My farm - Where the name "Big Rock" came from.

[John-W-WI]

So I randomly post pictures of my happenings in the outdoor world. I'm finally going to start a thread and update it from time to time. A quick blurb on my farm:

I purchase the 1st 179 acres in 2006, then 1 acre with a cabin a couple of years later (bringing the 180 acre farm back together so to speak). A few years after that I purchased the adjacent 80 acres.

So I've owned my farm for a little over 10 years, and have learned a LOT.

Probably the most valuable lesson I learned (the hard way) is that it's better to do a little well than a lot halfway. Its easy to get a dozen projects underway only to have most of them fail because you spread your time too thin.

So here we go.... In the beginning the pictures won't be in any kind of order or necessarily have much to do with each other. (sorry if any of these are duplicates from previous posts)

Hopefully over time there begins to be a little more rhyme to my reason.

Here is an interesting flower that I ran into last summer on my farm. I believe it is a tiger lily:



There were seeds along the stem:

 

[John-W-WI]

This didn't happen on my farm, but it was FOR the farm.

Hauling too big of an implement on too small of a trailer not tied down well enough will result in the following:






Typical story, it was raining, I was soaked and a little ticked off.

The load shifted and wore right through one of the tires.

Now I have ~2500 lbs of disc on a trailer with a flat and a bent fender. The state patrol said I could leave the trailer so that's what I did (nobody was going to steal it!).

A good friend helped me the next day. 2 trucks, another trailer, and my skid steer and we had it all cleaned up.

The best part is I was almost 3 hours from home!

The good news is I only paid $325 for a disc worth 4 or 5 times that.

Oh what we do for deer.

-John

 

[John-W-WI]

Here is one of me following Jake with the skid steer. We are moving the elevated blind out into the field for 2016 youth season:

 

[Tree Spud]

Probably the most valuable lesson I learned (the hard way) is that it's better to do a little well than a lot halfway. Its easy to get a dozen projects underway only to have most of them fail because you spread your time too thin.

Here is an interesting flower that I ran into last summer on my farm. I believe it is a tiger lily:

View attachment 12389

There were seeds along the stem:
View attachment 12390

Ain't that the truth ... too many in the air and you start dropping them.

Yes, it is a tiger lilly. We have them also, beautiful flower. You should be able to plant those seeds, if you can get them before the squirrels & chipmunks and they should sprout.

Looking forward to the rest of the thread we can compare "oh shit, I didn't think that would happen ..." notes

 

[John-W-WI]

Late summer 2016 - I found a mini-truck on Craigslist and bought it.

I like the idea of the utility of them, and it has a manual transmission. I always wanted Jake to know how to drive a "stick". 10 years old is old enough right?

Here is the night we got it:


The next day in daylight:


We hauled a 20' wood ladder stand in the back. Worked much better than I expected:



And here's a couple of shots of Jake driving it. In his defense, with the lift kit and bigger tires it isn't easy to take off without spinning the tires. If he can drive this thing he can drive anything:

 

[Bill]

I haven't seen a rock in this post yet.

Well not a big one anyway

 

[John-W-WI]

I haven't seen a rock in this post yet.

Well not a big one anyway

Don't worry. They are coming.

 

[greyphase]

Love the big grin on Jakes face in all the pics. These are memories that he'll carry for a lifetime.

 

[TreeDaddy]

John,

That rig is pure East Texas!!!!!!!!!!

bill

 

[bueller]

So I randomly post pictures of my happenings in the outdoor world. I'm finally going to start a thread and update it from time to time.

John, It's about time !!!

 

[Catscratch]

How are you liking that mini truck? I've thought one might be a better option than a UTV.

 

[willy]

John, nice disk. I notice chains around the disk "axles" be careful that they aren't too tight to the axle as they will wear a groove in them and ultimately ruin them. It looks like their purpose is to clean the trash out between the blades so it don't plug up.

I have a old disk that had the same think and I learned the hard way about the chain downfall.

 

[Bill]

How are you liking that mini truck? I've thought one might be a better option than a UTV.

I wonder the same thing. When my side by side goes I may have to try a mini truck. Seems quieter, more versatile and some have heat and Air... for half the cost.
I think I talked myself into that.

 

[swat1018]

I wonder the same thing. When my side by side goes I may have to try a mini truck. Seems quieter, more versatile and some have heat and Air... for half the cost.
I think I talked myself into that.

There was one sitting on the edge of LaBelle when I left the farm, last Monday, for sale. 98 Diahatsu (Toyota) Hi-Jet. Nicest body I've seen on one, fuel injected too. Smokes/burns a little oil he said. Heck of a price, but I've already got two!

 

[John-W-WI]

How are you liking that mini truck? I've thought one might be a better option than a UTV.

I wonder the same thing. When my side by side goes I may have to try a mini truck. Seems quieter, more versatile and some have heat and Air... for half the cost.
I think I talked myself into that.

I have owned a polaris ranger for ~10 years..... A mini truck is no replacement for a UTV in my opinion. A UTV is much more sport and a lot less utility than a mini. I wouldn't consider the mini something I would like to go trail riding with for an afternoon.

But if I'm hauling seed, putting up tree stands, planting trees, etc. etc. I would take the mini every time. I think it fits my use much better. It's great for work less great for play IMHO.

I paid $3000 for my mini and almost $13,000 for my ranger. I won't ever buy another ranger.

John, nice disk. I notice chains around the disk "axles" be careful that they aren't too tight to the axle as they will wear a groove in them and ultimately ruin them. It looks like their purpose is to clean the trash out between the blades so it don't plug up.

I have a old disk that had the same think and I learned the hard way about the chain downfall.

Yeah, the area the disc came from must have had a lot of clay or something. The chains are the 1st thing I'm going to remove. None of them wore through the axle, but some of them have begun to wear through the main 5"x5" tube frame. I don't even need disc scrapers on my ground. I sure don't need chains!

Thanks,

-John

 

[John-W-WI]

Here is Jake doing a little shooting in preparation for season. If you listen closely, the gentleman yelling "faster, faster" is a Vietnam Vet that has become a mentor to Jake... He has introduce him to all kinds of shooting and he loves it! Only second to my wife "Cute Girl" who is a dead eye. I'm not messing with her.

 

[John-W-WI]

(I promise this thread won't just be about Jake shooting, I'm just going through some pictures off my phone).


Here's Jake at a friends range shooting at a metal target (the size of a deer kill zone) at 200 yards. He's shooting reduced load .243 so he has to aim ~10" high. Doesn't hurt that the gun is fully rested either.

 

[John-W-WI]

Jakes 2016 Missouri buck. It was a heck of a hunt. The buck walked withing 20 yards of us before we saw him walking away. He was a 140 yards away before he turned broadside and Jake could make the shot.

He dropped in his tracks. We honestly thought maybe he missed, as he just disappeared?

 

[Bill]

I just added the "land tour" tag to the bottom of the page.

Now you have to keep updating

 

[Merle Hawggard]

Awesome pics John! I'm still looking for that giant boulder that was left when the ice cap retreated though.



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