Double A Farm (NE Ohio) updates

[Weasel]

Not sure if you are familiar with the Power Plant mix that Whitetail Institue sells, this is just one of my versions of that. I thought I had peas leftover in the barn but I used them all. So I threw in a little milo instead to make a bean, sunflower, sorghum & milo mix.

 

[Weasel]

Managed to get a few tree stands up through the scattered showers. Safety first always with tree stands. Use of a linemans belt not only provides safety, it frees up both hands and makes hanging stands a breeze. Couple that with a stand pulley and you're golden.

Sure is nice to have a friend around on a stand hanging day. Here's my buddy Chris trimming shooting lanes.

 

[Mainedrifter]

Yeah buddy... Hanging stands feels pretty good doesn't it ! Place is looking awesome, keep it up.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Weasel - I just got back onto this thread after being away on a project. The cabin you built is great and the use of re-cycled stuff is the ticket.
Your place looks really good and the plots are coming along well. What seed mix (s) did you get from Ernst ?? I'd thought of trying some of their seed to see how it did at our camp. They seem to have seed mixes for just about ANY situation.

 

[Weasel]

Yeah buddy... Hanging stands feels pretty good doesn't it ! Place is looking awesome, keep it up.

Thanks Maine. Hung a few more yesterday morning while it was in the 60s. Nice to get a cool morning to get you dreaming about autumn.

What seed mix (s) did you get from Ernst ?

I buy everything in bulk individually and mix my own. I'm sure you would be fine buying their mixes as they are a great company. However, sometimes I like strips of one crop by itself and other places I put down a mix. I like having the flexibility of buying bulk.

Here's the brassica mix I made with canola, purple top turnips, radishes and dwarf essex rape. Rye, oats, bean & sunflowers around the edge. Planted August 1st. Pic was taken yesterday at 3 weeks.

Here's a version of Power Plant I tried this year, soybeans, sorghum, sunflowers & milo. This got planted later than I wanted so it will be interesting to see how it ends up.

Can't believe the deer have left the sunflowers in this field alone. I rarely get them this big.

 

[Weasel]

Farmer's beans are looking great in the front field. I hope to someday have my beans look like that in my back, secluded field.

The corn & beans I planted in the back field were a major bust, pretty much just as expected after the 2 row planter problems. Good news is I must have done something right to the soil to bring up the PH the last few years because the spotty corn that is there has multiple cobs on it. I hope my second attempt next year is better.

 

[Weasel]

Acorns are looking pretty small this year. Hopefully they'll put a little more growth on before growing season ends. This is a swamp white on the property line with my neighbor.

 

[Weasel]

Got a few more stands hung and moved some cameras around.

These maples are pretty much useless but they do make good stand trees when they're on a field edge and get multiple branches.

 

[Weasel]

Plenty of cover, just needs a few shooting lanes.

Overlooking the west end of my pitiful corn plot. There are brassicas growing in there and rye & oats will be going in there in the next week or two. Orchard is just beyond the corn and it's filled with clover & alfalfa. More plots to the left in this back field with soybeans, LC mix, clover, sorghum & milo. The tall stuff between the plots is mostly golden rod. It gets about 5 foot tall and makes a great free screen.

Behind this stand is a 10+ acre sanctuary that is darn near impenetrable. It's a decade old clear cut that is just super nasty. I've been in there twice in three years, to shed hunt & to recover a deer. Since turning this back, secluded field into a buffet the last few years, there are now multiple trails that come together out of the sanctuary about 20 yards upwind of this stand. It can be accessed and hunted safely on a west wind. Chip shot to the field edge I've seen them walk a ton of times from an observation stand across the field.

 

[Weasel]

Here's a couple pics from another hidden plot. This is the first year for this plot. Will do a little more edge feathering this winter and continue to bring the PH up. Not looking too bad though.

 

[scott44]

Looking good!

 

[Weasel]

After way too much time figuring out how to post a video here...:mad:

People often ask if all the habitat improvements on the farm over the last few years have made the farm more attractive to deer...Notice how they are randomly browsing on the native vegetation, a lot of it is regen from stumps after opening up the canopy.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Great job, Weasel !! That tree set-up downwind of the trail exiting the nasty stuff ought to be gold. Good views from tree stand. Plots are looking really good.

This habitat work becomes an addiction !! I remember you from the other forum - SBCrafter. We have done 2 logging jobs totaling about 25 acres the last 3 years. I put some concrete mesh cages around some of the oak & maple stumps to keep the deer off the stump sprouts for a couple years. That way we get free browse material and cover from the protected shoots once they are allowed to grow undisturbed for a year or 2 - or 3. Left un-caged, the stump sprouts get chewed off to the ground. Your cut area has some good regen. in it. The deer in your video are walking around in a face-level salad bowl. Nice !!

 

[j-bird]

Well - now your making me look bad! I was just telling my wife I needed to get off my butt and get my stands up.....sounds like a good task for the holiday weekend!

I like having some help if/when I can get it but it's for a different reason. I use them as "the deer" so I can ensure I have the shooting lanes where I want them! It helps with trimming just enough and not too much or too little. Yep - I got issues!!!

 

[Native Hunter]

Something tells me you aren't going to be short on food this year. I especially love the little secluded plots.

 

[Weasel]

Thanks Bowsnbucks. Caging the stumps is a good idea, never heard that one before.

I agree j-bird. Nice having a partner to walk by like a deer when trimming. When I'm alone, I'll drop my hat or whatever as a ground reference so I'll know where to trim.

Thanks NH. I'm hoping there's enough to keep them hanging around. I'm getting a little discouraged by the lack of mature bucks on camera but all we need is one or two good ones to move in once the bachelor groups break up next month. I moved a couple of cameras to some thicker areas away from all the doe groups so hopefully I'll catch a few bucks.

 

[Weasel]

Over the years, my farm has become the Island of Misfit Ladder Stands. Buddies buy them and set them up once and decide they don't like them. Well, another unloved ladder stand showed up on the door step the other day. I'll find a spot for it somewhere.

 

[Weasel]

My wife, a teacher, and my girls started back to school last week. I stayed home from the farm this weekend to catch up on their week and have some family fun. I did have a few hours to myself to get some bed lights installed on the farm buggy. I installed a similar set up on my old UTV and it was priceless in the dark mornings/evenings.

 

[Weasel]

Both the red and white oaks in my backyard at home have acorns this year.

 

[Eggman]

You got deer candy in your hands there!!!