Stone Branch, build it, they will come.

[Mennoniteman]

The logging road may be a bit more open than what I like for an ambush spot, I'd be looking for a stand site off the logging road, where I could shoot to the road, and make a buck sneak trail parallel to the logging road, maybe set up between the two. Bucks should be skirting around between the top and that draw, scent checking in the pre-rut, and the breezes should be decent in that area for scent control. My experience is that every 10-20 acre habitat block has only about 1 spot, and it's only good on a few certain days, to consistently kill mature bucks. Pinpointing those spots on a new property can take 2 to 10 years to find them, but that challenge is most of the fun. After I located the spot on my one property I could consistently fill my buck tag with one of the dominant bucks in the area, but it kinda took the thrill of the chase away for that place. You sure are going to have a good time developing that property.

 

[George]

Screw in tree steps can be safe if used properly.



G

 

[George]

Looking from the north it is apparent that my food plot space is very limited down in the crack. The soil survey says that I have 5 acres of wonderful Shelocta gravelly, silt loam derived from sand sedimentary rock.



However there is approximately 1/3 acre+ of old tobacco ground along the road in,


1/3 + acres behind the cabin and


1/3+ acres in the mouth of bowl # 4 for a total of about 1 acre +.



The old tobacco barn has one corner falling in to the creek and the opposite corner sinking into the ground so my plan is to cannibalize my sweet cabin and the barn to make a log cabin machine shop where the current log cabin now sits. I have an electrical drop down there and I won't need any other utilities there. By removing two dilapidated buildings I figure that I can free up another 1/2 acre for clover for a total of 1 and 1/2 acres of food plots.


Where my sweet trailer no longer sits I will tuck in my living quarters in a place that will have the least amount of intrusion on the food plots



and I'll have my Shangri-La.


I cleaned up the welds with the belt sander and applied a camo paint job.



G

 

[Native Hunter]

Ohh, I love the idea of the low ground food plots....

 

[George]

Ohh, I love the idea of the low ground food plots....

Yep, up top will be low impact natural browse food plots and some scratched in clover plots with some pear weedlings thrown in.

The plan is designed to suck Boone and Crocket bucks through the Kill Zone.

G

 

[Chainsaw]

The layout sketch is beautiful looking at it. Looking from within the house will the house location give you the sun orientation you want, the best summer breezes and an ever changing view from the porch that you will enjoy for along time? Will it have adequate drainage in that spot?

 

[George]

The layout sketch is beautiful looking at it. Looking from within the house will the house location give you the sun orientation you want, the best summer breezes and an ever changing view from the porch that you will enjoy for along time? Will it have adequate drainage in that spot?

Good questions Dave, from hours spent on google earth sun shade time lapse and my own observations on the ground I believe that spot may be the sunniest spot down in the crack. The more windowed gable end will have the southern exposure. I don't know if there is or will be a breezy spot any where in the crack but air should sink through that location. That is the mouth of bowl # 5 and while it is not seen in the pictures the bowl is drained by a creek running down along the right side, along the out house. The soil itself is the deep alluvial good for a septic field. There is also another hand dug well in the vicinity of the out house that is covered up with a car hood, dirt, and rocks so I should be able to dig my own shallow well to serve my needs just up from there. The front porch will give a partial view of shop and food plot down below, a direct view of the upper food plot, full view of the passage way through the new clover plot down lower, and perfect views of the surrounding hills particularly looking up towards the Kill Zone.

G

 

[Chainsaw]

It sounds wonderful Geo, views ought to be very enjoyable and it definitely looks and sounds like a very special spot. The creek is a real bonus to the location for sure. We had the perfect sun orientation, views and breezes where we decided to build but it was mostly a hillside and technically a poor building site. Thus we had to move many, many tons of boulders and bring in fill to make flat spots for the two barns. To top it off the planned septic field area had very poor soil for septics so we had to dig good septic soil from another part of the property and bring it in to build the septic soil area. And then the quarter mile plus driveway to be ran thru some wet spots so more gravel had to be brought in. And the well had to be located about four hundred feet down a hill to get good water and the electric had to come across five hundred feet of woods and more rocks to get to the site as well. Twenty-two thousand dollars fixed all that and it seemed like a huge deal at the time but looking back it was well worth it. Meanwhile just down the street there was a spot on the property where a home had been. It was flat,good soil, had a working well and septic, a solid driveway and electrical hookup but it just wasn't a special spot.

 

[George]

It sounds wonderful Geo, views ought to be very enjoyable and it definitely looks and sounds like a very special spot. The creek is a real bonus to the location for sure. We had the perfect sun orientation, views and breezes where we decided to build but it was mostly a hillside and technically a poor building site. Thus we had to move many, many tons of boulders and bring in fill to make flat spots for the two barns. To top it off the planned septic field area had very poor soil for septics so we had to dig good septic soil from another part of the property and bring it in to build the septic soil area. And then the quarter mile plus driveway to be ran thru some wet spots so more gravel had to be brought in. And the well had to be located about four hundred feet down a hill to get good water and the electric had to come across five hundred feet of woods and more rocks to get to the site as well. Twenty-two thousand dollars fixed all that and it seemed like a huge deal at the time but looking back it was well worth it. Meanwhile just down the street there was a spot on the property where a home had been. It was flat,good soil, had a working well and septic, a solid driveway and electrical hookup but it just wasn't a special spot.

Wow Dave, you had your infrastructure work cut out for you to make your vision work. I hope to be weathered in for 22g. The creeks are really neat to be around. When I was there for the close it was after a rain and the creeks roared in stereo and they supplied potable water. My spot won't be about gorgeous vistas




The vistas are all 200yds up in any direction.


But it will be about being tucked in cozy sitting on the front porch listening to the whip-poor-wills.

G

 

[Chainsaw]

Your vista views are simply breathtaking even in a photograph; they must be just awesome in person. And I'm not knocking short views. We actually enjoy our short views as much as our long views. They each push different buttons in us all.

 

[pinetag]

Wow Dave, you had your infrastructure work cut out for you to make your vision work. I hope to be weathered in for 22g. The creeks are really neat to be around. When I was there for the close it was after a rain and the creeks roared in stereo and they supplied potable water. My spot won't be about gorgeous vistas
The vistas are all 200yds up in any direction.

View attachment 14907
But it will be about being tucked in cozy sitting on the front porch listening to the whip-poor-wills.

G

Amazing view! Can't wait to see some fall pics with the leaves changing as well as some pics from the stand!

 

[OkieKubota]

It’s gonna be cold down in that hole. The wife and I live on the southern edge of our property and just past our parking area/yard the hollows begin. The big hollow to our south has folks living in the bottom a bit north of our place and sometimes I make a loop out the back way and when I go down to where the bottom of the hollow folks live area the temp is always 10-15 degrees cooler in winter so it may be 32 at our house but in the teens in the bottom...hard on fruit trees down there...

 

[KDdid]

At least you were able to save that sweet deck, and the necessary shed!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[George]

At least you were able to save that sweet deck, and the necessary shed!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yep and the electric supply lines are still in place. That crapper and the little tool shed are my two best buildings. I use that one, the other one dumps directly into the creek and I won't be continuing that practice.

G

 

[George]

It’s gonna be cold down in that hole. The wife and I live on the southern edge of our property and just past our parking area/yard the hollows begin. The big hollow to our south has folks living in the bottom a bit north of our place and sometimes I make a loop out the back way and when I go down to where the bottom of the hollow folks live area the temp is always 10-15 degrees cooler in winter so it may be 32 at our house but in the teens in the bottom...hard on fruit trees down there...

I'm at the top of the hollow and the bottom of the hollow where folks live area here is another 192 foot of elevation drop down. Like I said earlier, air will be moving through here. I do however plan on my fruit trees being up on the slope a bit.

G

 

[George]

Got your eyes on Native, anyone?

3 plants in the yard that I'm inclined to cut and squirt but should try to identify just in case.

#1 ugly shrub




#2 2 trees when I first looked at I said oh peaches, not.




# 3 a row of shrubs, I've been told with beautiful flowers, they just aren't fitting the vision but could leave some if they are truly special.





G

 

[Native Hunter]

Not sure Geo. Will probably not be too hard to ID later on with leaves and flowers.

 

[Mennoniteman]

I'm guessing lilac #1 ugly bush, and forsythia #3 bottom row of shrubs. Like native says, bushes tend to look somewhat the same without leaves and flowers.

 

[Buckly]

My first thought on pic 1 was lilac also could be a glaucaus willow but, I don’t see anything special there. It just looks like brush to me.

 

[George]

Thank you guys, lilac and forsythia they most likely are. Bye bye lilac, bye bye 90% of the forsythia.

The 2 little trees are flowering dogwood, opposite branching, and those are flower buds on the end of a winter twig, they will stay.

G