My Land Tour...The Big Woods
- Thread starter H20fwler
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H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Thanks.
The frame is aluminum I think and the seat must have had a really good thick coat of paint or ten on it at one time, it has stood the test of time... the wife loves it.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
My oldest son has a ten month old female GSP "Lou" that he is just getting started and has been working with through the winter, he brought her up yesterday so we could see how she acts with live birds.
I got some adult quail and we planted them out at the farm to get her some exposure, she started out as more of a flusher with a really great nose. It was a little windy so he worked her downwind and she had no trouble finding them, she bumped the first three and they really flew very well for pen raised birds...by the fourth one she went on a rock solid point and that made the oldest boy extremely happy to see, it was a very nice quick little work session for Lou who finally put it all together.
You can see the quail squirting out right next to her a second before it took to the air.
I threw a few of the quail in the hutch at the house to work Darcy with later...I will be building a good sized pen in the next few weeks so we can have plenty to work the dogs with this summer...and I kind of just like hearing them whistling and chirping back there anyway.
I got some adult quail and we planted them out at the farm to get her some exposure, she started out as more of a flusher with a really great nose. It was a little windy so he worked her downwind and she had no trouble finding them, she bumped the first three and they really flew very well for pen raised birds...by the fourth one she went on a rock solid point and that made the oldest boy extremely happy to see, it was a very nice quick little work session for Lou who finally put it all together.
You can see the quail squirting out right next to her a second before it took to the air.
I threw a few of the quail in the hutch at the house to work Darcy with later...I will be building a good sized pen in the next few weeks so we can have plenty to work the dogs with this summer...and I kind of just like hearing them whistling and chirping back there anyway.
trampledbyturtles
5 year old buck +
By the old equip to boot, sweet pic
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Stocked the front pond today with bass/channel cats/crappie and five pounds of minnows...we already had some crappie and channel cats in the pond along with a bunch of minnows and native mosquito minnows and all kinds of tadpoles, frogs and water bugs so there should be plenty for everything to eat and plenty of weed cover.
By next summer we should be able to do a little catch & release fishing and in a couple years some serious fishing with a fish fry!
I was very happy with the size of the fish for the price....it's way cheaper fish stocking than putting in a few fruit trees.
By next summer we should be able to do a little catch & release fishing and in a couple years some serious fishing with a fish fry!
I was very happy with the size of the fish for the price....it's way cheaper fish stocking than putting in a few fruit trees.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
We are definitely looking forward to catching some next summer to get a look at their progress, and surprisingly I really like just knowing that they are in there doing their thing in the food chain end of it.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Is there room enough on your pond for ALL OF US on here to come fish and not be too crowded ??? 
That's a nice mix of fish. Good luck with the growth this year.
That's a nice mix of fish. Good luck with the growth this year.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Was out at the farm Saturday morning caging a bunch of white pines and doing some food plot work and snapped a few pics.
Getting some wildflowers starting to bloom around the orchard to keep the bee's busy.
There are three different color variants of this wildflower,
South end of orchard
Pears are loaded
Golden hornet pushing some fruit,
The ROD is flowering for the first time, about half have blooms.
Tree swallows have to be about the friendliest wild birds at the farm, I'm always surprised how close they get.
Tadpole blooms like crazy right now along the ponds
Saw turkeys all weekend at the farm, one hen had four poults that I could see, does should start dropping fawns soon.
Getting some wildflowers starting to bloom around the orchard to keep the bee's busy.
There are three different color variants of this wildflower,
South end of orchard
Pears are loaded
Golden hornet pushing some fruit,
The ROD is flowering for the first time, about half have blooms.
Tree swallows have to be about the friendliest wild birds at the farm, I'm always surprised how close they get.
Tadpole blooms like crazy right now along the ponds
Saw turkeys all weekend at the farm, one hen had four poults that I could see, does should start dropping fawns soon.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
H20 - Those lavender and purple wildflowers are "Dame's Rocket". We have them all over here in Pa. Some of ours here are white, too. They make everything look better !! Bees, butterflies, & hummingbirds like 'em. All systems look great at your place. Critter-haven !!
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Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Bill - ^^^^ They bloom for about a week to 10 days or so usually. Some open sooner than others, so you can still find some blooming several days later after the first wave poops out. They bloom around mid-May here - southern part of the state first - then bloom moves north through Pa. Not unusual to find them blooming at the end of May in northern mountains. I don't know if they're perennial or if they just re-seed themselves each year, but they show up EVERY year like clockwork.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Was at the farm over the weekend fertilizing the fruit trees and getting a few little chores done and took a look around.
Darcy pointed up two garter snakes and a turtle in the pasture, I've been seeing more snakes around this year and think that is a good thing...the mossy backed painted turtle 300 yards from water was weird, maybe it was out looking to lay eggs or something?
The chestnut trees are making catkins
And the newest NUC hive was busy, we have split one really good hive at the little woods twice this year to replace hives lost over winter.
Lots of frog egg masses in the reeds along ponds with half developed tadpoles in them
And what got me scratching my head a little, I spotted a larger fish in the front pond so I grabbed a rod out of the truck to see exactly what I was looking at and apparently we have bluegill in the pond now? We did not stock any type of bluegill or sunfish they just came on their own somehow. There were a few on spawning beds I caught two pretty quick, I will be stocking more bass next spring to try and help keep them a little in check.
Anyway I caught the first fish ever in our three year old front pond...a little green sunfish
Darcy pointed up two garter snakes and a turtle in the pasture, I've been seeing more snakes around this year and think that is a good thing...the mossy backed painted turtle 300 yards from water was weird, maybe it was out looking to lay eggs or something?
The chestnut trees are making catkins
And the newest NUC hive was busy, we have split one really good hive at the little woods twice this year to replace hives lost over winter.
Lots of frog egg masses in the reeds along ponds with half developed tadpoles in them
And what got me scratching my head a little, I spotted a larger fish in the front pond so I grabbed a rod out of the truck to see exactly what I was looking at and apparently we have bluegill in the pond now? We did not stock any type of bluegill or sunfish they just came on their own somehow. There were a few on spawning beds I caught two pretty quick, I will be stocking more bass next spring to try and help keep them a little in check.
Anyway I caught the first fish ever in our three year old front pond...a little green sunfish
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
We were out at the farm checking everything out in the great sunny non raining for once weekend and took a good look at the plant life to see how it was coming along.
The pears are still growing nicely
The Durana I planted in the last year in orchard is really doing well
Over the winter I had some bad winter kill in the shrub strips between the cold and mice/voles and thought I had lost a bunch of them... the roots must have been really established because to my surprise almost everything I thought was dead is pushing good new growth up, some of the stuff might end up a little bushy but I'm fine with that.
The non damaged trees/shrubs in the strips I think are doing pretty good for their third year going, even with some deer browsing.
I was able to find a few of the silky willow cuttings from Jon-WI I planted along the road in the wet spots as road screening...they were in taller grass and were hard to find until I stepped on them. Another great surprise they seemed to have taken very well.
With the heavy rains we have had all year flooding the river out and being egg laying season I am seeing a lot of turtles...and Darcy likes to point them.
The wildflowers are starting to pop, my wife has some plans for next spring planting wanting even more in the pasture...and it's good for the bee's and butterflies
And the real reason we were out at the farm in the first place..my oldest son was in town so we took both dogs out to work them on some quail. His female GSP Lou is ten months old now and coming along pretty good. Lou was a little wild at first thinking it was play time but after she saw what was going on she caught the "serious time" vibe from Darcy and they went to work.
I could not believe how far Darcy has come along since the little puppy we brought home a year and a half ago.
On point
Lou went on point and Darcy had her first "honor" point ever!
The boys and I were very happy with both dogs and had a great time.
My youngest son has a good friend with an eight month old male GSP that I am going to start helping with on weekends off, we have had it out once and it is showing potential just needs some work.
In my retirement besides free baby sitting for grandkids I definitely want to work with bird dogs, not making them into field trialers but molding them into good old fashioned meat dogs that point/retrieve and listen and won't embarrass a hunter to much.
The pears are still growing nicely
The Durana I planted in the last year in orchard is really doing well
Over the winter I had some bad winter kill in the shrub strips between the cold and mice/voles and thought I had lost a bunch of them... the roots must have been really established because to my surprise almost everything I thought was dead is pushing good new growth up, some of the stuff might end up a little bushy but I'm fine with that.
The non damaged trees/shrubs in the strips I think are doing pretty good for their third year going, even with some deer browsing.
I was able to find a few of the silky willow cuttings from Jon-WI I planted along the road in the wet spots as road screening...they were in taller grass and were hard to find until I stepped on them. Another great surprise they seemed to have taken very well.
With the heavy rains we have had all year flooding the river out and being egg laying season I am seeing a lot of turtles...and Darcy likes to point them.
The wildflowers are starting to pop, my wife has some plans for next spring planting wanting even more in the pasture...and it's good for the bee's and butterflies
And the real reason we were out at the farm in the first place..my oldest son was in town so we took both dogs out to work them on some quail. His female GSP Lou is ten months old now and coming along pretty good. Lou was a little wild at first thinking it was play time but after she saw what was going on she caught the "serious time" vibe from Darcy and they went to work.
I could not believe how far Darcy has come along since the little puppy we brought home a year and a half ago.
On point
Lou went on point and Darcy had her first "honor" point ever!
The boys and I were very happy with both dogs and had a great time.
My youngest son has a good friend with an eight month old male GSP that I am going to start helping with on weekends off, we have had it out once and it is showing potential just needs some work.
In my retirement besides free baby sitting for grandkids I definitely want to work with bird dogs, not making them into field trialers but molding them into good old fashioned meat dogs that point/retrieve and listen and won't embarrass a hunter to much.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Great diversity there, H20 - even covering the pollinators !! Rockin' and rollin' at your place(s). Dogs look really good in the pix - nice when they work together. I remember when you posted the first pix of Darcy riding with you in your truck.
I think you hit on it with more bass for the pond. We had an overload of bluegills & sunnies in our camp pond. The addition of more bass & some channel cats trimmed those numbers for us. They ought to work for you too.
Your retirement plans sound pretty good too - loving & spoiling grandkids & working with bird dogs. Can't go wrong there !!!
I think you hit on it with more bass for the pond. We had an overload of bluegills & sunnies in our camp pond. The addition of more bass & some channel cats trimmed those numbers for us. They ought to work for you too.
Your retirement plans sound pretty good too - loving & spoiling grandkids & working with bird dogs. Can't go wrong there !!!
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Thanks Bows!
I'm going to see if I can get a couple of little vids posted up from yesterday that I can share...shows Darcy running then hitting scent column turning quick and locking up on point and the quail trying to sneak off in front of her.
The boys will have some fun with the bass in a few years.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Our weather has gotten back to somewhat normal, hadn't had much rain in a few weeks and it has been pretty hot and very muggy.
Had a good rain Saturday close to an inch and the wildflowers popped up like crazy, the pollinator areas are starting to fill in.
The hill from digging front pond
The pasture
Had a good rain Saturday close to an inch and the wildflowers popped up like crazy, the pollinator areas are starting to fill in.
The hill from digging front pond
The pasture
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
One hive of bee's is doing really well and the other hive we transferred from NUC to full size
Bee's and butterflies are very busy right now, saw a half dozen monarchs at the farm yesterday but none close enough to get a pic of.
Our first ever Spitzenburg Epus
Pears are really putting them on, Keiffers are loaded and we also have some Bartlett/Moonglow/Gate
Nut burs starting to form on chestnuts
The shrubs that have had trouble in strips from winter and low spots are starting to come out of it sprouting lots of new growth
ROD is making berries for the first year
Most of the little pin oaks are close to 3' now
Bee's and butterflies are very busy right now, saw a half dozen monarchs at the farm yesterday but none close enough to get a pic of.
Our first ever Spitzenburg Epus
Pears are really putting them on, Keiffers are loaded and we also have some Bartlett/Moonglow/Gate
Nut burs starting to form on chestnuts
The shrubs that have had trouble in strips from winter and low spots are starting to come out of it sprouting lots of new growth
ROD is making berries for the first year
Most of the little pin oaks are close to 3' now
