Scott's habitat improvements

[scott44]

Got my 2 cereal plots mowed today, heading to Colorado muley/elk hunting when I usually plant these so I'm getting them ready to plant when I have time between now and then. I usually shoot for labor day weekend but they might get planted a week or two early. Also weed whipped some trails to stands.

Going to put a new tree stand in the oak behind the apple trees.



Weed whipped a access tail to the oak, this is only about 15yds in from the wheat stubble so it'll be easy in and out. Food plots are about 100yds left of this pic, plan to catch them coming or going from the food, also they like to hit the apples before hitting the plots.



Not sure if this was an old apple orchard or what but there are 10-15 old mature apple trees right on the edge of the woods, they are all loaded this year.







NWSG's are starting to take off and head out.

 

[scott44]

My son got permission from my sister to put a food plot in on her place and he didn't waste anytime getting to it. Him and some buddies brush hogged a area and plowed it up, this was an old hay field but the soil is really sandy. He has helped me but this was all his doings and I was just there for support and labor, haha.

We loaded up the tractor and headed out. I credit all you guys who have to do this everytime you do your plots or habitat work.



Disking the plowed plot.



Afterward, he planted the LC cereal grain mix.



Behind me in the previous pic is about 10 acres of planted pines that were logged off awhile ago every other row so it's a tangled of briars and brush in the rows that were thinned.





We also have a small plot in the pines that we've had for a few years, not much light, half of this plot is clover and we planted rye, oats and radishes here.







Not much room to get the tractor back in the pines, few scraped trees.

 

[huntall]

Looking good! I have started bushhogging plots . I will get them planted about a month from now. I'm looking forward to getting some seed in the ground

 

[scott44]

We are supposed to be getting some rain tonight or tomorrow A.M. so I fertilized the new plots we put in last Sat. and pulled the cards in the cameras we put out. I think they approve of the new plots.



Got some decent germination.





Also found my first scrape of the year going back to the plot in the woods.

 

[buckvelvet]

Good thing the deer haven't found the new shoots growing yet. :D

 

[scott44]

Good thing the deer haven't found the new shoots growing yet. :D

Ya I've never had to over seed a cereal plot because of browse yet but there is a first.

 

[PackerBacker]

That is more deer than I've seen in 20 plus years of hunting.

 

[scott44]

That is more deer than I've seen in 20 plus years of hunting.

This is at my sister's place and I don't think that is the norm, my boys have been hunting over there and they both said the haven't usually seen that many.

 

[SD51555]

I hope your fertilizer kicks in right away. You're gonna need it. Congrats!

 

[Rally1148]

Got my 2 cereal plots mowed today, heading to Colorado muley/elk hunting when I usually plant these so I'm getting them ready to plant when I have time between now and then. I usually shoot for labor day weekend but they might get planted a week or two early. Also weed whipped some trails to stands.

Going to put a new tree stand in the oak behind the apple trees.



Weed whipped a access tail to the oak, this is only about 15yds in from the wheat stubble so it'll be easy in and out. Food plots are about 100yds left of this pic, plan to catch them coming or going from the food, also they like to hit the apples before hitting the plots.



Not sure if this was an old apple orchard or what but there are 10-15 old mature apple trees right on the edge of the woods, they are all loaded this year.







NWSG's are starting to take off and head out.

10-15 "new" trees, that's awesome!!!

Good luck on the hunt!

 

[scott44]

Just some random pics of our trip so far, everything is dried out and we are heading back up and hunting wed-sun weather looks like it's supposed to good or at least no rain in the forecast.

Home for the first couple nights of the hunt,



THis is lookin up and to the right of camp.





First night there we got in abot 5 pm and just grabbed our bows/quivers and binos and hiked about 1/2 mile back and saw 4 decent muleys coming down off this ridge, there's that big pine in the middle of the pic and they were heading down, we snuck over to the other side and they got about 150 yds from the bottm and the parrelled it and went right. THought we saw them bed and tried the next day to get on them but with the rain and everything couldn't find them. Not like hunting back home at all.



Second day in the rain,





We are camping down in the valley,

 

[Daydreamer]

Been hoping for a report from you. Keep at it. Hoping for more pics and harvest stories soon. It absolutely poured rain the whole time we were packing out my cow, soaked to the bone, even with rain gear on. Made us work for it, but that's fine with me.
Good luck

 

[Spiider]

Love the pics! Thanks of sharing them!

 

[scott44]

Leaving CO for MI in the morning, my son back in MI sent me pics of our cereal grain plot at my sister's, looks like it's doing pretty good even the plot in pines.

 

[scott44]

We hunted 3 1/2 days over Labor Day weekend took a couple days off and hunted another 3 1/2 days this last weekend. The couple days off my wife and I did some sight seeing while my son went back to work. We drove to the top of Pikes Peak, one different drive 14,000' with no guard rails.

On the top.







On the way back down.



We didn't shoot anything but I had a great time hunting with my son, great scenery and experience, couple mornings it was in the twenties when we woke up. We did a lot of walking and took a day or two to get acclimated to the altitude.

Friday we walked to the top of the mtn. in the middle of this pic, up the ridge from left to right , Aspens on the south and dark timber on the north.



Pic on top looking back down toward truck.



Also on top looking south, there were 3 nice looking little lake down in the valley.



Sat, we went to the top of the next pic up on the rocks.



Part way up.



Up on top











What's on the backside.

 

[Daydreamer]

Holy hiking!
Thanks for sharing with us and awesome that you got to spend some time with your son.


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[scott44]

Nice photos Scott!! Beautiful Country out there.

How was the drive down Pikes Peak ? Was it hard on your brakes? We have several car fires a year on the Mt Washington access road due to overheating brakes and engines.

Low gear all the way down, I'm sure it took some life off them. Half way down there is a visitors center with a ranger you have to stop and he checks the temps of your brakes.

 

[scott44]

Holy hiking!
Thanks for sharing with us and awesome that you got to spend some time with your son.


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Yea I think it was payback for something I did to him as a kid lol, planning on going again next year but I'm going to be in better shape, you just don't know till you do it.

 

[buckvelvet]

Well you gave it a valiant effort! At least you saw some great scenery, jealousy abounds from this desk in W MI.

 

[scott44]

I wanted to check on the white oaks and it was a good thing I did so today, got all I could reach and found some on the ground.



Float tested and good to go.



Here's a switch screen I have on the north fence line.



Last year I threw some MG rhizomes in it just to see how they work together, looks like switch almost chokes them out.





Looking to the west this is some Ash I hinged for bedding out in the switch.