to prep them in the kitchen. I clean squirrels in the kitchen all the time so I didn't think much of it. He had started skinning the mink when I got home and I warned him that the males have a glad that he needed to be aware of. "I know, I know, dad" Was what I was told. Well not 5 minutes later a smell that only comes just short of that a skunk exploded in our kitchen!

It sent bodies in all directions and brought out every scented candle, air freshener and anything possible to kill the smell. Luckily he didn't get anything on something that couldn't be removed from the kitchen.....otherwise it was offered up to simply set the kitchen on fire to address the smell if needed! I have never been exposed to mink musk before, but like I said only fresh skunk comes even close to describing the nasty smell this stuff is!!!

My son is still alive, and isn't walking funny......but I think he got a new appreciation as to how some animals communicate with scent! Some lessons I guess you just have to learn first hand.....Obviously it's funny now, but at the time - my son was clearly staring down that bus all on his own.....this old man knows better!!!!:D
 
Lol, agree with the "I know, I know" statement. Not much good usually happens after that. Sounds like your boy was lucky. My wife would have rung a neck for bringing it into the house in the first place.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
Have have cleaned small critters int he house for years - squirrels, rabbits, fish and the like. I know my limits.

He hit that glad - and holy crap! You talk about something that will jump up and grab you! I kept telling him, "Your mother is going to kill you...." She smelled it all the way across the house and she still didn't kill him......I thought for sure he was a dead man! And I wasn;t going down with that ship!!
 
j-bird said:
Have have cleaned small critters int he house for years - squirrels, rabbits, fish and the like. I know my limits.

He hit that glad - and holy crap! You talk about something that will jump up and grab you! I kept telling him, "Your mother is going to kill you...." She smelled it all the way across the house and she still didn't kill him......I thought for sure he was a dead man! And I wasn;t going down with that ship!!
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Haha..... no way im getting by with anything like that in my house. The wife opens windows when i cook jerky! Though i did run a chainsaw in the basement a couple years back. :D
 
j-bird said:
Have have cleaned small critters int he house for years - squirrels, rabbits, fish and the like. I know my limits.

He hit that glad - and holy crap! You talk about something that will jump up and grab you! I kept telling him, "Your mother is going to kill you...." She smelled it all the way across the house and she still didn't kill him......I thought for sure he was a dead man! And I wasn;t going down with that ship!!
Click to expand...
Oh man, I've been thinking back to the first skunk encounter in a fox trap,back in the 1980's-got sent (scent?) home from school that day! Also talked a buddy into dipping cedar arrows in lacquer paint in a basement one winter- His wife wanted to kill me.
 
Fish said:
Haha..... no way im getting by with anything like that in my house. The wife opens windows when i cook jerky! Though i did run a chainsaw in the basement a couple years back. :D
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I believe that J-bird is culpable here.

G
 
Well the holidays are over......the dust has settled......so it's time for habitat work to begin.

I got a little reading to do, thanks to our good friend Steve Bartylla.....Santa thought I was a good boy this year. Santa must not be paying close attention!!!
steve book.jpg

I was also out just to get out of the house and run the dogs some. Nothing much to report on that front. Corn plots still have lots of corn in them and the brassica still show little to no use of any kind. The water hole out in the open shows no sign of deer use (no visible tracks in the mud) either. I didn't get near the brassica bulb production I normally do, but I think that is because I used BOB seed this fall and not the GFR and PTT I normally use. We have had a real mild winter thus far (its in the mids 50's right now) but I am going to keep an eye on how my switchgrass holds up. Below is an edge where I let mother nature provide the seed and where I planted switchgrass. The switchgrass is 5 feet tall or so - not counting the seed heads and you can see it provides a pretty good wall of cover. The golden rod and the like turns to a sea of sticks and stems the further the winter progresses.
switch.jpg

Something else to note about the picture above is that this "edge" between the golden rod and switch and where it meets the "timber" is really interesting. Many folks don't see this as an "edge" but it is. I refer to it as a "soft edge". This is where the type of cover or plants changes, the deer notice it and these can often times be easily overlooked from a hunting perspective. This switchgrass doesn't do much to hide my activities from the deer as it isn't tall enough, but it certainly makes a great buffer for the deer between the wooded edge and the open ag field. There is a well worn trail along that edge and saplings with small rubs all along that trail as well. This edge between the switch and the golden rod also has tracks where the deer are following it out into the ag field to feed. The switch is dense enough that a deer that remains calm can be bedded in there and I would never know. That slope in the back faces due south and when the snow flies and it gets cold there is a small bench up there that the deer use as well.

Just some observations from my latest walk......with my son and his girlfriend home from college and 3 teenage girls of my own all in the same house along with the wife a guy has to get the hell out once in a while! My son? He's on his own!
 
MarkDarvin said:
Those radishes must be rotten by now, no?
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With our temps being higher than normal as of late they are soft. Normally they will remain firm until the spring temps come up and they start to rot. Typical IN weather here - it was 55 yesterday and it is 25 today! I was more disappointed that more of the leaves where not eaten.....but this is right next to my corn plot that has plenty of corn in it still so I think that makes a big difference in my area. I have planted brassica now for several years and I tend to only see what appears to be curiosity bites taken from them in most cases. The deer in my area simply prefer the standing corn and soybeans I have. I think its a preference thing with the lack of use of brassica in my area.....I still plant it as insurance and for soil building though. If my deer go hungry it isn't my fault!
 
j-bird said:
With our temps being higher than normal as of late they are soft. Normally they will remain firm until the spring temps come up and they start to rot. Typical IN weather here - it was 55 yesterday and it is 25 today! I was more disappointed that more of the leaves where not eaten.....but this is right next to my corn plot that has plenty of corn in it still so I think that makes a big difference in my area. I have planted brassica now for several years and I tend to only see what appears to be curiosity bites taken from them in most cases. The deer in my area simply prefer the standing corn and soybeans I have. I think its a preference thing with the lack of use of brassica in my area.....I still plant it as insurance and for soil building though. If my deer go hungry it isn't my fault!
Click to expand...
What Brassicas are you planting?
 
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