J-birds place

MG update - things seem to be progressing well.....
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Looks like fun!
Tell Emma it doesn't kick but lean into it anyway :)
After the pic she got comfortable with it and then I had to hold her back.....first she wanted to know if she held the trigger if it would keep shooting and then she wanted to go all rambo/scar face and shoot it from the hip! We actually shortened the stock for her after the pic and it naturally changed her stance to being more forward into a more proper shooting form. It was a great little gun for her to gain some confidence with.....now I have to get her off my ass about buying one of our own!
 
MG update - things seem to be progressing well.....
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The ones with good roots can go in pots. Keep them moist but not drenched once you pot them. Believe it or not they start in a jar of water but they will die once planted if thier in to wet of a location.
 
Actually any with roots can be potted at this point.
 
Actually any with roots can be potted at this point.
Thank you....looks like I have a project this weekend.
 
Well like I said I was going to do I potted my MG cutting today.....hours ago actually. It took 29 gallon pots (less than a dollar each) and 1 and a half bags of garden soil and 2 bud lights. I figured "union rate" would be a brew every 15 pots or so.....I was right!

My work space set-up:
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99% of the cuttings had at least a shoot staring. I would fill the pot about half way with soil and then place the cutting and then top off with soil. Some of the shoots where large enough they remained above the soil but many where still small enough to be covered but I would expect to emerge in a few days to a week of growing.
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I did have one cutting that had a shoot develop at both the lower and upper "joint".
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Once done they all went out in the sun and got a fresh drink...... I got another one as well....
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Now we wait for the shoots to push thru and grow into blades of grass. I have been really surprised how quickly the cuttings developed roots by just sticking them in water. Hopefully the rest of getting these further along is as easy. They are on the back deck so regular watering should be a doable thing. If you look closely you can see a few of the shoots that where tall enough to still be above the soil in the pots.

I need to big a big THANK YOU to Bill for giving me the push I needed in getting this off the ground. He has also been a great resource is helping me along the way. Maybe some day I will have mature enough MG plants where I will be able to pay that favor forward to another habitat junkie.
 
Looks good.
I bet the wife loves on the deck :)
 
Took a walk up north to check a new cam SD card.....card had 350+ 10 second videos of the same 3 does at a mineral site......BORING!!! I moved my cam to my waterhole (it's supposed to get hot and sticky here again next week) to see if I can pick up some different deer use.

My chestnut burrs "seem" to be growing, but I have asked for confirmation from Wayne to be certain. They are a bit bigger than a quarter at the moment. I only have a handful, but am really hoping these turn into my first chestnuts this fall.
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My chinkapin oaks are showing signs of acorns as well. They are pretty reliable producers on my place. They tend to be decent volume producers but their small size makes them a favorite of nearly everything out there! They also drop early in our hunting season here so they can be difficult to deer hunt as early October here is typically pretty warm still.
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This north plot has went thru a real interesting journey. Last summer it was a weak corn plot, so I broadcast some BOB fall annuals into it. Things continued to grow thru the spring and many of the brassica matured and produced seed pods. I have mowed this in strips at different times to try different things.
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I have 2 areas where the red clover has obviously came on strong and the deer are hammering it. Look at all the nipped stems!
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One of the areas I mowed I also tilled just to see what would happen. Many of them have germinated, but weed control has been impossible so we will simply see what happens.
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Last weekend or so I mowed the final center section - it was over 3 feet tall. Again - we will see what happens, but I assume there will be more red clover. My plan was to terminate this entire plot this spring to plant a summer annual of corn or soybeans, but I decided not to and have been really pleased with that decision thus far. Come later in the summer/early fall I may simply mow everything really short and over seed with some turnips and wheat or rye and leave well enough alone.
 
Looks good.
I bet the wife loves on the deck :)
She knows which battles to fight.....she won't fight about outside.....'cause I'll prove my point and do it on the dinning room table! Besides.... I cleaned up my mess and if we need to use the table - I'll move the pots if needed. I "try" to keep my projects manageable here at the house as well......
 
Things are progressing well. Congrats

They make plenty of ARs that are now legal to hunt with in Indiana! Where there's a will... ;)
 
Things are progressing well. Congrats

They make plenty of ARs that are now legal to hunt with in Indiana! Where there's a will... ;)
Yes there are.....however, AR's are pretty spendy vs a bolt gun in the same caliber......and as much as I hate to admit it....I'm a tight-ass! I already have 2 legal rifles as it is (30-30 & 303), so it's far more a "want" than a "need".
 
Yes there are.....however, AR's are pretty spendy vs a bolt gun in the same caliber......and as much as I hate to admit it....I'm a tight-ass! I already have 2 legal rifles as it is (30-30 & 303), so it's far more a "want" than a "need".

I've got both AR style and a bolt in 5.56. I'm here to tell you the CZ bolt action is a tack driver at 300 yards. If I see a yote it's the go to gun. When my son was younger it was great for getting him shooting because of 0 recoil. He's exploded many gatorade bottles filled with water at 100 yards over the years. Nothing like an exploding plastic bottle to keep a kids interest.
 
I've got both AR style and a bolt in 5.56. I'm here to tell you the CZ bolt action is a tack driver at 300 yards. If I see a yote it's the go to gun. When my son was younger it was great for getting him shooting because of 0 recoil. He's exploded many gatorade bottles filled with water at 100 yards over the years. Nothing like an exploding plastic bottle to keep a kids interest.
Yep - that is what I saw as well.....the kids loved it......my thing is I can't justify $800+ to hunt water bottles with a 5.56. I already have a varmint gun in 22-250......that is a wicked little round for critters! I also have a short range deer gun in 30-30 as well. Not sure I really need a long range deer gun (where a 308 would shine) and if I did go that route I can get a bolt gun and scope package deal for $500.
 
Got a busy social schedule this weekend (wedding shower, graduation parties and the like - if they didn't have beer and food I wouldn't be going) so I am not sure if I will get out for some pics, so I snapped this today of my MG progress. Everything seems to be going well from what I can tell. Just for documentation sake I also looked up the rain we have gotten this summer because it sure seems like a lot. Indianapolis has had 8.5" of rain in may, 6.5" of rain in June & 4.85" in July (and the month is only 1/2 over). Good news is - I haven't had to water any of my trees!
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Not sure if this will work or not because I'm not real good with the computer/tech stuff....but I thought you all may enjoy a good laugh.
https://www.facebook.com/melissa.de..._t=mentions_comment&notif_id=1500167250122403
Saturday I had social commitments to attend to so I didn't get much done around the house.....However as you can see I made up for it saturday evening! A buddy on mine had a daughter graduate high school so we had to go do our thing. Well one thing led to another and before I knew it I was challenged (bet 5$ actually) to a "long slide" contest on the slip-n-slide. Well, when a man is challenged in public he is prone to do some strange things. My buddy went first and I went second.....as you can see I won by a wide margin. Now keep in mind this was BEFORE the real beer drinking started!!! I have no pride and if you can;t laugh at yourself once n a while you have no business laughing at others.

Well I learned the link didn't work. Here are some screen captures of the video off my phone. Sorry they are blurry...but maybe that's a good thing.
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Well I did get a little work done and checked on a few things as well.

I mowed this area 2 weeks ago and broadcast some clover/chicory into the plot today. I cleared the plot last year, but the seed I spread was annuals and I wanted something perennial in there. This is ground level....decent stream to the left and my bean/corn SW plot on the right and this is in a narrow strip of trees along the creek bank that connects 2 larger pieces of cover. I "think" I have a pic of this plot from the stand from last year.....if I can find it I will add as well. Should be a nice little archery plot OR a plot for catching Mr. Big trying to sneak thru....I saw him last year and wasn't able to seal the deal.....maybe he made it and I see him again this year!
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I took a pic of my bean/corn plot in the SW as well. Seems to be doing OK - I will be adding cereal grains and brassica for diversity into this plot shortly.

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I also checked my corn/bean plot in the south. The corn is way to heavy so I need to do something about it, but there seems to be plenty of food and the addition of the sunflowers is interesting as well.
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First time I wished I had a face book account :)
 
First time I wished I had a face book account :)

Don't worry. The link didn't work. I'm bummed too. Really wanted to see that slip and slide!!!!
 
Well crap.... I will see if I can get my hands on the actual video and post it in a manner to share it or at least post some pics from it.
 
First time I wished I had a face book account :)
added some screen captures of the video off my phone....not the best but you get the idea.....that slip-n-slide couldn't contain this fat guy!
 
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