Upstate Obsession
- Thread starter Elkaddict
- Start date
Triple C
Well-Known Member
That'd be my question Elk. I wonder if beaver naturally abandon a particular pond after a number of years in search of better or new habitat. I know they do on my place. Since 2011, I've had a few beaver impoundments abandoned and years later, reestablished. I love beaver ponds in natural wetlands. I've got an old abandoned site now that is once again, bigger in size than it was years ago when they used the area. They are super busy building the old pond but oddly enough, I've yet to find their hut.
Elkaddict
Well-Known Member
No, they’re surrounded by a large tract of trees they regularly dine on…. I have wondered if the coyotes got to them. I think the pups are also vulnerable to eagles which I see regularly fishing in the pond.
Buckly
Well-Known Member
That pond has been abandoned probably a year ago maybe a bit longer. No fresh sticks or mud. They either moved on or met their demise. Beaver will work their way up and down waterways as the food goes. If there is food there it probably won’t be long and new arrivals will be there. If there’s not sufficient food you may see some sporadic use and that’s about it. New arrivals have no trouble building a dam back up.
Elkaddict
Well-Known Member
It has been some time since I’ve updated. As those who’ve followed this thread know, I’ve struggled with an invasion of quick weed and lambsquarter for several years that has made stand alone brassica plots impossible. It is simply swallowed up, particularly by the quick weed, even if it germinates weeks earlier. This is my second year of planting RR crops to try to eradicate it. Corn has done OK, but I needed to rotate crops.
After Mennoniteman’s post on Titan forage soybeans, I concluded to give them a go. The goal was to provide some summer nutrition and permit several burn downs of the weeds. Each of these fields have been sprayed with a boom sprayer multiple times…and only one field is what I’d call a success.
Germination was sporadic in several fields, but MM was spot on about how these beans survive browsing pressure. Normal ag beans would have be utterly wiped out as each field (they are 1 to 13/4 of an acre in size) has a half dozen deer morning and night. If you look the the photos, you’ll see complete bare spots anywhere near a slash pile. This is the woodchucks. I’m at war with them as well. Interestingly, I’ve seen bears grazing in these plots on multiple occasions now.
In all but one, I’ve already overseeded with brassicas, and will add oats and rye this week. As you’ll note, some of the plots are badly overgrown with quick weed and grasses. I’ve sprayed for grasses, but the quick weed is another problem altogether. I spray it and I’ll kill the brassicas. I’ve been spot spraying…but I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle.
As long as the snows don’t pile up too early, I’ll have plenty of food….for a while.
Because of our mountain locations, these are nearly a month behind growth I see in the valleys. I’ll probably plant these again next year but up the rate to 4 bags an acre….(these are broadcast).
After Mennoniteman’s post on Titan forage soybeans, I concluded to give them a go. The goal was to provide some summer nutrition and permit several burn downs of the weeds. Each of these fields have been sprayed with a boom sprayer multiple times…and only one field is what I’d call a success.
Germination was sporadic in several fields, but MM was spot on about how these beans survive browsing pressure. Normal ag beans would have be utterly wiped out as each field (they are 1 to 13/4 of an acre in size) has a half dozen deer morning and night. If you look the the photos, you’ll see complete bare spots anywhere near a slash pile. This is the woodchucks. I’m at war with them as well. Interestingly, I’ve seen bears grazing in these plots on multiple occasions now.
In all but one, I’ve already overseeded with brassicas, and will add oats and rye this week. As you’ll note, some of the plots are badly overgrown with quick weed and grasses. I’ve sprayed for grasses, but the quick weed is another problem altogether. I spray it and I’ll kill the brassicas. I’ve been spot spraying…but I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle.
As long as the snows don’t pile up too early, I’ll have plenty of food….for a while.
Because of our mountain locations, these are nearly a month behind growth I see in the valleys. I’ll probably plant these again next year but up the rate to 4 bags an acre….(these are broadcast).
Elkaddict
Well-Known Member
I’ve got 3 acres of fields burned down for a Labor Day planting of grains, clover and chicory. Unfortunately, in each case, the thatch is way to thick for T&M. Drought has hit us really hard and I suspect it will take serious moisture to make discing viable. I’m not looking forward to having to rototill that much of our our rocky ground….. Fortunately, our weather pattern is changing…it has noticeably cooled down, and early fall moisture is just around the corner. I’m hoping we’ll get a good soaking the next 2 weeks.
Starting to get excited about hunting (bow season is 6 weeks away). We have a couple of 4-5 year olds running around, and lots of up and comers. Given the deer numbers I’m seeing, I’ve got to thin the heard (we took 3 does last year….and need to double it.
Starting to get excited about hunting (bow season is 6 weeks away). We have a couple of 4-5 year olds running around, and lots of up and comers. Given the deer numbers I’m seeing, I’ve got to thin the heard (we took 3 does last year….and need to double it.
Elkaddict
Well-Known Member
Had my first sit this afternoon. I blew 5 deer out at 2:45 when I walked in. I had 20 deer tonight come into this 1.5 acre plot of clover and grains. I passed several 21/2 year old bucks. There is a 4+ year old 6pt frequently in the plot. I’d like to get him out of the gene pool… but can’t imagine punching my tag this early in the hunt. There are better bucks coming into plots that are nearly impossible to hunt with an east wind…which we have for a couple more days. In all likelihood, I’ll shoot a doe the last day of bow season. It’s good to be back in the woods
Elkaddict
Well-Known Member
It’s been some time since I posted as life has been busy. During Covid, we were forced to work remotely. Work concluded they liked having an additional 31/2 hours of availability (typical daily commute time into Gotham from our suburban home) and has encouraged me to continue working remotely. Hence, we sold our place in the suburbs and moved full time to our Northern Catskills property. The great news is I’m in my happy place full time. The challenge has been working from home in a place that was 40% the size of our downstate place. Consequently, we’ve spent significant effort finishing a basement so I can have a dedicated office/man cave/trophy room, reloading/gunsmithing/fly tying room, and some storage. As you can see from the attached photos, we are on the home stretch of this project.
Attachments
Elkaddict
Well-Known Member
Food plots this year were again a challenge. I got really poor germination in about 35% of my corn/beans. As always, grain and clover mixes rocked. Hunting was successful with a couple decent bucks (for this area) harvested.
I’ve been pulling my hair out trying to get a no-till planter for those years I do forage beans, and for planting brassicas/grain into my clover. I’m now in month 8 of “it will arrive this month”….with planting season 10 weeks out. I suspect the beans will get broadcast again this year…
With the warm weather the last week, I suspected the bears would have ventured out for food. In the last 4 days, one “visited” my Redneck Blind ripping the door off, pulling out a swivel chair and munched the inside. I’ve got an email into Redneck to see if I can simply order new hinges and rivet them in the same holes…. Fortunately, the bears have never touched the other Rednecks or the pop up blinds that are up 8 months a year. For the record, there were no candy bars or other food in the blind.
I’ve been pulling my hair out trying to get a no-till planter for those years I do forage beans, and for planting brassicas/grain into my clover. I’m now in month 8 of “it will arrive this month”….with planting season 10 weeks out. I suspect the beans will get broadcast again this year…
With the warm weather the last week, I suspected the bears would have ventured out for food. In the last 4 days, one “visited” my Redneck Blind ripping the door off, pulling out a swivel chair and munched the inside. I’ve got an email into Redneck to see if I can simply order new hinges and rivet them in the same holes…. Fortunately, the bears have never touched the other Rednecks or the pop up blinds that are up 8 months a year. For the record, there were no candy bars or other food in the blind.
Attachments
Last edited:
Elkaddict
Well-Known Member
As with most years, my boys and I made it to TX for our annual boar/buck archery hunt. I took this buck the last morning after chasing my target buck for 4 days only to find he had broken his right beam, and my 2nd choice buck needed one more year. The boys both missed this year….which has been the source of lots of fun
