Brian662
5 year old buck +
Fwiw, I've been told by Jon Komp that when your brassicas are yellow and purple they're more short on P and K than they are on N.
Might be worth trying some Triple 19 or similar instead of just urea, IMO.
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Foggy's Deertopia Proving Grounds - Happenings
- Thread starter Foggy47
- Start date
Might be worth trying some Triple 19 or similar instead of just urea, IMO.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I took out all the Jack Pine I could.....(I hate jack pine and the way it looks....tho the deer eat it when needed)......and most of the Red Pine were logged off, but did leave some around the ponds and a few larger areas to provide some winter cover and kept a degree of "beauty" on my place. My place was predominately a RED PINE PLANTATION owned by a timber company. My forester and I made some choices here. Also took all the mature Aspen trees which were predominantly in one section of my property...and some was ready to tip over due to age. (Stump sprouts are now carrying allot of grouse.)
I had the logger avoid damage to the numerous small (stunted) burr oak trees that were scattered through my red pine plantation....as well they avoided any birch....which is now more plentiful too (still not a huge %). I did have a GOOD logger and a good FORESTER...that understood my wants and needs.....and were both attuned to this kind of work. They both did me a solid job.
I'd say that 85% + of the timber taken was Red Pine and that is what Potlatch managed for. They had done a select cut a few years before selling the property to me. And the remaining trees needed a few more years to reach a marketable sale. And I did it.
I have not planted a single tree (except for some apple trees many years back and some spruce to make a screen for our cabin) and 100% of the regenerization is from my trees here. I do worry about having too many pine trees again in the future....and may take some TSI action on those pines to keep them at bay. This property is a tree growing machine! I got water a few feet below the surface and once a tap root is established the trees here really flourish. Huge deal here. Pines can grow up to 30" per year here. Crazy.
The small burr oaks likely number in the thousands now...and were released the minute the pines were cut. Many are now 20 to 30 feet tall and from 4" to 8" diameter. Most are producing acorns on a regular basis each year. Same goes for birch and aspen trees...as well as so many things like hazel, american plumb, and other brush and forbs. Hard to beleive the transformation that occurred. I had almost zero squirrels before...now many of em. Before I seldom saw a rabbit or a grouse or turkeys...much less song birds. Now?....they are all over the place. Now too....by getting rid of row crops.....the coyotes have a far lower chance of catching the little critters than when I did row crops. Now....the switchgrass and rye provide the cover for the prey to survive in the never ending battle.
I feel I have found some good solutions for wildlife on my property.....and I keep working to that end. Been fun figuring it out....and got good results so far. Also now have decent racks on the bucks taken in this area due to better nutrition and less stress in winter (I think).
I am so done with row crops, and tillage....dumb!.....old school methods, that can set you back a bunch. That is my story....and I am sticking to it! Grin.
DRILL BABY, DRILL!
(OH...and THANK YOU SD!.....and several others that helped me to find the light on no-till practices and saving our soils. INVALUABLE!).
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SD51555
5 year old buck +
Fantastic!
Jack pine makes some fantastic campfire wood. It’s my favorite and there is very little up by me, so when we find it, it gets salvaged. I agree on them though, not a very handy tree alive far as I know. How big are the ones you’ve got left?
Red pine is my next favorite. I’ve been on a wood splitting exercise program and it’s doing wonders to keep me busy and help drop the pounds. My first year at the new job, things got out of hand quickly. I’m got that under control and have dropped 21 pounds from the worst day. 13 pounds to go and I’m back to where everything works right.
And I really enjoy making, splitting, and burning proper woods for proper purposes.
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Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Pine has little value to wildlife....period. Deer will bed in the Jack Pine....and will eat it when pressed....but there are many other better choices in my opinion. I want no jack pine if I have a choice....but I still got some re-gen from the past. I think it's like thistle....hard to get rid of....and of little value to me. Yeah...it burns....so does money. All the jacks I got left are re-gen from the past stand....most is 4 to 6"diameter now...and is about the only thing that will grow on some poor soils.
While I like the aesthetics of red pine....and it can provide some wind breaks for cover when small.....red pine has little to no value for any wildlife that I am aware of. I love me some White Pine trees....and I have very few. Most beautiful pine trees available....IMO....but they too do little for wildlife. Still...beauty is beauty.
From making wood standpoint.....I very much prefer a fire made with birch from a crackling flame standpoint.....and some good split oak for heat and long burning attributes. Pine has little BTU's and is worthless as wood in a stove or heating unit....as it creates high levels of creosote....and becomes a recipe for a chimney fire. Yeah....I used to manufacture lots of wood burning furnaces and boilers.....in another life back in the 80's....lol.
Today, I would not have a wood burning appliance in my home. Way too many carcinogens for my loved ones.
Sorry you asked? grin.
SD51555
5 year old buck +
I hear ya. I wouldn’t burn it in a house. It’s good for an ‘up north’ smelling campfire. I also like the conifers for getting done so you can go to bed with a clear conscience during high wildfire danger periods.
Black ash is my go-to for campfire grilling. After the food is off, the pine goes on. I also make as much balsam fir as I can find because it also smells good, burns fast, and is especially good for starting fires. I will widdle a chunk or two down to sticks to start my ash when it’s been rained on. Two weeks ago, I had rain all morning on my wood pile and got it going with one paper bag and some split balsam. The balsam is burned off before the ash is ready for food.
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Foggy47
5 year old buck +
So, with the move from the lake to a townhouse....it's been a challenge to find a home for all my stuff. I'm filling the walls at our little log hunting shack with various mounts I've accumulated over the years and with pictures and lots of memories and old tools and gadgets that a guy accumulates over time. Gonna also hang up some of my patents on the wall and some of the old Stoney Point stuff I cannot part with. But one thing that came from our move is a much needed sturdy table. I had bought an oak library table at a store in Nebraska while on a business trip about 30 years ago. I strapped it to the roof of my car an drove home with it secured to the roof with a couple of ratchet straps. It became my wife's crafting and sewing table for many years when we lived in New Ulm. Then repurposed a few times as our interests changed. Recently it was in our basement at the lake with a lone chair for no known purpose.
It occurred to me that Deertopia really needed this table and then it further occurred to me that a plate glass table top with my land map under would be a huge imrprovement over the rickety table and chairs we had been using. So....ordered the glass cut to size and installed this afternoon. Nice fit for our shack. Really feels like a man cave / hunting shack now....and I got lots more to add. Fun.
It occurred to me that Deertopia really needed this table and then it further occurred to me that a plate glass table top with my land map under would be a huge imrprovement over the rickety table and chairs we had been using. So....ordered the glass cut to size and installed this afternoon. Nice fit for our shack. Really feels like a man cave / hunting shack now....and I got lots more to add. Fun.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Yep...that map and glass top allows us to use white board markers and adhesive dots to show some details. I just made an agreement with an excavator to dig me a pond immediately after rifle season....and use the spoils to cover that tamarack corduroy I put down some 7 years ago. He has the equipment to do this in one day. I still gotta locate the place he digs it...but I got some ideas.
Gonna be a super project....and I can be there to watch and supervise before going back to OZ for the winter,,,,a few days later. Was not sure I was gonna get this done this year.....but now it's "on". Fun. My mind is spinning with all that is happening here in the last few months.....and I got more good things going on.....that I cannot say at this point in time. Rollin. Living Large. Grin.
SD51555
5 year old buck +
I’ll get the fish pond paperwork rounded up and find us some perch and walleye to put in it.
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Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Nah...this is not that big of an undertaking. It's more of a water hole for deer event than a fish pond. We got huge fish ponds all over the place here....and we call them lakes. Grin. I'm not going to travel down that path. Too much else to do for me.
My excavator estimated I would need an area of about 50' diameter and 6 feet deep at the center to get enough fill for my corduroy. That will get down to the water table and should provide a couple of pinch points in a good spot.
I'm keeping my Tri-toon boat...and putting it in a private marina here in a protected cove just off the big lake. Pelican is a fantastic fishery....but hard to fish due to clear water and lots of boating. Like so many lakes here....the best fishing is at night or spring and fall. I dont have allot of time for fishing anymore but cruising the lakes is fun for us. In the new marina, I will have assigned parking and a place to moor my boat for the summer. Fantastic security and lots of other bennies too. Gotta pinch myself at times....this is a great lifestyle. Wish we could have done this sooner.
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Foggy47
5 year old buck +
The products we made when I sold the biz were really well made. Some of the early versions were a bit sketchy as people took them apart and did not know how to re-assemble them. When we solved that and a few other minor issues the products were bullet proof and last for decades of use.
But when I sold the biz….the first thing the new youn idiots did was to make poor quality parts from low quality materials to save a few pennies. They destroyed the durability overnight and gained a bad rep in a hurry. Never asked why we used high strength materials….just screwed everything up. Hard to see that happen to your baby. They are better now….but never should have let this happen and it soured many customers….and me. Screw em.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Gotta ask ....... what products did you manufacture? If your story is on here somewhere - I haven't seen it. Apologies, Foggy!
Golfing with HOA taking care of the chores ........ sheesh!!! But with Deertopia close by, you have other forms of "play" with more time to do them. Not a bad gig.
Golfing with HOA taking care of the chores ........ sheesh!!! But with Deertopia close by, you have other forms of "play" with more time to do them. Not a bad gig.
omicron1792
5 year old buck +
What has Fog not made? He is one of a kind.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I owned Stoney Point Products. I developed what is now called the Hornady Lock and Load OAL Gauge / modified cases / bullet comparator / headspace gauges / rimfire thickness gauges and the various brand of cleaning rod bore guides on the market today. Also made steady stix (rifle rest) and Pole Cat telescoping monopods, bipods, and tripods....for gun rests....as well as a shooting rest called Steady Stix. Also made some laser bore sighters, laser scope sighters, some maintenance cradles for gun cleaning and gun work, target knobs for scopes, and a host of other accessories. Tried to come up with something new each year....while improving on what we had going at the time. We quality tested all the component parts we had made by others....assembled 100% of our products and packaged them all to assure quality products going out the door. I employed 25 people to do these things.
When I sold the company....we were really firing on all 8 cylinders......and my product line was pretty hot with avid shooters. It was getting hard to keep my focus on so many product lines....and run the sales / marketing / product development and improvements.....without some key players to advance this line of goods. In short....I was burning out....and could not work any harder than I did. I really tired to hire some help in sales and marketing.....but never succeeded in the "right" people to advance my company at a fair cost. Some I interviewed (that were capable wanted 1.5 million and more guarantee.....YIKES....no way). I got somewhere in the area of 25 or more patents on this stuff.
Then offers to buy me came flooding in......and I took a good deal after some deal haggling with a good buyer (or so I thought....Long story...). I got paid...and rode off into the sunset. I got paid 100 cents on the dollar....and have lived a good life.
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Foggy47
5 year old buck +
The other day we were looking at some patio furniture for our new place.....and they showed us a popular brand of high back swivel rocking dining chairs. I told them I was not going to buy that brand but would like their table. I would buy a different brand of chairs that was very similar looking and matched the table. We got to discussing the "why" on my choice.
I told them I did not like that "swivel affair" on the brand I was not buying. I got pressed a bit on this....and I related to the sales person about how I had designed that aluminum swivel base for these chairs back in the 1980's when I was selling aluminum extrusion to that company.
At that point in time they were converting from steel construction to aluminum extrusion construction....and had lots of cracking problems when stamping the aluminum bearing "races". I found the means to stamp these races in a soft temper and then heat treat the material after it was formed. This became a "big deal" for this company and the buyer and I became very good friends. I helped him quite a bit with quality issues they had from a former supplier and he was fun to be around for me. Tho...after getting to understand their flagship "swivel and springing design".....I did not feel it was a very good spring design and after a time the spring system got "saggy" due to material choice not being able to withstand repeated stress from operations. The chairs I wanted did not have that issue and thus was a better design. (coil springs vs leaf spring applications.)
Yeah.....been down a few paths before. Us old guys got a story about everything. lol
The buyer for that Patio Furniture Company and I became pretty good freinds...and shot thousands of Prairie Dogs together in the Dakota's back in the day. Bob mentored me on reloading....and was very helpful to the start of Stoney Point Products. If he and I had not shot dogs together, I doubt I would have learned how to do the line of reloading tools I was to make. Strange beginnings....no?
I asked about Bob the other day on a Facebook page for this company......and he had passed on a few years ago. R.I.P. Bob. A real straight shooter.
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Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Photo dump of today's application of 300 lbs of fertilizer over the brassica and some clover plots. Used a high nitrogen and low phosphorus blend to get higher potash and decent sulfur .....which is what I think my brassica needs. Hopefully we get some rain in the next days to get this active. Some areas are really nice looking....and some need a little help. Used a small leaf blower and a shop brush to claan up the spreader before washing it with water and then coating with some diesel fuel. Seems to be a good way to prevent rust. Not sure this is the best treatment on this seeder....but so far I have had zero issues when cleaned up properly. Switchgrass showing improvement in most areas. Next year is gonna be great! 
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