My Land Tour...The Big Woods

[H20fwler]

It's an eye-opener to see how fast pear trees grow. 3 and 4 ft. of growth happened on our 3 pears in a year.

All those flowers are drawing in the pollinators !! Nice mix of plants you have there. Good call on the students planting milkweed at your place, too. Good for all critters, big & small.
How does the home-made honey taste ??

It is awesome, extremely sweet. I have to say we are using more honey at the house now that it comes from our own hives. The whole family is into the hives/honey now...the wife who was very skeptical on the bee project from the start is all about it now that we are getting honey that she can gift to her friends. She very recently has researched all about bees and honey now acts like she has her PHD in it and keeps telling me little factoids about pure raw honey from the area you live has all these health benefits helping your immune system and allergies and on and on....
My daughter had labels made up for the jars so they look more professional.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

^^^^^ Good stuff H20 !! Labels look really sharp. Bees are just cool.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

H20 - Post #51, at the end pix - That wild chicory flower has to be the coolest blue flower out there. My wife loves those. Too bad the plant they grow on is so spindly and crappy looking. She - and I - would like to have some of those blue flowers here at home to look at. They grow all over the roadsides here.

 

[H20fwler]

H20 - Post #51, at the end pix - That wild chicory flower has to be the coolest blue flower out there. My wife loves those. Too bad the plant they grow on is so spindly and crappy looking. She - and I - would like to have some of those blue flowers here at home to look at. They grow all over the roadsides here.

Agree, I've got it planted really thick in the orchard it looks great when all are flowered out but is getting ahead of the clovers so I'm going to mix in some Durana this fall and see if it holds it's own better than the ladino, red and crimson. The bees really like the chicory flowers and the deer will eat all of it up after the first freeze... stem, leaves, everything.

 

[H20fwler]

Added another set of supers to the hives this past week and took the feeders off...plenty of wildflowers for them right now.
They are starting to cap off the full frames

Was at the farm today to check on things with the oldest son and look over the jap beetle damage, trees/shrubs aren't as a bad as I thought most look like they are starting to grow out of it after a shot of sevin last week. Took a couple fruit pics and some flower pics to show what the bees are buzzing about, lots of wildflowers blooming and the clover is still in blossom.


A Honeycrisp that was behind a brush pile that I missed picking the started fruit off this spring, it has about ten nice apples on it and tree looks good so I'm going to just leave them on.

I like the look of the Moonglow pears with the red blush on them.

The burs are really showing on the older Dunstan's

The MG we tried out this spring along the road is coming in pretty good..I'm looking forward to seeing how it does in the next couple years.

Raspberries are thick along the north side of woods, still waiting for them to ripen up.

Lots of wildflowers along woods and in pasture right now.
Some coneflowers

Indian blanket, I think it is my new favorite.

Not quite sure what type these are but there are lots growing in shade along woods.

A few of the flowers the wife planted from seed this spring on Dixies grave.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

^^^^^ What a mess !!!!!! Everything's really rolling there H20 !! Bees must be happy - which helps everything else too. Nice work.

 

[sandbur]

Added another set of supers to the hives this past week and took the feeders off...plenty of wildflowers for them right now.
They are starting to cap off the full frames

Was at the farm today to check on things with the oldest son and look over the jap beetle damage, trees/shrubs aren't as a bad as I thought most look like they are starting to grow out of it after a shot of sevin last week. Took a couple fruit pics and some flower pics to show what the bees are buzzing about, lots of wildflowers blooming and the clover is still in blossom.


A Honeycrisp that was behind a brush pile that I missed picking the started fruit off this spring, it has about ten nice apples on it and tree looks good so I'm going to just leave them on.

I like the look of the Moonglow pears with the red blush on them.

The burs are really showing on the older Dunstan's

The MG we tried out this spring along the road is coming in pretty good..I'm looking forward to seeing how it does in the next couple years.

Raspberries are thick along the north side of woods, still waiting for them to ripen up.

Lots of wildflowers along woods and in pasture right now.
Some coneflowers

Indian blanket, I think it is my new favorite.

Not quite sure what type these are but there are lots growing in shade along woods.

A few of the flowers the wife planted from seed this spring on Dixies grave.

I think that one flower is bergamot.


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[H20fwler]

I think that one flower is bergamot.


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I think your right, I googled it and it looks like a pretty interesting plant.

 

[H20fwler]

Swapped out cards yesterday and took a little walk around.

I still get a kick out of seeing the Indian Blanket growing in the pasture

First swamp milkweed that I have seen on the farm

Lots of turkey and deer tracks in the mud along ponds, had four turkeys in the orchard Monday morning.

Noticed a lot of of praying mantis this year...wish they would hunt the jap beetles

Found a lone Fuji apple growing that I missed picking off this spring...next year I'm going to let the apples do their thing.

A few little bucks hanging around but the place is pretty much a nursery for fawns again this year. Come September big bucks will start coming through every day...it's weird how the two farms are opposite this time of year.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Things are looking good there H20. Lots of diversity - both plants & animals. Things are only headed upward. Clover going to seed next to the Indian blanket in the pic ?? Blossoms browning down …….nice !!

Our camp has the opposite situation as your big woods. We have a good number of nice bucks ( not complaining !! ), but I'd sure like to see more does and fawns. We have some, but when the rut rolls around, the more does to pick from, the better. Yotes probably picking off some young ones.

 

[H20fwler]

Things are looking good there H20. Lots of diversity - both plants & animals. Things are only headed upward. Clover going to seed next to the Indian blanket in the pic ?? Blossoms browning down …….nice !!

Our camp has the opposite situation as your big woods. We have a good number of nice bucks ( not complaining !! ), but I'd sure like to see more does and fawns. We have some, but when the rut rolls around, the more does to pick from, the better. Yotes probably picking off some young ones.

Yep, the clover is starting to reseed all over the place. In the fall this farm is loaded with bucks cruising through...now and then a few nice ones.

 

[H20fwler]

Spent some time out at the farm last Friday.
There are a few small pumpkins growing on the volunteer stuff along drive.

Flowers the wife planted this spring are really coming along on Dixies grave in the orchard.

The pasture is growing well after getting mowed last month.

Plenty of flowers still blossoming in the pasture

The shrubs and trees have come out of the jap beetle devastation really good, way better than I expected I thought a lot of the trees were going to die off. They have grown right out of it with the good rains and Sevin spray...I was sure my cherry trees were done for but they look great now.

Pin Oak

Hazelnut

I am very happy with all the water plantain growing around the edges of the ponds and in the run offs, it is fantastic duck food.

A few random pics

 

[H20fwler]

My main reason for going out to the farm was to fix a big sink hole the size of the hood of my truck and a good three foot deep at the end of the front pond run off that has been growing, right where the boys and I walk through going to our deer stands in the dark.

Not a good pic to really show the size with everything growing up out of it.

I want to keep the water on the farm if possible so I was there to plug up the tile not get it working. We cut all the tiles and dug them back a few years ago to help hold the water in ponds and keep it on the property for the wetlands, this one sprung a leak this past spring.

My sink hole repair kit....

My sink hole repair crew

The tile was way deeper than I thought it would be almost five foot down and it was a bigger tile than I expected, an eight inch.

It was an adventure for Darcy she was sure we had to be digging for ground hogs.
I filled the tile with almost sixty pounds of sack crete then blocked the tile with a big landscaping brick and covered with another sixty pounds of sack crete. I back filled the hole as much as I could and am having a friend bring in a half a load of dirt in his small dump truck next week. That should keep the water in the over flow longer and be a lot safer walk in the dark for the boys and I.


Also noticed a lot of turkey poo here and there as I was walking the pasture with the pup and tracks all around both ponds.


As we were heading back to truck the dog locks up on point...then I saw a huge turkey head sticking up out of the grass about five yards in front of her.
I say NO and it was like a turkey grenade went off, a huge hen with five or six half grown polts blew out of grass running for the woods all around us. The dog started to chase and I called her off, I was able to fumble my phone out of my pocket and snap one pic before they all were in the woods.
They had to be sitting out there hiding a couple hundred yards from me the whole time I was working on the tile.

 

[H20fwler]

Was out at the farm Monday for a couple hours.

I could not be more pleased with how the hives are working out, they are really putting some honey up.

The girls trying to stay cool in the 100 degree muggy heat

Lots of flowers still blooming all around the property, found some of what looked like the bergamot growing out in the pasture

Little Mama's pumpkins are turning

And the reason I was out there was to run the dog on some quail, put out a half dozen singles and because it was so hot out the rest maybe a dozen in one big group.
I couldn't have been more tickeld with how she did for her first time ever with live birds. She hunted the singles right up and the big covey blew up all around her getting up in two waves...let all the birds go maybe one or two will make it to and stay ahead of the hawks for awhile, it would be awesome to hear one whistle while on a deer stand this fall. We haven't had quail in our county since the blizzard of 78, used to love seeing and hearing them. I'm trying to get the cover more bird friendly had the state quail biologist out early this past spring to look things over and give me suggestions on how to sexy the property up for them...would love to get on the wild quail transplant list if they do it again in the next few years.

First point ever on a live game bird

Look at the cock bobwhite under her nose

We are going to have some fun with her this season!

 

[Bill]

I wish I lived closer to my place. Bees would be high on my list.

 

[H20fwler]

I wish I lived closer to my place. Bees would be high on my list.

It has sure been a learning curve and an eye opener for me this year working with my bee mentor to make sure they have what they need. About every couple of weeks they need checked to see how things are going and to make sure they are OK...it only takes about ten-fifteen minutes a hive. I have sure enjoyed them being on the farms so far and will be trying to plant with them in mind in the future. The benefit of having them is really sweet I can't wait till the fruit and berry trees and shrubs get bigger and they can kind of help each other out...the honey is just "gravy" on the whole experience (and seems to have made the wife happy!).

 

[roymunson]

I zoned out after the second post when I saw her wearing a Steeler's hat. I can't have that kind of negativity in my life.

 

[H20fwler]

I zoned out after the second post when I saw her wearing a Steeler's hat. I can't have that kind of negativity in my life.

Yea, those eight trips to the Super Bowl and six rings can be intimidating, no bo big deal she’s only been a fan for about thirty years... myself on the other hand I started in 71.
Not as into them as I used to be with the kneeling and hiding in the locker room crap during the anthem...being a veteran myself I think they definitely screwed the pooch.

 

[H20fwler]

It's actually a family thing or was until the kneeling fiasco started. Daughter would have been with us in this pic too but it was a Thursday game and she had to be up real early for work. The two oldest kids spouses are Bengals fans but we try not to hold it against them.

 

[H20fwler]

Stopped at the farm on the way home from work last night to over seed some clover (trying some Durana) supposed to get some rains here in the next few days.
I snapped a few random pics in the orchard since I was there.

The wife's little pumpkin area she threw her porch decorations at last fall that now she claims as some type of garden is actually making some interesting stuff, besides pumpkins there are little gourds/tiny ornamental pumpkins and butternut squash?

The pears are still growing good but some aren't as pretty as they were getting spots now with all the heat/rain and humidity we have had.

The Fuji apple that I planted a three years ago that had struggled along, cage was knocked off by a deer last fall and this spring looked like it was finally dead. I had kind of forgotten about it and then noticed a month ago that it had thrown a shoot just above graft so I cut off the dead tree to see what would happen. Well it's now a little over three feet tall and branching right out so maybe it will make it after all!

I saw an ad where Raintree Nursery was selling grafted Johnny Appleseed trees a couple years ago and thought it was very interesting because he was very popular in this area planting his orchards and thought it would be awesome to have a tree that was actually from one of his original trees. So I ordered one and planted it the fall of 2016 as a little whip. I think the variety is a Rambo or Rome?
It has grown well and has branched out pretty good, next spring I'll trim the low stuff and try and get it going up more...it has been a great conversation tree with some fantastic history.

He is actually buried about forty five miles from the farm in Ft Wayne IN.

Still getting lots of flowers blooming in the orchard