I havent updated this thread in awhile, and with spring projects kicking in, I figured I would talk about them. Last deer season was a success as for numbers, but quality wasnt up where I want it. Best in many years though. Last summers food plots had winter rye, and oats in one, radish, and turnips in another, and clover in the 3rd plot. The 2 non clover plots I overseeded in winter rye in the fall, so I am hoping that will come in the spring to keep weeds down, and I wont have to plant anything until July. But I may run a spike toothed drag through it and toss out some candy for them to eat for a couple months. I used sunflower last summer, and they loved it! This late winter I went and did a little hinge cutting, and just opening up the oak trees some.
This summer I am planning on keeping the projects down on the wildlife side of things, and I am going to start working on planning to build my house there. But that doesnt mean I wont keep my plots planted, and do a little more TSI where I want to thicken things up, or where I want to open more oaks up. Mother nature did a little tsi on her own this spring, and knocked down a quite a few pines, but I am not butthurt about it, it will just add to the ground cover I have already.
I was up this past weekend cleaning up after mother nature in the trees she decided to drop in the campsite, and in the food plots. I checked on the apple trees, and they are at the early stages of silver tip buds, with mostly warm temps in the 10 day forecast. In a few weeks I will be planting 7 more apple trees, and fencing them in. Hoping for my first apples this year. I have been planting apple trees now for 5 years, and I plan on adding about 5 more per year for the next couple years, just to have a good age structure, and a decent variety, with early, and late bloomers and droppers. As of last weekend, everything was still looking pretty brown. With maple trees having buds swelling and starting to turn green. Last spring I planted a bunch of white pines, well with the lack of snow this spring, the deer did a pretty good job of wiping all of them out. I was hard pressed trying to find any remnants of them anywhere. I planted them in pockets of 5-6 trees throughout thin spots on my property.
I didnt take any picture last weekend, but I will when I am up planting apple trees. Lots of those little tiny woodticks out, my dogs were loaded with them. I think some call them bear ticks.
I tell you, I really can not wait until we move up there. I am always sad to leave, and I sit and think about it every minute I am away. Luckily my lovely wife is looking forward to the move as well, even though she may not day dream about it all day, every day like I do.
