Prairie Valley Farm

[IkemanTx]

Where does one get an invisible selfie stick?

I got mine as a package with the Insta360 One R
The selfie stick is digitally removed when it stitches the 360 imagery together.

This video was probably some of the worst image quality I have gotten out of the camera, because I got a smudge on one of the lenses and didn’t have anything dry to wipe it off with. I had already sweat through all of my clothing and forgot my lens cloth. I also forgot my external mic adapter, so this is audio straight from the action cam.... lots of clicks and bumps any time I move the selfie stick.

Live and learn.


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[IkemanTx]

Swung by the farm today to check on the clover/vetch plot I weeded last week. With the lack of competition, and the moisture we have gotten in the past week, the plot really jumped in growth.

Last week, the tallest clover or vetch was maybe 2-3 inches. After just a week, the average height of them is 6-7 inches. Much better!

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[IkemanTx]

Swung by a local seed store and picked 200lbs of food plot seed today. My plan is to Throw N Mow this plot.

I will also mow the regrowth we got from the cockleburs on the vetch/clover plot, mow a few strips through the dove plot, and mow the fire break around the unit we may burn in February.

Monday looks like the day. Everyone is off work/school, and rain is predicted Tuesday and Wednesday.
It will be a good day to bring our new pup out to experience the farm for the first time too.

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[scott44]

Swung by a local seed store and picked 200lbs of food plot seed today. My plan is to Throw N Mow this plot.

I will also mow the regrowth we got from the cockleburs on the vetch/clover plot, mow a few strips through the dove plot, and mow the fire break around the unit we may burn in February.

Monday looks like the day. Everyone is off work/school, and rain is predicted Tuesday and Wednesday.
It will be a good day to bring our new pup out to experience the farm for the first time too.

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What all are you planting?

 

[IkemanTx]

Swung by a local seed store and picked 200lbs of food plot seed today. My plan is to Throw N Mow this plot.

I will also mow the regrowth we got from the cockleburs on the vetch/clover plot, mow a few strips through the dove plot, and mow the fire break around the unit we may burn in February.

Monday looks like the day. Everyone is off work/school, and rain is predicted Tuesday and Wednesday.
It will be a good day to bring our new pup out to experience the farm for the first time too.

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What all are you planting?

Half the bags are a mixture of wheat, oats, rye and peas.

The other 2 bags are

Wheat 12%, Oats 12%, Rye 12%, Barley 12%, Triticale 12%, Winterpeas 10%, Crimson Clover 4%, Berseem Clover 4%, Turnips 4%, Rape 4%, Arrowleaf Clover 4%, Yellow Blossom Clover 4%, Vetch 3%, Alfalfa 2%, Silver River Clover 1%

The wife and I have a strict $125 each per month discretionary, and doing 2 of the cheaper bags (less complex mix) put me exactly at September’s discretionary budget. Haha. I would have liked to have done all 4 with the more diverse mix, but I have MORE than enough food on the place for the extremely low DPSM in the area.


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[scott44]

Half the bags are a mixture of wheat, oats, rye and peas.

The other 2 bags are

Wheat 12%, Oats 12%, Rye 12%, Barley 12%, Triticale 12%, Winterpeas 10%, Crimson Clover 4%, Berseem Clover 4%, Turnips 4%, Rape 4%, Arrowleaf Clover 4%, Yellow Blossom Clover 4%, Vetch 3%, Alfalfa 2%, Silver River Clover 1%

The wife and I have a strict $125 each per month discretionary, and doing 2 of the cheaper bags (less complex mix) put me exactly at September’s discretionary budget. Haha. I would have liked to have done all 4 with the more diverse mix, but I have MORE than enough food on the place for the extremely low DPSM in the area.


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I like diversity yours looks good!

 

[IkemanTx]

Little update on the dog.... he upgraded to a bigger bone today. He drug one side of a matching 10-point set out and I just couldn’t take it away from him. It is a small 10 anyways.... might as well donate it to him!

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[IkemanTx]

Well, it only took 2 years of running a camera, but we finally have the first antlered deer seen on the place in 10+ years...

I meant to take some pictures or videos of the work today, but it was enough work I couldn’t justify stopping to film. The dove plot was pretty sparse, but definitely being used. We mowed it down to the ground to release seeds and give good ground for the dove to walk on.

The vetch/clover plot is probably 60% cockleburs, even after cutting them all down earlier in the summer. I will re-broadcast some more seed in the spring where the plot was shaded over, and avoid any ground disturbance to try and keep that in check.

The main plot had a small smattering of Sunn hemp, okra, and the tiniest bit of safflower. Everything else was in the plot was Johnson grass, common ragweed, and giant ragweed. Not nearly as much biomass as I would like, that’s for sure, but much better than it could have been.

The farm started the year holding an inch or so of water (all of February, March, and April the ground was soggy) but then it was like the rains just kept parting over the place. Our house is an hour south, and my parents are 20 miles north.... those two locations are running about 5 inches over yearly average total already..... the farm is somehow 10+ inches shorter. Hopefully we get some germination out of this plot, so that I have a good stand to plant into next year, and can choke out some of the weed grasses.


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[H20fwler]

Little update on the dog.... he upgraded to a bigger bone today. He drug one side of a matching 10-point set out and I just couldn’t take it away from him. It is a small 10 anyways.... might as well donate it to him!

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I want to hear more about this guy!
Name/age/story?

Very good looking pup, is it your first GSP?

 

[IkemanTx]

Little update on the dog.... he upgraded to a bigger bone today. He drug one side of a matching 10-point set out and I just couldn’t take it away from him. It is a small 10 anyways.... might as well donate it to him!

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I want to hear more about this guy!
Name/age/story?

Very good looking pup, is it your first GSP?

His name is Remmie, He is 15 weeks now, and it is our first GSP. But, I had springer and Brittany spaniels growing up, so I am familiar with the energy level.

I’m going to be training him for shed hunting, as there’s really not much in the way of upland game birds around us. Maybe do a little retrieving in dove season each year.

He enjoyed himself at the farm last week. He was off leash for a couple hours and did great. He did eat a lot of random things he shouldn’t have (hedge apple, flower heads, clay clods.....) and all ended up coming back up. But, he was right back to playing around after that.

Current struggles are his tendency to lead with his mouth. Be it clothing, hands, or whatever... his first move is to softly bite. And as a puppy, it doesn’t always end up soft. He has also decided he loves digging, so the garden hasn’t fared well. 90% of the day he is astoundingly well behaved for a pup his age, especially considering his breed. We are excited to get into some real training soon.


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[IkemanTx]

Stopped by the farm the other day to check in on things. The food plot has only had 2 good rains since planting on Sept. 7th. The first was right after Throw N Mow planting, and the second was a couple weeks ago. The food plot is still very short, just hanging in there waiting on more moisture. It seems that we had very good germination nonetheless.

Also, there’s several bucks showing up on the camera I hung on the west side of the plot. There’s also a fair amount of does on camera as well. Definitely a good start for year 1.

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[IkemanTx]

Swung by the farm today and mowed the food plots so I can spray in a week or so. The winter deer plot turned out gorgeous. The crimson clover, vetch, peas, and cereals all exploded this spring. The camera has picked up a bachelor buck group of 4 using the plot over the last 3 weeks. I know the transition to the summer plot will take a toll on their frequency, but I take it as a good sign that they’ll use it this summer.

The wildflowers are starting up as well. Not many are blooming yet, but false indigos, clovers, and Indian paintbrushes have all started.

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[IkemanTx]

I realized I never posted the pics/video from a drone flight I did over the farm a couple months ago....


The whole 43 acres from the south. The red outlines the food plots. 2ac Dove field to the right, 2ac deer plot in the middle, and 0.5 acre alyce clover / joint vetch field to the left.

Looking south into the 13 acre burn unit with the cut cedars.

The cut cedars looking north from the south fence line.

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[Bill]

Stop it!
I've been talking myself out of a drone...

 

[IkemanTx]

Stop it!
I've been talking myself out of a drone...

It’s not even mine. It’s on a multi-month loan from my brother. I’m already hooked.
DJI is releasing their new Air 2S on Thursday and I’m anxiously awaiting the launch to see if I will finally jump in. The leaks on it look awesome.... 1 inch CMOS sensor, will have an onboard ADS-B safety feature that communicates with the FAA about the location of your drone and other airplanes in the area, looks like it is getting better obstacle avoidance too.... essentially, it looks like a Mavic 2 pro, but in the smaller air form factor.


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[IkemanTx]

Well, we went 27 days of September without a drop of rain in north Texas, and I spent 10 days quarantined because I caught CoVid… so, since October plantings tend to not do well in our area, at least for hunting purposes, there will be no fall food plots on the farm this year.

I am still on track to burn the portion of the property where I cut the cedars down, and may try to put in spring oats, clover, and chicory in the fire breaks and main plot then while I have the equipment in.

I plan to have the neighbor graze the place in July/August after the dormant season burn to help forb and broadleaf production. I guess I have to hit the public land hard for another year before the family place starts having a reason to hold deer.

Best laid plans…


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[TreeDaddy]

Just caught up on this enjoyable thread

At least you have that good lookin pup for a habitat buddy!

bill

 

[Native Hunter]

Sorry for the bad luck and wishing you the best.

 

[Bill]

no time for Rye?

 

[IkemanTx]

no time for Rye?

I could do rye, but my sept 1 planted rye hasn’t gotten taller than 1/2”-1” by late February the last 2 years. (And not from deer browse, because our population is abysmally low) And, trying to get borrowed equipment in at this point isn’t worth a late october rye field compared to a spring oat one done right that I already have the equipment on property to prep for the burn.

Better to do a good early spring plot than a crappy 6-7 week late fall one.

I have yet to find someone with a No-till drill for hire, or one for rent small enough for the equipment I have access to. The county has one, but it requires 100hp minimum with rear hydraulics.

EDIT: I may TNM some rye and clover down… I was planning to mow all the fire breaks as soon as the grass went dormant to make the discing easier and provide a fuel free finish.. I could do that a month early with some seed under it. I wouldn’t waste the gly for something that late in the year, though, so it would be purely cereals since the smaller seed would have a hard time competing….. hmmm

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