Things I See While Driving

[SD51555]

Get some of those acorns :)
My guess is that your place up north will be too far north for them to mature, but its always worth a shot.

I would, but I've got my oaks in place already, and I'm going to have my hands full with starting pumpkins on my one window sill this spring. I have pondered doing a few apple trees in pots on the deck (I've got leftover soil and pots).

 

[rocksnstumps]

Hard to see in pic, but a wild pear tree just down the road from my land with several dozen still hanging. This one bears much better than one by my main trail. Mine has few blossoms and few fruit but likely these trees take a long time to get going like decades.



Picked this one out of the ditch

 

[BuckSutherland]

Driving through the old mans orchard to get to my fields. And then of course we have the freshly paved Luce Line trail at a cost of about $4 million dollars. Then they are whacking down a bunch of cover to put "another" trail right along side of this waste of money.

 

[sandbur]

So Buck, what varieties are in your old man's orchard?
some of us bums are always looking for scion.

 

[Freeborn]

Bucksutherland,

Corn looks good and so do your apple trees. What varieties do you have and what area/county are they in?

The trees look like semi dwarf trees.

 

[wiscwhip]

And a UFO in the first pic!

 

[BuckSutherland]

Orchard is McLeod County.

I have no idea what he all has for apples, but do know he has: Honeycrisp, Zestar, Connell Red/Fireside, Harrelson, Sweet Tango, Snowsweet, State Fair, Chestnut Crab, Sweet 16, Honey gold, Harralson, Regent. Could be more, but I wouldnt know. He also has pear, plumbs, and now some grape vines.

It is a bumper crop for him this year, and its about damn time. I did a shitload of pruning for him late last winter and helped him clean it up some, but it still needs plenty of work out there. He has about 9 acres of trees.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Buck - One paved road and another going in beside it ?? Smells like D-E-V-E-L-O-P-M-E-N-T is on the way. Can't have all those " useless " corn fields, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, orchards, etc., when there could be strip malls, banks, ( for all your money ), fast food restaurants, big box stores, and a WAL-MART super store with lots of pavement and parking for about 100,000 cars. Now ........ THAT'S progress !!! You farmer - country - bumpkin - types just have to step aside. :rolleyes:

 

[SD51555]

Likely makes stealing apples a much more pleasant experience when you've got a paved trail to walk at night. When honeycrisp are going for $1+ per apple, I imagine it can get to be a problem.

 

[BuckSutherland]

Buck - One paved road and another going in beside it ?? Smells like D-E-V-E-L-O-P-M-E-N-T is on the way. Can't have all those " useless " corn fields, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, orchards, etc., when there could be strip malls, banks, ( for all your money ), fast food restaurants, big box stores, and a WAL-MART super store with lots of pavement and parking for about 100,000 cars. Now ........ THAT'S progress !!! You farmer - country - bumpkin - types just have to step aside. :rolleyes:

Its not a road. It is an old RR bed that was used by bikes, horses, runners, and snowmobiles. Our DNR acquired it long ago and turned it into a state trail. It is approximately 100 feet wide. They have a few people around the county clamoring to get this thing paved for years. They finally got enough gubermint money behind the project ($4 million for 30 miles) to get it all done. So now to accommodate the snowmobilers that paid for the trail they are bulldozing well established cover to make another trail just as wide, but that one will be gravel like the old one is. The runners dont want to run on the tar either cause its too hard on their legs and feet. City of Hutchinson wanted it really bad cause of all the tourism its gonna bring. Ya know, cause some homo in spandex is gonna bike out there and take home a big screen TV from Walmart. Its been a complete debacle.

 

[West Branch]

Its not a road. It is an old RR bed that was used by bikes, horses, runners, and snowmobiles. Our DNR acquired it long ago and turned it into a state trail. It is approximately 100 feet wide. They have a few people around the county clamoring to get this thing paved for years. They finally got enough gubermint money behind the project ($4 million for 30 miles) to get it all done. So now to accommodate the snowmobilers that paid for the trail they are bulldozing well established cover to make another trail just as wide, but that one will be gravel like the old one is. The runners dont want to run on the tar either cause its too hard on their legs and feet. City of Hutchinson wanted it really bad cause of all the tourism its gonna bring. Ya know, cause some homo in spandex is gonna bike out there and take home a big screen TV from Walmart. Its been a complete debacle.

I know some people on the Chamber of Commerce in Hutch and have heard about some of the "discussions" they have had. Some were sick of hearing about the money it would bring into town because they knew it was a bunch of BS. They told the others they were fine with getting the trail paved, but they shouldn't lie to themselves about bicycle tourism.

I have seen that apple orchard before, do any apples get sold locally or where do they go with them?

 

[West Branch]

Driving by my cousins farm that borders us, there is a apple tree in the cow pasture. Likely a grafted apple planted 40+ years ago when it was an old homestead. Nobody is sure when it was planted or the variety, but it always has apples in zone 3. Needs to be cleaned up some I think. Cousin is brave putting a trail camera (bottom left) on it 20 ft off the road. Most people probably won't slow down enough to steal it, but I wouldn't put on there. Or I would hide it better.

They have cut back on the number of beef cows they have had from 3+ years ago, a lot more browse in the pasture and brush. Should help them hold more deer.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Buck - At least it's not a highway !! That part is good. Your first post sounded like it was gonna be a 2-lane road. Bike-path not so bad - although $4 mil. ?? Our rails-to-trails here are just packed gravel. As far as the spandex - hey .... you GOT to be in fashion !!! :rolleyes:

W Branch - a good find. Did you or Cuz try one for taste ??

 

[West Branch]

Buck - At least it's not a highway !! That part is good. Your first post sounded like it was gonna be a 2-lane road. Bike-path not so bad - although $4 mil. ?? Our rails-to-trails here are just packed gravel. As far as the spandex - hey .... you GOT to be in fashion !!! :rolleyes:

W Branch - a good find. Did you or Cuz try one for taste ??

Yup I have tried one in the past and it is a good eater. I have known about it for many years but completely forgot about it until this past saturday when I was driving by.

 

[chummer]

I found this tree in a park today. Not a single drop yet and they taste great despite being hard as a rock. If I was goi g to try grafting could I just use the water sprouts

 

[SD51555]

This was a new one for me yesterday. Green Stem Disease I believe?

Sent from my mobile land management office.

 

[SD51555]

Sent from my mobile land management office.

 

[wiscwhip]

Sent from my mobile land management office.

I would say that it looks like you stopped at my brothers place in WY, but he has about 4 times as many sheds around his landscaping as what you see in the picture.

 

[SD51555]

Getting down into pheasant territory today. Came across a property that was set up with small plots of this. Anyone ID what exactly this is?

Sent from my mobile land management office.

 

[kabic]

Getting down into pheasant territory today. Came across a property that was set up with small plots of this. Anyone ID what exactly this is?

Sent from my mobile land management office.

sorghum ?