bueller's blotter

[CrazyEd]

Yeah, the wilt is tough on the eyes. We have a huge area on the front of our properties where it's the worst. In the back we don't have any evidence of it, hopefully it stays that way but yeah it's sad to see the big giants continue to fall over year after year after year.

 

[SD51555]

A very small consolation prize could be mushrooms that come up around those oaks as they die off. It may be worth a walk through in the spring and fall to see if you get any Hens or Morels.

 

[dtabor]

Great post. I will be watching it for sure! Love to see what the "smaller acreage" landowners are doing. I have 30 acres but it also includes my home as well.

 

[bueller]

Great post. I will be watching it for sure! Love to see what the "smaller acreage" landowners are doing. I have 30 acres but it also includes my home as well.

We have two camper trailers setup on our property. Currently we are blessed with a couple of adjoining "absentee" landowners which allows our land to hunt larger than it really is. We do not use their land but it more than doubles "our" sanctuary :D. I really hope it stays that way until my son is all grown up so he can share some of the same experiences I had.

 

[bueller]

Sent my soil test to Biologic last week and received the emailed results this morning. Total cost including shipping was about $9. I was shocked to find that my pH level is up to 6.3!!! :D This is sandy soil that tested at 5.3 in 2010. I added between 1.5 and 2 tons of ag lime per acre that year yet it still tested at 5.3 in 2012. In 2012 I again added 1.5-2 tons of ag lime per acre and now finally this year I have a soil test that puts a smile on my face!!! The Potassium and Calcium levels have also come a long way. Not sure what to think about the Phosphorus and Magnesium levels. No wonder my red clover planted in 2012 has grown so well :cool:

2014 soil test

2012 soil test

2010 soil test

 

[wiscwhip]

Looks good bueller. Looks like you can concentrate the fertilizer fund toward K and whatever N you need to feed this years crop. How much lime did they recommend? Did you have your OM tested per chance? How often have you been tilling that plot? Sorry for all the ?

 

[sandbur]

I enjoyed the pictures and tour.

what type of habitat do the deer bed in with your environs?

 

[bueller]

Looks good bueller. Looks like you can concentrate the fertilizer fund toward K and whatever N you need to feed this years crop. How much lime did they recommend? Did you have your OM tested per chance? How often have you been tilling that plot? Sorry for all the ?

They recommended ZERO lime. I thought about having the OM tested by sending the sample to Whitetail Institute for a couple more dollars but opted not to, kinda wish I had now. No Till, just scratch the surface from time to time. Don't apologize for the questions they are all welcome here.

 

[wiscwhip]

I mostly knew what you were going to say about the tillage because of things you've mentioned in other posts, but I wanted to show your soil tests and other posts to my dad to show him the stuff I was telling him we should be doing on his old place would work in our that. He was determined to completely disc both our plots 4-6" deep every other year at least.:( He just refused to believe that there was a better way on that sand than the way all the dairy farmers with great dirt did it. Hard to teach the old dogs I guess?:confused: Moot point now I suppose, but I'm sure he would find those multi-year test pretty eye opening.

 

[CrazyEd]

Looks good Bueller I am hoping some day I can turn my sand pile into some halfway decent ground. I'm going the no-till route as well with tons of rye and as much lime as I can manage to put down.

I'll be planting my second foodplot this weekend. PTT, GFR, Winter Rye and Partridge Pea. Curious to see how my other plot is doing that was put in over memorial day. We've got about 1-1.5" of rain since then.

 

[bueller]

I enjoyed the pictures and tour.

what type of habitat do the deer bed in with your environs?

I'll try to describe what I see the best that I can. Our immediate area (square mile or two) is forested with essentially no agriculture or major elevation changes. The areas that are dominated by young jack pine and scrub oak are very thick and the sight line at eye level of a deer, or a human for that matter, is very limited. I do not notice very much bedding happening in these areas. I do find deer consistently bedding in and on the edge of our small meadows. The sun hits the ground in these areas and the sedge is just tall enough to provide a bedded deer with some cover and a great sight line. These meadows have shrubs and some trees providing additional cover with the thick escape cover nearby. Other than that any forested area where the mature trees are thinning out is prime bedding, oak wilt areas are a perfect example. Sedge is also covering the forest floor in these areas. In areas where the forest floor is not grass covered I do not find beds. We have one spot where the ground is covered with some sort of soft moss and sedge. They really like to bed there. I think they like to be comfortable just like you and I and they find comfort "padding" in the sedge. Combine that with the available sight line and nearby security cover and bingo. The thing is lots of areas fit what I have described. On the plus side daytime activity can be very good at times if human pressure is kept low as the deer seem to just move from spot to spot browsing and bedding in several different areas throughout the day. On the negative side you really never know where the deer are bedded so walking the woods is risky as most times in this habitat they will pick you out before you pick them out.

 

[wiscwhip]

It will be interesting to see how that PP does on that soil ED. Have you used it before?

 

[bueller]

Honestly guys after the pH tested the same in 2012 as it did in 2010 I never expected to see my sand test at 6.3, especially on a sample taken 2 years after the most recent lime application. I assumed I would always be somewhere in the 5's since I can only carry about 1400 lbs of lime in my trailer and I use the shovel throw method to spread it. If we don't fall into drought again this summer I just may be able to grow a decent stand of brassicas again.

 

[wiscwhip]

beuller you have described that area to a T. Spot on. I don't think I could have described it any better than that. On the average piece of ground over there that doesn't have a creek bottom or permanent wetland to direct movement, it is exactly like that. No distinct bedding areas, very random. Very few distinct trails, deer tend to just wander through the pine barren/oak savannah type woods. You are right in that lots of that area is just as you describe, I would say 80% of the upland ground in a 30 mile(maybe larger) radius of Necedah is exactly like that.

 

[bueller]

beuller you have described that area to a T. Spot on. I don't think I could have described it any better than that. On the average piece of ground over there that doesn't have a creek bottom or permanent wetland to direct movement, it is exactly like that. No distinct bedding areas, very random. Very few distinct trails, deer tend to just wander through the pine barren/oak savannah type woods. You are right in that lots of that area is just as you describe, I would say 80% of the upland ground in a 30 mile(maybe larger) radius of Necedah is exactly like that.

Thank you for the kind words. A few years back was the first time I deer hunted in a habitat different than this. It was an area with tall ridges and steep ravines. I was shocked to discover all the beat down trails and evident scrape lines. I thought "this ought to be easy, there must be a ton more deer around here than what I'm used to". Come to find out the DPSM was very similar to what I was used to but the terrain concentrated their movements and therefore their sign to much more defined areas. And with a dirt forest floor the trails really stick out. Unlike a heavily used trail through the sedge that looks like it could have been made by a rabbit.

 

[wiscwhip]

Thank you for the kind words. A few years back was the first time I deer hunted in a habitat different than this. It was an area with tall ridges and steep ravines. I was shocked to discover all the beat down trails and evident scrape lines. I thought "this ought to be easy, there must be a ton more deer around here than what I'm used to". Come to find out the DPSM was very similar to what I was used to but the terrain concentrated their movements and therefore their sign to much more defined areas. And with a dirt forest floor the trails really stick out. Unlike a heavily used trail through the sedge that looks like it could have been made by a rabbit.

This is also what I find when I hunt the areas in the Coulee Region around LaCrosse where I currently live. Well defined trails and tons of natural funnels in the blufflands, way easier to scout and make decisions on hunt strategies over here than back in the pine barrens of Juneau.

 

[CrazyEd]

It will be interesting to see how that PP does on that soil ED. Have you used it before?

Not really. Maybe a little bit here and there but it was mostly just broadcast it on top of the ground. I think it should do better now that i'm working my seeds into my soil a bit with the thatcher. And broadcasting into standing rye.

I am throwing in another lb of partridge pea in my plot I am planting on sunday. I'll report back on how it does. I think it should do ok.

 

[sandbur]

I'll try to describe what I see the best that I can. Our immediate area (square mile or two) is forested with essentially no agriculture or major elevation changes. The areas that are dominated by young jack pine and scrub oak are very thick and the sight line at eye level of a deer, or a human for that matter, is very limited. I do not notice very much bedding happening in these areas. I do find deer consistently bedding in and on the edge of our small meadows. The sun hits the ground in these areas and the sedge is just tall enough to provide a bedded deer with some cover and a great sight line. These meadows have shrubs and some trees providing additional cover with the thick escape cover nearby. Other than that any forested area where the mature trees are thinning out is prime bedding, oak wilt areas are a perfect example. Sedge is also covering the forest floor in these areas. In areas where the forest floor is not grass covered I do not find beds. We have one spot where the ground is covered with some sort of soft moss and sedge. They really like to bed there. I think they like to be comfortable just like you and I and they find comfort "padding" in the sedge. Combine that with the available sight line and nearby security cover and bingo. The thing is lots of areas fit what I have described. On the plus side daytime activity can be very good at times if human pressure is kept low as the deer seem to just move from spot to spot browsing and bedding in several different areas throughout the day. On the negative side you really never know where the deer are bedded so walking the woods is risky as most times in this habitat they will pick you out before you pick them out.

What is you deer per square mile pre -fawn and do the does get much hunting pressure?

I find it strange that they bed in such open areas, unless it is too escape mosquitoes. Perhaps the deer in my areas have so much more pressure or else we just have less deer.

When you speak of meadows where they bed, what is different about that area? is it a wet or damp meadow?

sorry to ask so many questions, but I find these things interesting.

 

[bueller]

What is you deer per square mile pre -fawn and do the does get much hunting pressure?

I find it strange that they bed in such open areas, unless it is too escape mosquitoes. Perhaps the deer in my areas have so much more pressure or else we just have less deer.

When you speak of meadows where they bed, what is different about that area? is it a wet or damp meadow?

sorry to ask so many questions, but I find these things interesting.

They manage us for 25 dpsm overwinter. The past couple years they have estimated the population to be between 25 and 30. Hunting pressure is high during our gun season, especially with all of the public lands in the area. There is also lots of doe hunters, myself included.

The meadows I speak of as bedding areas are not vast open areas. Many are between 1/4 and 2 acres. Everything is dry by us. No creeks, no swamps, no damp areas. The meadows and small oak ridges where they bed offer the deer great vision compared to the rest of the land. The woods are thick and noisy to move about within and offer very low visibility. Once opening morning of gun season hits the area deer adjust their habits and spend a heck of lot more time hiding in young pine plantations, river bottoms, and swamps. We really don't have any of these nearby and the deer still stick around through the gun season. By us they continue to use the same bedding areas but they become very "skittish" and don't tolerate very much human activity at all. Although we are heavily wooded with no ag nearby there are a number of cabins, trailers, and houses scattered about the landscape. I have found that the deer will bed anywhere they are not disturbed during the gun season, including very close to our camp or other buildings. It's almost as if they like to keep an eye/ear on us and feel safer knowing if/when we are headed their way.

Again no need to apologize for the questions. We can all learn from discussions like this including myself as it makes me think and rethink about things I see on my own land.

 

[bueller]

Art, the area between where I'm standing when taking this photo and where the tall oaks start is a bedding area that holds deer throughout most of the year. They also bed on the backside of this little ridge where the tall oaks end and the thick woods begin, but they do not bed in the thick woods on the other side. Next time up I'll try and take some photos of actual beds and try to show where they are positioned in relation to the landscape.