Who are you?

[tooln]

Some of us know each other from other sites. For those who don't why not introduce ourselves.
I'm on the plus side of 50 & purchased my property (40 acres) just over 3 years ago. I wanted to learn how to make it better so I searched the web and found a few sites to join. I found what I thought was a good place but it kind of went down hill & I ended up here.
I was born and raised on a farm and ended up to be a maintenance mechanic by trade in the dairy/food processing industry. That being said I'm kind of a jack of all trades, but fabricating is what I really enjoy. I build or modifying my own equipment. As you can tell from my avatar I'm also a Harley nut. I'm still learning about plotting and all that good stuff but have learned a lot since I purchased the property. I wish I had the knowledge some of the folks here have, and am willing to help with what I do know.

 

[tooln]

What everyone to shy.

 

[West Branch]

I changed by username when we had to recreate accounts for the switch over. My previous username was "NWKR".

I am 25 years old and my wife and I own 40 acres in western Carlton County MN with a small one bedroom cabin. It is about 2 hours north of the twin cities and 1 hour west of Duluth MN. The land is next to the family farm that I grew up on, and we were able to purchase the property from my parents last year. My parents own 560 acres bordering our 40 and they are in the process of selling it to my brother. We are figuring out long term plans for deer hunting that will also benefit my brother's farming. The farm had been a dairy farm until 2009 but it now mainly a hay and small grain farm. Not much for corn or soybeans in the area due to shorter growing seasons and poorer farm ground than areas south and west in MN. We have 200 acres that is rented out as cow pasture for black angus beef cattle. The cows are able to get into the woods and other areas and it is one of the areas that needs a lot of improvement!

My wife and I live an hour west of the twin cities and I am a CPA at a local accounting firm and I work with small to medium size businesses. Working long hours during tax season means long weekends for a lot of the year.

We need to work a lot on our hunting strategies and stand placement. Less than 10 years ago we were still doing a lot of deer drives and killing a lot of deer, but there has only been one mature buck shot on our land in the 14 years that I have been hunting but there have always been more around. Getting everyone on board to change hunting strategies is one of our main goals and also learning the right strategies is one of the things I am hoping to learn.

Fall foods plots and adding screening and thicker cover are other goals. We are fortunate to have a lot of land to work with but it is a bit daunting with all of the improvements to be done!

If anyone ever wants a land tour we are only 20 miles off of I35 when you go to Duluth or northern MN. Send a pm what weekend you would be going by and I will let you know if I will be around. Maybe you would learn something, but there is a much better chance that I will!

 

[OkieKubota]

Turned 49 last month and we live on 10 acres that is part of my parents original 50 acres. My parents deeded each of their 3 children 10 acres apiece many years ago and they still have 20 which per an agreement we are supposed to purchase from my siblings. This little 10 acres I have played and hunted on since I was 5. The last few years the only hunters on this property has been my wife and just this last fall my 8 yr old grandson. My avatar is a picture I took from a stand while sitting with my grandson on our little home 10.

My wife and I are also members of a 1300 acre deer lease about 45 minutes from home to our south. I have been hunting that property since 1998. We have 10 good members and the most ever out hunting at one time may be 5 people. Haven't been able to do much QDM on that property as we don't own it. Killed lots of bruiser bucks there over the years due to red oak acorns.

The wife and I just closed in January on an 80 acre playground of our own about 35 minutes north of here that is loaded with big bucks yet has few does from trail cam surveys. We fenced it, opened a 1 acre plot and had a small water hole dug on it. We can now practice QDM on something we own other than our home 10. It's a great place and we both love it. Loaded with big white oaks, pine, red oak, post oak and hickory.

My wife and I both work in hospital admin and our girls are grown and we have 3 awesome little grandsons now. Degree in criminal justice, minor in geography...

 

[bueller]

Currently 3 "robots" on the site. Sorry I'll pass :eek::confused::cool::p

 

[phil@thesidehill]

My name is Phil, as my handle indicates. I'm 34, married, 5 month old baby boy (future deer guy, he loves to stare and smile at my deer mounts!). Former QDMA member/local branch board memeber and officer....still sitting the fence on renewing my membership....just not as impressed with the organization as i used to be for several reasons other than the non-sense that went down on the forums....but i wont travel down that road here and now.
I work on 10 acres of family land in NE PA....we have always called it the "sidehill". About 7 acres is a steep wooded (mature hardwoods mostly) sidehill, with the rest being sloped old pasture in various stages of succession. I'm a die hard shed hunter...in many ways I enjoy shed hunting more than actually hunting. PA is a one buck state so through shed hunting i get to "harvest" more than one buck. I am also very interested in habitat and land management. I have learned alot through alot of the guys here...but on the "other forum". This type of medium is far superior to print media (pay attention QDMA...QW's is only so good!). Being able to ask questions and get answers and interact is an extremely powerful tool!

I am an avid bowhunter....but i'm a big time 2nd Amendment supporter....Molon Labe. I've killed far more deer with a bow than with a firearm...and it will most likely stay that way forever. I also hunt on land that I help manage in Otsego County, NY....a 400 acre farm full of MONSTER does!

Hey OkieKubota...I have a degree in Geography also!

 

[foggy]

Currently 3 "robots" on the site. Sorry I'll pass :eek::confused::cool::p

Talk to me about "robots". What are they?....and what can they do? I take it they are bad? If so.....why does this site permit robots?

 

[bueller]

I don't really know. This thread touched on it a bit.

http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/current-members.46/#post-311

 

[phil@thesidehill]

Talk to me about "robots". What are they?....and what can they do? I take it they are bad? If so.....why does this site permit robots?

They are pretty much harmless in the sense of how they are using the site. they crawl all over the interwebs indexing websites so that the interwebs are easier to navigate via search engines. Google is usually the culprit. I wouldn't worry about them that much. Chances are they are crawling all over every site you visit frequently anyway. They arent gathering info on individual web users, just on websites.

 

[slugger]

Hi, I'm Bob. Couldn't think of a user name so came up with slugger as we are in the shotgun zone.
I live in Little Falls, Mn and have 40 acres and a cabin 20 mins west, across the road from Stu's.
I attended Tech School for Marine and Small Engine Mechanics. I spent 25 years in the biz, with about 10 of that working for the Larson/Glastron Boat Co. and being part of the Ski Doo race team. I was Race Director for the National SnoCross Circuit for 2 yrs.
I too enjoy working on mechanical things and some woodworking. I did a frame off restoration of an 81 CJ 8 Scrambler Jeep and enjoy that in the summer.
When the economy tanked it was hard to keep a good job in the Marine Industry so I decided to change careers and got my Real Estate license and went to work. I ended up getting hooked up with Stu and helped him buy his current property. I had always thought about improving the hunting in our area but really didn't know how to go about it until I met Stu. I have seen the results he has obtained in just a couple years. I have lots to do on my land and look forward to getting started. My biggest problem is finding the time. I look forward to the day I retire and can spend as much time as I want working on the land.
As a real estate agent, I am willing to travel, so if you need help finding or purchasing or selling land, I would be happy to help. We do have some good hunting land listed in our area.

 

[slugger]

Hi....name is Tom. My mom (bless her soul) claims I was born with a Daisy in my hands.... and that I was teethed on a 10" crescent wrench. ;) I grew up around my dad's farm machinery biz....and always have liked cars, machinery, trucks and mechanical stuff. In my youth I built a few street rods (32 ford, etc) and sure had fun with that hobby. My 32 Ford would pull the wheels off the ground when I hit third gear.....and could scare the spit outta you! I had to prove its worth every Sat nite on our rural dragways. :D All was good....till the factory 427 cid engines came along........

Spent most of my life as a sales engineer for metal fabrication and an aluminum mill. Likely sold more aluminum than most 18 y.o. kids have seen. :D After raising my girls and getting their educational future assured....I finally got to do "my own thing"......and did a business start-up based on some gun part designs I had made. I designed and manufactured / distributed a line of gun tools and shooting widgets....throughout the world (think big, or go home!). Some were quite revolutionary and a few were so-so. All led to bigger and better things. I more or less re-invented and popularized "shooting sticks"....and my success was promptly copied by many other companies. Grew my company pretty quickly....but sold it about 10 years ago....as it was growing faster than I could manage. Some of the product continues on.....and sadly, some was ruined by improper care of my brands. Kinda hurts to watch your "baby" crunched. :(

Have done some hunting in the western states and killed my share of varmints and game. But I really just like hanging out with my family and hunting what's available in our own back-yard. Not interested in hunting trophies....but not opposed to a good specimen either. Mostly, the big boys have always given me the slip. ;) It's all good.

Age is creeping up on me....but I try to keep up. Just moved to a new home on the lake, and plan to spend our winters in AZ. Still like my daisy.....and a few other guns too. Play a little golf, do some boating and fishing.....and most things outdoors. I like farm machinery - over fast cars.....and do a little re-loading and gun tinkering when time permits. My hunting land is now only 10 minutes north of our home.....and I can spend more time there working on projects. Cannot believe the way the years wiz by......enjoy YOUR trip!

Foggy, I worked at Nisswa Marine for a short time and am at Keller Williams in Baxter now, so we're not far apart.

 

[foggy]

Foggy, I worked at Nisswa Marine for a short time and am at Keller Williams in Baxter now, so we're not far apart.

Just saw that. We gotta have some coffee and talk about Stu and what a bad influence he is on us. ;) Better yet....bring him along!

 

[slugger]

Just saw that. We gotta have some coffee and talk about Stu and what a bad influence he is on us. ;) Better yet....bring him along!

Let's do it

 

[Dave63]

Dave,50,retired journeyman mason & iron worker,200 acres,100 tillable after this years plantings. Been riding Harleys since I was 12. Been on this farm 14 years. Born and raised on a farm.

 

[UP Powers]

Rob....I live in SE wisconsin. I have 120 acres in Powers Michigan.. hence UP Powers. Two young kids 9 boy and 8 girl. Love to hunt and work outside at my place. I had my place in Powers built from the ground up, wife addicted to HGTV didn't help matters. Turned out nice but it's not a camp it's a house. I have about 30 acres of active agriculture on my land. I don't lease my land as I let the farmer who is now a very close personal friend do it for free. But, as Rob (the farmer) will tell you it might be cheaper for him and less a pain in the butt to just pay me to shut me up. All in good fun... Rob is a great friend and my kids love going to the dairy farm and riding in the farm equipment. I love to bow hunt, rifle hunt, and spend time with my kids.

what do I do?? Oh geez.. I work in the commercial national food service accounts industry in Biz Dev. (chain restaurants) I travel a lot and can pretty much tell you about just about any airport in the US. And if it is a national food service account there is a good chance I might know them. Great job and it affords me some of the things in life I like the most. I am very blessed. The worst part.... I am seriously the worst person to go out to eat with!! I know too much... I wish some of the stuff I had erased from my head. Like retail hamburger with AMR and LFTB. Maybe that is why I only grind my own chuck... Oh.. love to cook!!! Major passion!

I have known Stu for a while and I have kept in touch with him. I have some cuttings from Stu that I have at my place of some hybrid poplars. I have had TONS of people ask what they were and how the heck they got so big so fast. I had some of the cuttings that I had left out on the road, I soaked them in water for a week and they sprouted!!!

 

[sandbur]

Just saw that. We gotta have some coffee and talk about Stu and what a bad influence he is on us. ;) Better yet....bring him along!

I would attend, but I need to stay away from troublemakers. Unless foggy would give us a land tour????

 

[slugger]

I would attend, but I need to stay away from troublemakers. Unless foggy would give us a land tour????

I would be up for that

 

[CrazyEd]

Real name is Matt but I go by Ed. Live in Southeast WI but own land in Marquette County WI. Married to my lovely wife and have a 2.5 year old daughter and 5 week old son. Work for a fortune 200 technology company implementing Microsoft Unified Communication solutions (Email, Chat, Voice and Video conferencing and VOIP telephony), yeah I'm a computer nerd. Outside of work I like to hunt, fish, and dable in photography but my real passion is getting dirt under my fingernails working our property. Really looking forward to a few extra hands to help plant apple trees once the kiddos get a little older.

 

[j-bird]

Did my own intro, but will post here as well. I turn the big 40 this year - I guess it beats the alternative! I have been married for pushig 20 years now. Have 4 kids witht he oldest off to college in the summer/fall. I am a born and raised Hoosier. Reside in Decatur County on 150 acres. Self taugh deer hunter - my grandfather an father where fisherman and smallgame hunters. Been hunting deer for 15+ years and been involved in habitat improvement for 10+. My biggest acheivements in hunting are passing along a love of the outdoors to my children. Watching their eyes light up when the deer enter a plot is magical. Was able to help my son and another young man bag their first deer - I remember those 2 hunts far better than any of my own.

 

[Jason]

Hello. I'm Rackluster on the other site. Had some problems registering but I'm finally good to go.

I have 40 southeast of Isle, MN and some near Webster, Wi. I absolutely love working on the properties but really don't get much time to do it. When I get up there I tend to only have time to maintain the trail cams before needing to run home. Hopefully that will change a bit this spring because i have a long list of projects in mind.

I have a daughter that is 14 and a son that is 10. Both hunt and got their first deer this past year. I've loved getting them and others involved in hunting. My proudest achievement is the fact that over the last 6 years 7 people have gotten their first deer on my properties.

For work, I'm an IT project manager consultant. Currently working for a very big company, the best thing about it is I am able to work from home.

My other pastime is running. I took it up about a year ago and am currently training for my 2nd marathon with my 3rd coming this fall.

Anyway, looking forward to leeching more info off you guys on this site.