The Perfect Habitat Property!

[lakngolf]

Recently I was listening to a local Classic Country radio station and heard an old favorite by David Allen Coe "You Never Even Called Me By My Name”. I’m sure you remember that the song writer thought he had written the perfect country western song. But some subjects were left out like trains, momma, prison and getting drunk.

Well, I started thinking, what would be “The Perfect Habitat Property”? Then I realized all I had to do was look to the Deer Hunter Forum for the true ingredients. So here is what I found. Feel free to agree, disagree, add to and expound.

The Perfect Habitat Property would have an entrance like Triple C farms:

And the day would be started with an AC southern breakfast:

We would look to Native Hunter to preserve old barns, provide vegetation diversity, and grow the best pears around

Club work day would be organized by OkieKubota (fine-tuned equipment optional, I mean, why use a drag harrow when a tree limb works just as well?)

Catscratch will handle any and all Throw and Mow food plots, along with testing seed from the grocery store.

The property will need a great diversity of trees, so nut collection, seed distribution and radicle analysis will be the right job for wbpdeer and grandsons.

His new greenhouse will be a great addition to our Perfect Property.

Brushpile takes over once those seedlings are ready for planting. Brush is hoping to work with Al Gore and conjure up more rainfall in the future.

Dogdoc and The, LLC will find non productive trees and graft special varieties of persimmon, pear, apple and pecan. And all TSI, hinge cutting and feathering will be supervised by none other than Chainsaw!

 

[lakngolf]

The Perfect Habitat Property would need some specialty apple orchards. We can depend on Maya to develop this and provide fruit for all

Our Perfect Habitat Property will need a spot for Good Cooking and Equipment Repair. Based on their posts I think we can depend on Triple C for the cooking pit:

And ctm1 for tractor repair and equipment use videos!!!

To Cow or Not to Cow is often a topic of discussion. Maybe we will divide the property in half and let dgallow show the enhancements of mob grazing on one half.

While our preference will be for all the luxuries of electricity, running water, plumbing and natural gas, where necessary we will depend on Weasel to handle Off Grid dwellings

And who better to document the beauty of our habitat improvements than Post Card Photographer himself. Geo will record our better moments

We will try to provide as many services as possible. Since Geo has been “dear” hunting we will allow buckhunter10 to visit and help him make as fine of a decision as he did.

 

[lakngolf]

Any good cult (oh, I mean habitat property) needs a good philosopher, explaining who we are, what we do, where we go wrong, and what should be our priorities. Yes, we have that too (open the quoted text below)

No hunting in my county on Sundays, so off to the mountains and its trout streams we went. Have you paid attention to your land and how it is affected by drought and/or monsoon thruout this year? Have you reached down and felt the earth with your hands, dug beneath its thatch, smelled the dirt? Have you watched nature in its actions to grow her food plots whether in dry or whether in wet? Did you think thru how you can apply this to your own land, to your forests, to your creeks, to your plots, to conserve or control moisture as she does? Have you seen how she responds to her own failings thru actions of the land? Can you apply it to your own future management? If not, while waiting on that buck, think these things, and devise a plan to mimic her.

Here lies headwaters of a massive watershed at the Eastern Continental Divide. Do the ferns as they enter into their autumn gold serve a purpose? Why now, do they shut down their life? Did they build soil this year? Are they still building such? Are they the preemptor of better food to come? Does your land have ferns?

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A thick soil mass several feet deep acting as a sponge in wet or dry. A landscape that never shows bare soil, or if fire delivers such, then she quickly covers it. Does your land show bare at times? And for how long and how often? Is there a diversity in your forests, your creek bottoms, your plots? Or do you fight nature for that picture of monoculture , and wonder its shortcomings, and costs, and sweat equity.?

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Does your ground absorb or repel water? Are their mosses thriving on you land? Is water retention more than building a pond? How can you change the habitat to allow nature do her thing?

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Does the beaver cry when drought comes? Does he pout when monsoons soak him? Or does he prepare for each, and ready to survive the curve balls of weather? Does he prepare for the good and the bad, the bounty and the famine?

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How does nature preserve its moisture? How does she survive and return in all her glory just months after inundated by waters that roared 20 feet deep in this stream? Can your soils look the same after such an attack? How can you make them achieve such? Is it by cutting, or planting, or manipulating, or doing nothing? Which is best? Have you looked close at your land and thot these thots?

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What path will you choose? What path should you choose? Where will you be tomorrow? Where will your land be tomorrow? Will it mimic nature long after you are gone, or will it be struggling to recover the results of you actions?
Just some thots for you to ponder as you hunt this season. Put away your phone, look, listen, smell, feel what she teaches. Not all the answers are on the internet. Enjoy. Peace.

"The government tells us we need flood control and comes to straighten the creek in our pasture. The engineer on the job tells us the creek is now able to carry off more flood water, but in the process we have lost our old willows where the owl hooted on a winter night and under which the cows switched flies in the noon shade. We lost the little marshy spot where our fringed gentians bloomed." ----Aldo Leopold

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Oh, and one last thing. I think the perfect name for our Perfect Habitat Property would be RADICLE.

 

[George]

Wow that post sure expanded very nice Lak.

G

 

[buckdeer1]

Very nice

 

[Seabee]

Excellent!

 

[Native Hunter]

Too cool Lak. Your mind must not ever slow down......

But just like David Allen Coe had to add another verse to that song, you need to add a picture of some of those Perfect Lak Tomatoes. A man can't do habitat work without proper nutrition.......

 

[CTM1]

Some excellent choices Lak, but I think my inclusion should be under what not to do with tractors and equipment. I am the reason manufacturers write manuals and place warning stickers on items .

That breakfast pic left me hungry.

 

[DocHolladay]

Thats great.

 

[Cedar Ridge]

Sounds like a place that I would love to visit or own. This forum is a special place and I'm thankful for everyone that was mentioned and many that weren't. It's impossible to put a price on the enjoyment I get from following along and the knowledge that I've gained. Really appreciate it.

 

[Weasel]

Can't forget Lak's amazing vegetables and his expertise as activity leader!

 

[Elkaddict]

Outstanding, We missed Chainsaw's releasing of apple trees!

 

[lakngolf]

Outstanding, We missed Chainsaw's releasing of apple trees!

He's up there, but no picture. I will find one and put it here.

TSI director Chainsaw can find those apple trees anywhere. This large one went unnoticed for years right next to his house!

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

Great post lak! Looks like a property I would like to be a part of. You definitely would have the perfect habitat property with that group of folks.

 

[BrianVT]

My friend you have listed the perfect habitat thread but you didn't mention anything about Minerals, BoB, or getting skunked......

 

[Chainsaw]

He's up there, but no picture. I will find one and put it here.

TSI director Chainsaw can find those apple trees anywhere. This large one went unnoticed for years right next to his house!

Good one lak, but remember there are so many apple trees that 62 unreleased trees in total were marked in the house area on that day alone. Admittedly this one was in clear view not previously even noticed. And I have a confession to make regarding this tree; there was a little ground shrinkage on the size of this tree. The trunk turned out to be more like 7 inches diameter rather than 14 inches! Here it is released;

The cut stump was an ash and not part of the apple tree as previously calculated.--thus apple tree ground shrinkage!

And the perfect property would also include Outdoor Tom's pond system which makes its way to the mighty Saint Lawrence across the street.

And the perfect property would also include Chummers two properties with their many diverse plantings of this bush and that bush, and fruit trees and spruce trees backing up to big woods where BIG is measured in sq. miles. Most of the population live along the outside edges of the 2100 sq. miles of the Tugg Hill Plateau that Chummers properties are a part of.

And I think a 12 acre hinge cut part of the sanctuary which is holding and protecting bucks to maturity like Elk Addict has should be on the must have list for the perfect property.

Great idea for a thread Lak.

 

[Nebraskaz71]

Can I have permission to hunt this property if it ever develops?! lol

 

[dogghr]

Great thread Lakn and choices except maybe for the rambling lunatic mountain boy. It's funny you started this because as I was making my list yesterday of things to do at the farm this weekend I began to think the list would have been 1/4 the size had I not been lucky enough to find the previous forum and learn so much from so many. In my mind I was going thru how each poster taught something I didn't know. Its a shame that org managed to split up a great group of people, but in the end have come out the better. We are a lucky and unique bunch that most people/hunters just don't understand. Bunch of good friends that I've never met on here. Thanks.

 

[Elkaddict]

The perfect property will also provide fishing opportunities for the grandpups....we need to draw them to the outdoor lifestyle any way possible. This one has mudcats, bass, trout and perch.

 

[Longleaf]

Excellent thread!