Quapaw Meadows (My 160 Acres)...

[OkieKubota]

Yep, some crazy weather. Saturday morning suppose to be 29 degrees. All my apples are still in dormancy with no bud swelling. Moonglow pear still in dormancy but my kieffer and orient are about to pop flowers anytime. Plums are not showing any signs either. Seems lately I get fruit about once every 3 years due to early spring weather.

I have only gotten apples once in the 18 years 2 of my trees have been in the ground due to late freezes every year...springs like this are good for clover but horrible for fruit trees...I need more persimmon because they bloom really late and handle drought like a champ!

 

[jteeen]

About half of our mature apples have bloomed, most of the pears have. The crabapples from Willis are already leafing out. Bummer! I rest easy knowing my pecans and persimmons are not dead, they are always the last ones to leaf out. Plus it's February.

 

[Chainsaw]

It is hard to beat a persimmon tree. Drop fruit during the entire hunting season and very prolific. No pruning, no fertilizing, and a late bloomer so a late freeze never gets the persimmon. Plum trees are an early blooming tree so are very susceptible to a late freeze. Fruit is heavily browsed and plucked right of the tree by deer and other critters. I have both sand plums which propagate by root suckers and create very thick cover and also native plum trees which are a small bush type tree. I have blackberry vines scattered everywhere. The fruit doesn't last long. I see very little deer browsing on the actual plant.

It sounds like your persimmons are just like our wild apples--no fertilizing, no pruning to speak of, just give them sun and step back. That'a just a great example of the largest paybacks for our efforts are accentuating stuff that already works on our individual properties and areas.

Thanks for the late freeze tip on the plum blooms; That explains why there are seldom any plums seen around here.
I paid extra attention to the use of Blackberry and saw the the deer eating the green leaves a few times during hunting season. As far as winter use, after checking several stands last week I'm afraid its use is similar to what you have witnessed at your place. There is some browsing going on but it is negligible--not at all like the Red Osier Dogwood which gets it's tips close to 100% browsed;The blackberry tips are not more than 5% browsed. When there was very little blackberry it seemed like it was eaten more but now that there are larger samplings to observe it is obvious its not a winner here. It was disappointing;I was hoping it would be better winter utilized. Will be coppicing some of the taller dogwood over the next month and ignoring the blackberry I guess.

Its great that you enjoy the coyote calling. For a few people around here it is their main hunting activity and is mostly done at night here.

 

[dogdoc]

It sounds like your persimmons are just like our wild apples--no fertilizing, no pruning to speak of, just give them sun and step back. That'a just a great example of the largest paybacks for our efforts are accentuating stuff that already works on our individual properties and areas.

Thanks for the late freeze tip on the plum blooms; That explains why there are seldom any plums seen around here.
I paid extra attention to the use of Blackberry and saw the the deer eating the green leaves a few times during hunting season. As far as winter use, after checking several stands last week I'm afraid its use is similar to what you have witnessed at your place. There is some browsing going on but it is negligible--not at all like the Red Osier Dogwood which gets it's tips close to 100% browsed;The blackberry tips are not more than 5% browsed. When there was very little blackberry it seemed like it was eaten more but now that there are larger samplings to observe it is obvious its not a winner here. It was disappointing;I was hoping it would be better winter utilized. Will be coppicing some of the taller dogwood over the next month and ignoring the blackberry I guess.

Its great that you enjoy the coyote calling. For a few people around here it is their main hunting activity and is mostly done at night here.

Wish we could do night hunting but not legal here in Oklahoma. I bet that would be fun. Yotes are pressured quite a bit here. There are a lot of local predator tournaments this time of year so they have heard it all.

 

[Chainsaw]

Wish we could do night hunting but not legal here in Oklahoma. I bet that would be fun. Yotes are pressured quite a bit here. There are a lot of local predator tournaments this time of year so they have heard it all.

How different each area is! Some evenings just before sunset I go outside and make howling sounds that are not coyote like at all despite my best efforts and I get a half dozen answers from throughout the property. There are very few coyote calling hunters in this immediate area.

They do run them a lot with dogs though throughout the winter.

 

[Weasel]

Place is looking great Todd. Nice shot on the yote. I'd like to give that a try one of these years but I barely have time for the few hobbies I have now.

 

[dogdoc]

Called 3 sets today for coyotes but no luck. After calling decided to take a walk around the place to look for sheds and just enjoy the outdoors and the land that God has blessed me with.
This is in my sanctuary. Don't go in here often. I need to come I'm this section and do some TSI-getting rid of some of the tall lanky non producing post oaks and free up producing trees. Also need to add more protection for the deer. You can see a long ways when there are no leaves on the trees.

This long "trail" must have been man made at one time. Is a major trail in the sanctuary.

Counted at least 2 dozen rubs and several scrapes down this trail.

 

[dogdoc]

Pear trees are going to flower any day. Hoping for no hard freezes but that will be a long shot.

My two Kieffer pears that were planted the fall of 2013. They were potted trees from Home Depot. They flowered last year but a late freeze got 'em. I put them in smaller cages a few weeks ago.

After I purchased then I went back and got an Orient pear to help ensure better pollination.

The following spring I planted a bare root Moonglow pear. The Moonglow hasn't flowered yet .

 

[dogdoc]

I thought I had a squirrel getting into my camper. Storing acorns in every hiding place it could find and chewed a hole in some wood. I made a super charged rat trap. Today I finally caught the culprit.

 

[OkieKubota]

We picked up 3 kieffer pears, 2 peach, and 2 plum trees today along with some tame blackberries and the last 3 potted loblolly pines they had...more work...

Great job on the packrat!

 

[lakngolf]

I like the innovation on the super charge. That is a BIG RAT. There might be a few of those still left in the justice dept in DC.

 

[dogghr]

I took a pic today of my pears, they are ready to burst just as yours, hope freezes hold off but unlikely. Can't believe you didn't live catch and relocate that rodent. Don't you know only Deplorables do such things involving death?

 

[dogdoc]

We picked up 3 kieffer pears, 2 peach, and 2 plum trees today along with some tame blackberries and the last 3 potted loblolly pines they had...more work...

Great job on the packrat!

You got a lot of trees to plant my friend. Amazing the damage a rat that size can do. I set up a snare when it first chewed an entrance hole in to the trailer. It got caught in the snare twice but twice escaped. I'm sure where there is one there is another so the trap was given fresh bait and set again.

I like the innovation on the super charge. That is a BIG RAT. There might be a few of those still left in the justice dept in DC.

No doubt about some rats left over from the previous administration. Too bad we can't set a super charged trap for them.

I took a pic today of my pears, they are ready to burst just as yours, hope freezes hold off but unlikely. Can't believe you didn't live catch and relocate that rodent. Don't you know only Deplorables do such things involving death?

My plums aren't flowered out yet and they are usually the first trees to flower so I am surprised the pears are starting to flower and not the plums. All my apples are still dormant-which is a good thing. I actually had a live trap set under the trailer with corn. The corn was gone but whatever ate the corn wasn't heavy enough to trip the trap--probably was that rat. Very satisfying seeing that rats head smashed in that trap. Proud to be a deplorable.
todd

 

[Native Hunter]

Todd, I really like the looks of those pear trees. You have them off to a great start. They are at the point that you are really going to see them take off fast now.

Nice shot on the coyote. Congratulations.

 

[Brushpile]

My Kieffers are starting to bloom while my Orientals are remaining dormant. Last year I had very few Kieffers due to late frost, but the Orientals were loaded.

 

[dogdoc]

I took a pic today of my pears, they are ready to burst just as yours, hope freezes hold off but unlikely. Can't believe you didn't live catch and relocate that rodent. Don't you know only Deplorables do such things involving death?

However, I do occasionally practice catch and release. Sixth tree rat of year caugHT from my backyard and released at park.

 

[Gator]

Hate to see them pears like that. Same thing happened to mine last year and I'm certain it's going to happen this year as well. At least if the farm sells, I won't care anymore

 

[dogdoc]

Hate to see them pears like that. Same thing happened to mine last year and I'm certain it's going to happen this year as well. At least if the farm sells, I won't care anymore

frustrating to put in all that work and patiently wait for fruit to only lose all the fruit to a late freeze or more accurately an early spring. Well they are all flowered out now so it's a wait and see.

 

[Gator]

frustrating to put in all that work and patiently wait for fruit to only lose all the fruit to a late freeze or more accurately an early spring. Well they are all flowered out now so it's a wait and see.

That's exactly what I fear. We already have freezing temps in the forecast! 23 23 22 the next three nights


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[dogdoc]

As we all know it's not all about habitat work. Sometimes it's just fun to take out the family and enjoy the blessings that God has given us. I still have a few years left with them but it won't be long when they are gone and starting their own life. So I do try to take advantage of times with the girls. They are not as "daddy" crazy as they were when little but still are daddy girls. Of course Mollyann, the deer hunter, hit the edges of all the plots looking for sheds. She found one side of a young forkie. Tons of pictures and we both enjoyed watching this young buck chasing girls during season. He thought he was top dog until the big bucks showed up. We call him Buddy as he almost always came out to see us.

The little one just like a to walk around and look at plants and birds but she did do a lot of shed hunting also on the food plots.

Great when your children love each other. Not trying to preach but I am a firm believer if your raise your children in the Lord then life is much easier and they will keep the Lord in their family also.

Second rat and 4th mouse in the last 2 weeks. I know something bigger is getting in there because I had 2 mouse traps disappear and 1 rat trap gone. I think it's a squirrel so I put a game cam in the trailer.

Dolgo is flowered out and a couple apple trees are at the pink stage. About half the pear blooms are gone and last night it got down to 28.

God Bless
Todd