Pinetag's Plot - 43 acres in Virginia

[Chainsaw]

Some people will think it maybe not a problem but definitely unusual to be planting an apple tree for hunting. Don’t be afraid to share your excitement about it but when you get to planting hundreds it might be best to do it quietly. Other than us deer forum people no one else would likely make sense of that behavior. Good luck with your new tree; it may open up many new avenues of fun for you.

 

[pinetag]

Some people will think it maybe not a problem but definitely unusual to be planting an apple tree for hunting. Don’t be afraid to share your excitement about it but when you get to planting hundreds it might be best to do it quietly. Other than us deer forum people no one else would likely make sense of that behavior. Good luck with your new tree; it may open up many new avenues of fun for you.

Oh, I've told people at work that I plant trees and most think it's pretty cool. If they do think I'm crazy they don't say it to my face.

I know compared to what many of you have planted my totals are miniscule, but to date I've put 53 trees/seedlings in the ground and I have 75 seedlings on the way for this year. I may pick up one or two more potted trees before they're all gone this spring. I've lost a few already, but I can't wait to see what happens in a few more years as they mature.

My wife thinks I'm crazy and she gets tired of hearing about trees, especially chestnuts. I'm obsessed with them! I truly wish I had an American growing on my place. One of these days I'm going to get one and when I do I'll probably baby it like a prize winning race horse! LOL

Last year I had my first fruit production and I was ecstatic.

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[pinetag]

I stopped by TSC on the way home from work to get some chicken wire for some of my blueberry bushes and I saw some pecan seedlings, so naturally I had to grab a couple. They supposedly like lowland soil so I will be planting them along the northern edge of one of my new micro plots. I also figured why not let the home landscape have some love with a couple Chinese chestnuts. Can't wait to just walk out the front door in a couple years and grab some.

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[pinetag]

Went out early for about an hour this morning and finished overseeding my micro plots with some rye. I also put in my Pecan trees along the edge of one of them, mainly for my own personal enjoyment. They grow well in lowland soils but there seem to be mixed reviews on deer usage.

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[pinetag]

The state came through and cut along the ditch line and unfortunately took out some of my hinged cedars that I cut to create a screen at my roadside parking spot. Not too happy about that considering these were already off the road a good bit! They also knocked down one side of my gate, but I can't complain too much because a fallen tree had already bumped it loose and I was going to have to reset that post anyway.

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[pinetag]

The split brow buck is still hanging around and holding his headgear as of a couple days ago. He seems to be maintaining a healthy weight after this mild winter which hopefully means he'll put on some serious antler growth this year as a result.

 

[pinetag]

Always exciting to get trees delivered!

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[pinetag]

I worked on my access screening today with the seedlings/cuttings I ordered from MDC. The roots on the Norway Spruce were very well developed and I placed those along the western side of the old road bed. I will need to hinge some more trees to let in more light and provide a temporary screen, but in a couple years it should be a wall.

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[pinetag]

The Sandbar Willow cuttings went alongside where my new atv trail will go down the pasture and to the creek. I have a couple stands on that side for winds coming out of the east.

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[pinetag]

Once I made it to the creek I figured I'd check out one of the new bedding areas I cut on the upper 20, and the deer are already using the trails I cut through it.

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[pinetag]

The keiffer pear up by the cottage that produced some fruit last year is looking big and healthy again. It's at least 12 feet tall.

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[pinetag]

I finally got around to cutting a path alongside the pasture so now I have atv access going around almost the entire perimeter of the property. It was about 370 yards to the creek.

I also found a good sized rub that was rubbed clean on all sides. It's one of the nicer ones I've come across.

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[pinetag]

I had 3 small trees to clean up today near the end of my new pasture trail because I wasn't able to cut them out of the way last weekend. I also loosely put up another double stand for me and my daughter, which I'm calling the bump stand because it is right next to a little bump out of trees that goes out into the pasture. The big rub I recently discovered is about 15 yards away.

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[pinetag]

Swapped out a lock on stand for a ladder stand today. I also seeded some native, moisture loving flower seeds in the hopes that I get more pollinator species growing on my place and then I checked one of my plots that was seeded in cereal rye last fall. It's growing well and there appear to be some young oats that were frost seeded about a month ago that are popping up below the rye.

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[pinetag]

The split brow buck is still hanging around so it seems he might have made a permanent residence here. He showed up for the first time in Sep and I've gotten pictures of him just about every month since. I look forward to his growth this summer.

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[pinetag]

I checked my two new plots and they seem to be growing good and seeing some use already. The trail in between is getting beaten down.

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[pinetag]

I also cut some trails leading in and out as well as some shooting lanes. These should make for some good setups this year.
First pic is looking from the edge of the plot through a shooting lane toward the Paw paw stand.
Second pic is a mock scrape on the edge of the other plot looking through a shooting lane toward the Waterfall stand.

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[dogghr]

Looks good. With all this rain should be a VN jungle by fall this year. God must not want me to put lime down this year. Monsoon or drought. Never a medium.


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[pinetag]

I replaced a hang on stand with a ladder stand down near where the pasture meets the creek this morning. It was my last hang on because I definitely prefer climbing ladders these days. I may end up using it in conjunction with a ladder stand to give me and my daughter another double setup. I call this particular one the Barrell stand cause my neighbor put a cable across the creek with barrels hanging on it to keep his cows from getting out. Other than cutting some shooting lanes and seeding some millet in my food plots, I am mostly done with habitat work until the fall. Next to come is building a shooting backstop in the yard up by the cottage which will be nice for sighting things in. I can get about 50+ yards of distance out of it, then I will be building a hearth for the woodstove I was given in December.

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[pinetag]

Haven't had much to update as of late. Been doing a few small things here and there like cutting a tree out of the river, destroying a small beaver dam, and rigging up another double setup by hanging a lock on next to one of my ladder stands (first pic). I also cut the yard (before and after shots) and I'm thinking about seeding some clover as well as planting some perennial flowers in there this fall to provide good pollination for my fruit trees.

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