J-birds place

[j-bird]

Well I got out today and was able to check on the other plot and spread/plant the other acorns as well. I planted/spread a gallon of acorns and then spread the "floaters" in an area where if any of them grow I can see them.....just because I'm curious.

The north plot is doing OK. It's a mix of brassicas, AWP, oats and clovers. I have some grasses moving in as well, but I got a plan. I did see some sign of browse of the oats which was surprising as typically oats are ignored.

So because of my grass issues I mixed a small batch of cleth, crop oil and AMS and sprayed away. I hit the north plots shown here and the south bottom plots shown in yesterdays post. I know it will kill the oats, but I plan on overseeding with winter wheat anyway. I avoid rye now because it gets SO tall come spring time and I battle it with the rototiller. Winter wheat will survive the winter here and doesn't get near as tall as rye and cause the wrapping issues I have fought with rotary type equipment.

I have a perennial plot that needed some "renovation" that I hit with gly earlier and overseeded in the back left, but it seems to be coming along fine. There are my 3 oldest chestnut trees in the perennial plot, but no nuts yet. You can see the soybeans in the ag field will be harvested soon as well. I think the larger and darker green stuff is rape, but I have no experience with it and I know it was in the mix I planted so I assume that is what it is. I'm glad I planted a little sooner than I normally do in an effort to get more "tonnage". I still need to stop by the co-op and get me some urea. I think a good does of N will be awesome - I may do this when I spread my wheat. Hard to think that the annual portion of this plot was a logging deck just a few months ago with skidders and loaded semi-trucks coming and going.

 

[Catscratch]

Place is looking great!
I hate foxtail, but quail and dove seem to like it. It is certainly worth sacrificing some oats to kill it!
Buddy sounds like a cool dog. I don't think I've ever had a dog that I considered "normal" but they were all great!

 

[pointer]

Very nice!! You are doing a much better job of growing deer chow than I am.

 

[j-bird]

Spent some time out today and found some interesting things.....yes I should be hunting....I know! Today was our archery opener!! I was spreading more acorns.

Found a bedding area where there wasn't one before. This area is on a point/ridge on the south side of my property that overlooks my south bottom field. There were a few small rubs and obvious beds in the dirt.

Up north 2 winters ago I cleared out a strip of timber to release some oaks. Today I went by and something caught my eye on a burr oak tree.....it was acorn for the first time! The squirrels have found it, but I did find one on the ground. This tree had NEVER produced an acorn previously that I am aware of and it was pretty full.

I also tried my hand at my first at a water hole. I picked a spot where the deer liked to travel next to some thick cover where they like to bed. I dug a shallow hole with my front end loader and then used a shower curtain of all things to line the bottom. My soil lacks the clay to have a hole hold water for a long period of time. This hole is only about 4 feet square, but hopefully it will serve it's purpose.

Also pulled my trail cam cards and I have a picture of an OK buck. I am guessing he is 3 years old - he is a clean 8 pointer that is nice and wide, but lacks tine length. I would like to see he grow another year, but he does fall within our harvest guidelines so he may not make it. He is still running with a smaller 2 yr old 8 pointer based on the videos I was able to get. I would really prefer to get a swing at his daddy!!

 

[j-bird]

Well, Sunday I filled the new water hole. I was curious just how much it would hold and I knew I would not really know for certain, so I washed out the 3 point sprayer and filled it and used it as a water truck. It's a 50 gallon sprayer but I am certain it holds more than that (closer to a max of 55 or 60). Filled the water hole up nicely. I backed the sprayer tank over the edge of the hole and removed the strainer bowl and left gravity do it's thing. I am also too impatient to wait for the rain to fill it! I hung a trailcam to see what if any activity it gets.

 

[j-bird]

Well - like always I seem to still be running behind. I am still putting up stands.....and I should be hunting.

Turned the 790 into a "stand buggy" today. There are 2 ladder stands, 3 fixed stands and all the other goodies needed on there.

Here is the view from one stand in an area we haven't hunted much historically - I like to move stands around some just for a different view. What you see is the view to the right, straight ahead and to the left is a thicket area with a creek directly behind.

Now for the bad news......I was SO looking forward to hunting over my new water hole......WTF!:(:mad::confused: I'm upset, disappointed and at a loss - I have no idea what happened - all but completely dry! I'll get me a kiddie pool this week -there WILL BE a water hole there. To top it off my trailcam acted up as well so I don't know if anything visited over the course of the week either.

I seem to be having a hell of a time this year staying on schedule......At the rate I'm going I won;t be ready to hunt until seasons over!!!:p

 

[j-bird]

I will do a better autopsy for a cause of the leak later. I stopped and picked up a poly tub for my second attempt. It's intended to be used to mix concrete in so it's fairly sturdy - it's 8" deep, 24 x 36 in size (roughly 30 gallons). I figure it's a good place to start. It's going in the same location - and I will fully remove the shower curtain and be able to give it a better review for the issue then. Should go in this week or weekend. If I start to see use - I can always expand the size later.

Have to give a shout out to my swapping buddy Catscratch......I sent him some pawpaw seed earlier and he returned the favor with some sawtooth acorns. The USPS flat rate box of $7 was well worth it and helped me make a closer connection to another habitat junkie 100's of miles away.

 

[kabic]

I will do a better autopsy for a cause of the leak later. I stopped and picked up a poly tub for my second attempt. It's intended to be used to mix concrete in so it's fairly sturdy - it's 8" deep, 24 x 36 in size (roughly 30 gallons). I figure it's a good place to start. It's going in the same location - and I will fully remove the shower curtain and be able to give it a better review for the issue then. Should go in this week or weekend. If I start to see use - I can always expand the size later.

I was thinking maybe a deer walked through it and punctured the curtain with their hooves. Only other thing I can think of is the curtain is only water resistant, not water proof (which doesn't make a lot of sense, but if you pull it up and there are no holes what else is there)

 

[j-bird]

I was thinking maybe a deer walked through it and punctured the curtain with their hooves. Only other thing I can think of is the curtain is only water resistant, not water proof (which doesn't make a lot of sense, but if you pull it up and there are no holes what else is there)

I figured it was worth a shot. I figured it would hold water for at least a week.....but not so. I will pull the plastic and give it a real good look when I put the tub in. The plastic tub I bought will work for sure as far as holding the water goes......it isn't as natural looking and I don't think it's quite as large, but those are things I can address later if I choose and I see enough deer use to warrant the extra effort. I was also trying to get off cheap and re-purpose something......I hate throwing things away, especially if I think I may have a use for it. Oh well, you never know until you try. I tried....now I know.....I know how NOT to do it....at least that way!

 

[j-bird]

Well, the failed water hole has bugged me since I found out about it, so I have sort of been on a mission to fix it. I bought some poly tubs earlier in the week and I set out to install them yesterday after work. I am disappointed that they are about half the size of what I had, but if I see some use I can always expand then with a larger tub later.

This is the one I replaced up north. I pulled the plastic curtain out of the soil and leveled the bottom and set the tub in place and then back filled. Filled with water via mt sprayer again. BY calculation it holds 30 gallons in reality it holds about 25.

Since I bought 2 tubs I installed the other one at the edge of a plot on the south portion of my property. Since some folks seem to have luck with them in plots I figured I would give it a shot and placed it in a low spot where I know it will collect water. This is right on the edge between my perennial plot/apple trees and my corn plot.

I purposely placed the "spoils" from digging the hole on one side. I am hoping this will keep the deer from standing there and thus position them for a better shot. I am not sure just how well this location will do as it is exposed to direct sunlight, but again - it's one of those things that if it doesn't work - I'm out an hours work.....big deal

I also placed a limb in each hole to rescue any potential swimmers! Now time will tell on which locations work and which ones don't and how I can use that information next year to either move them or expand them in their current locations. I feel better now having these in and I can move on.....I HATE having things unfinished.

 

[kabic]

I also placed a limb in each hole to rescue any potential swimmers!

One of my swimmers didnt make it. Either moles cant climb sticks or the stick was just too small

 

[Spiider]

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing the progress.

 

[j-bird]

I never considered a mole. I do try to put something of decent size for mice, frogs, squirrels and lord knows what all else may fall in. I would think a mole would have a real difficult time climbing almost anything other than say some sort of a flat surface or earthen slope. I guess water holes are not good for ALL wildlife! I thought about just setting the totes on the ground, but I am not sure they will fill on their own with just rainfall and I figured the water would stay cooler if in the soil. Just setting on the ground however would reduce the chance of at least smaller critters getting into it.

 

[pointer]

I have a couple spots I'd like to try the tub hole setup at. Looks like it should work.

 

[j-bird]

I have a couple spots I'd like to try the tub hole setup at. Looks like it should work.

Like I said mine are 18" deep x 24" x 36" and hold about 25 gallons. I got mine from Menards for $12 each. If they work out I will get some kiddie pools on clearance and put them in simply to provide more water if needed. I can then pull these smaller tubs and try new spots. I have to use tubs as my soil lacks the clay to hold water. I just didn't want to invest too much time in these - in case they are of no interest to the deer. So at this point I have $24 and about 4 hours of work into them.....pretty cheap over all and may provide some interesting hunting and cam pictures......we will see. I like trying "new to me" things - helps keep things interesting. Can't be afraid to fail.....if I was, I'd have a dry hole with a shower curtain in the bottom of it still!

 

[kabic]

My little 30 gallon tub hasn't gone empty yet this year. I think yours will be ok unless there is a drought.

 

[ghilliehunter]

JBird, is it true mole taste like chicken and what was the score?

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[j-bird]

Well I was at it again today.....no still not hunting!

Had to check my water holes, hang more stands and the like. The water hole in the south shown me that I need to get some sort or metal screen into my water hole. 3 drown mice in the one water hole alone (I didn't get to my north one - had a birthday party to get to). I did get a cam on the water hole so I can see what activity it draws.

I also improved my scrape tree as well, I felt I needed a bigger "turd" in the punch bowl - as Steve B would say. I had a smaller tree, but I removed it and added a much larger one to hopefully help get some attention. I added some mock scrapes under it as well.......sorry no pic.

As I was hanging stands I also took advantage of a spot that created a great place for a kill plot from the logging earlier this summer. This is a small 1/8 acre clearing along a logging trail that runs along the south creek running east/west and connects two small blocks of cover. This little clearing I will seed with some cereal grains and some clover to make a great plot both this year as well as next.

Here is a map of the location and the 180 degree pano view. Far left is facing due West and as we swing to the right we are looking North and then East.

Stand (white dot) will be accessed via the creek when the wind is from north. I can also access from the field directly south of the stand if needed. Yellow square is a corn plot and the green area to the right of it is a grown over clover plot. Plots are surrounded by switchgrass. Black line between the 2 black squares is the logging trail.

Gotta get a cam on the north water hole and the seed down in the plot above and I can finally get to hunting!!!!

 

[j-bird]

JBird, is it true mole taste like chicken and what was the score?

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

John.....you lost me. Mole? I commented that I never considered a mole ending up in a water hole..... and I am not sure which score you are referring to.... IF by chance your referring to my cubbies.....I'm watching game #1 of the NLCS as I type.....all I will say is you gotta be there to win (go cubs go - lets fly the "W")!

 

[j-bird]

Well in case you haven't figured it out yet I can't leave something unfinished. Today I seeded the new kill plot in biologic fulldraw and addressed the "floaters" issue in my water holes.......and took a pic of my "bigger turd"!

Kill plot - I simply broadcast a small 2.5 lb bag of biologic fulldraw. I was mostly interested in the wheat and clover it had - any of the rape that grows is fine with me. BOB seed works real well in quick situations like this. I'll let the rain do it's thing and hopefully get a crack at a deer in this new spot.....if I ever go hunting!

My "bigger turd" - I cut a small hackberry tree that was about 4" in diameter with several low branches and "planted" in in the same spot as the previous one. I had to hammer in some support for it as well and used 3" wood screws to give the tree the support it needed. I need to get a 3 or 4 inch diameter piece of schedule 80 PVC pipe and do like I have done on the smaller ones. It works pretty slick. Also added some scrape wicks as well to see if that will help encourage some interest as well. You can see my corn plot - I have a stand to the right in the pic and my new water hole isn't but 20 yards from it as well. At the end of the corn plot is the location where I shot the deer in my avatar - and the first decent buck I ever shot as well. My buddy hated this choice of a location for a stand, called it "the dumbest place I have ever seen for a stand".....now its difficult to get him out of it!

Mice in the water holes - well I quickly found out that mice are really stupid. So, since it appears that they can't/won't use the limb in the water to crawl out I have added a piece of small opening metal mesh to the edge and placed a dowel in the ground to hold it in place. I also noticed that the one in the woods was well hidden from all the falling leaves floating on the surface so I thought a piece of flagging tape on the dowel may help keep someone less observant from getting a wet foot or worse!

The screen idea is a patent pending product called "save the swimmers" - I'll sell you the license to use the patent if you would like!:DOr I'll sell you a piece of screen and a dowel rod for $19.95 plus shipping and handling......flagging ribbon is an option at an additional fee.:p