Rit’s Parcel

[Rit]

Just a little less than a klick to North of this area I cleared a small opening. The plan was to just let it grow in natural. Later I decided to promote natural cedar growth. Here is one area where I tied a branch down. They opened up a scrape and a rub. It runs next to a well used trail. I need a camera in this area for next year.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Rit - These recent pix of your's look SO MUCH like a vast area I hunt here. Cutting trails in that thick crap make deer travel easy for them, and thus easy to set up stand locations. Only difference is we have more mountain laurel to mix in with those tree whips and saplings you have there. Your pix almost look like they were taken in one of my favorite archery areas. Close-up way to hunt. That cover looks excellent !!!

What kinds of seeds did you get from Ernst ?? One pack looks like cherry pits ??

 

[Rit]

Rit - These recent pix of your's look SO MUCH like a vast area I hunt here. Cutting trails in that thick crap make deer travel easy for them, and thus easy to set up stand locations. Only difference is we have more mountain laurel to mix in with those tree whips and saplings you have there. Your pix almost look like they were taken in one of my favorite archery areas. Close-up way to hunt. That cover looks excellent !!!

What kinds of seeds did you get from Ernst ?? One pack looks like cherry pits ??

Those particular seeds are American plum, silky, and Red Osier Dogwood. Along with a few other clover blends to overseed a portion of my perennial clover/destination plot.

I have plans to broadcast the Dogwood into my destination field edges to see what grows. I will push the American plum seeds into the ground once it thaws a little bit.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Nice thread Rit. Enjoyed the pics and seeing your place. A lot of hard work!

 

[Rit]

Nice thread Rit. Enjoyed the pics and seeing your place. A lot of hard work!

Thanks Natty surely a labor of love.

 

[Rit]

The last few weeks I have been driving past my destination field and something didn’t look right but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Yesterday I found out what it was. A giant pine about 150’ tall bit the dust during a February wind storm. This tree really stood out in the background of the destination plot. I was pretty bummed out as this was one of my favorite trees on the property and I always wanted a stand in it. I have no ideal how this tree tipped over. It appeared healthy on the outside and had roots bigger than my thigh. This tree just tipped over and the collateral damage was substantial.

I found evidence of deer bedding next to it already so I did what I thought was best. I cut trails through the mess connecting it to major travel routes and then girdled every big tree in the area. I lost a great tree but in a few years this will hold some deer. I have a stand 40 yards away that will be downwind on any South wind so this could be a positive later on.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

Wowza, thats an old tree, think you made the right move tho.

 

[Rit]

You have to love seeing this on your first shovel full of soil this Spring.

 

[Rit]

I have put in some work this week. Too wet to get the tractor into the destination plot. Hand sprayed 3 acres of switch with a 4 gallon backpack sprayer. Wanted to get Simazine down before the April rains. Legs and back won’t need work anytime soon.

 

[Rit]

WR from the transition plot starting to green up. Deer are already hitting it pretty hard. Bumped a dozen or so deer out of it coming back in tonight coming from the destination plot.

 

[Rit]

Walking in tonight I passed my favorite stand. The first photo is where the 2018 buck was standing when I shot him.

 

[Rit]

First tree planted of the year. A chestnut seeding. Specifically an AU buck IV seedling from TWG. Planted two of these today. They both site on the North half of the South end of the plot along a switch barrier.

 

[Rit]

A couple of Japanese persimmons in the ground. Fuyu on the right Jiro on the left. These sit near the Southern half of the plot right where the clover trail starts it’s way through the switch.

 

[Rit]

Callaway crab. Also put a Dolgo next to it. They sit next to 4 box store trees that produced apples last year. These trees were planted near the center of the destination plot. They will eventually divide the plot in half.

 

[Rit]

1 of the 2 Chickasaw plums that went in today. They are both on the NW corner of the destination plot along the switch edge.

 

[Rit]

This is in the South end of the destination plot. This will all come up in Clover this year. The front tree is a Kieffer, the back left is a Gilmer Christmas, and the tree on the right is a Gate. All in all I am getting pretty excited about this destination plot. I put in 22 fruit and nut trees today. All caged, screened, and staked. Over the next week I will be adding 50 bare root trees and over 200 cuttings. I am sure I will buy more trees before the planting season is over.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Great set-up Rit !! You'll have many deer magnets there, for a variety of seasons & times. Expect good things.

 

[Rit]

My weekend just got a little busier. In addition to the cuttings I also bought some rooted cuttings to trial. The willow cuttings have 4’ growth on them. It will be nice if they make it.

 

[Rit]

First 150’ done. Only 950 to go!

 

[Rit]

Funny what a little rain and sun will do to get last years WR up and going.