Who's working in the woods this weekend?

[Someday isle]

I'm excited to try the videos too. I am going out Saturday to move the one that was getting triggered by vine movement - there's also a smaller tree in front of it that might have been swaying too. We had a lot of high winds last week.

I'm still a newbie with both habitat work and game cameras. I bought three cheap wild game innovations cameras too. I didn't want to spend a lot of money figuring things out and I wasn't sure about trespassers either. I haven't gotten one single trespasser on camera yet in roughly eight months, unless you count coyotes and a couple dogs I'm getting tired of.

Three cameras on 36 acres is probably more than enough but there are a couple other spots I'd like to check out too. Would you guys advise moving them around a little or just adding more cameras?

 

[bueller]

I run more cameras per acre than you currently do. I prefer to keep them in the same spots as long as they are producing. IMO this is lower impact than moving them around all them. I also keep most of them in easy to get to areas on or just off the trails and plots I use anyways.

 

[H20fwler]

Moving them is fine but it is hard to have to many cameras, you just don't want to over check them. I switch cards out every 3-4 weeks and put them on feeder/mineral sites, heavy trail crossings, scrapes, foods plots.
I have completely switched to just running the Moultrie M990i 2nd gens, they are good for decent quality pics and vids, easy to set up and use and batteries last crazy long. I run them year round, have had a couple out for over two years now with no issues...Rogers sells them for $99.

 

[Bill]

So much for my poison ivy wish. It wasn't cutting the vines that did me in, it was planting 150 bare-root hardwood and copper chinkapin last weekend. With all the rain we've had, I was planting in a muddy mess. The Stihl BT45 auger gave me a hole, but I needed to jam mud back in to fill it. I was literally bathing in the muck. Maybe there were roots in there or something, but I, like an idiot, forgot to Tecnu up after planting and ended up with an ivy sunburn on both forearms. Not too bad, but itchy.

Anyway, used the dibble to put in another 300 bare root shrubs yesterday. I'm feeling it this morning. I had one buddy helping me and another couple guys plus my wife stopped by for a couple hours each, so it only took 7 hours to get them in the ground and protected using 3' tubes. I thought I was missing some shrubs in my order from Missouri, and sure enough I get a UPS shipping notification this morning that another package is to be delivered today with the silky dogwood and elderberry. We've gone from 30 degrees with snow to nearly 80 degrees over the last three days and I don't think I have it in me to plant this evening, even if I can find the time. Despite the heat, I may try to store them in the garage until Wednesday and plant when it cools down; I should have some "older" mulberry and hybrid hazelnut to plant then, too.

Fruit trees from Cummins are supposed to arrive by the end of the week! Planting area has been cleared and cages are built...

I used to plant like that. If I tried now I'd be in traction.
Thank God I'm not allergic to poison ivy. I know they say you can get even if you never have but so far so good. I can pull it out by hand. My wife on the other had only has to stand next to it.

 

[Boone]

Planted and caged some bare root NS. Deer stripped some down to sticks so I'm caging the remaining survivors.

 

[Barndog56]

Monday I went to my local Jung's garden center, looking for some shade trees for our horse pasture. Stumbled across some bare root Chinese Chestnut. Bought 10 and got them planted straight away. In my excitement I forgot to take pics, but they had root circumference the size of a 5 gallon bucket, are 2.5 to 3 feet tall after planting, and have tons of buds. Really psyched about them since my chestnut seed try has been a total bust.

Also grabbed a couple of plums, Toka and Pipestone. Here's a pic of them at planting yesterday.


Unfortunately, I came across lots of these guys in the ground.

 

[IkemanTx]

Ano decent solution for grubworms in the field?


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[Barndog56]

Don't know. I started a new thread in general section asking just that question.

 

[alldaysit]

Well, it's been a busy spring. With the help of my brother and father-in-law we've made 3 additional in-woods kill plots, and connected them with hinge cuts on two. I need to hinge cut another 300 yards, and cut a trail down the middle of it, then all of my food plots would be connected in one way or another. It ain't pretty, but with the VAST improvement all the work I did last year did for last years hunting, this year should be another step up... as we gain more completion percentage on my habitat plan I created.

All this work has me wiped out of energy, which has brought me into a new age of thinking. I have a 33hp 4wd John Deere tractor with loader and bucket. It's been my habitat lifeline.

Someone on here a few weeks/months back rented a Mini Excavator for making a trail through the woods. Well, it's even my plan to purchase a skid steer for a while now. But, I know the limits of the skidsteer, and cutting firewood, grinding stumps, and regular house chores is wearing on me as all my family lives at least two hours away, I'm all by myself. So I've been doing some research on these mini excavators and I think they are the way to go for habitat stuff.

I went and test drove two today. Both used. And both vastly different, but I'll tell you what I'm impressed. I think a mini is finally the tool I've been looking for.

I test drove a bobcat 331, and a John Deere 50D. Now the bobcat wasn't bad, but the Deere was amazing. I think the 50D is much to large though. I think I may try finding a 35D, but before I do that I am going to rent one and see how it does. It would be great to have something like this be able to help me do whatever chore it may be, between the tractor, tractor loader and excavator. I also found a company that sells a coupler that will allow you to clamp on any skid-steer style quick attach-ment to the excavator. Wen I found that, I thought a mini would be a tracked SLOW skidsteer lol.

I'm thinking of all the rocks, stumps, and grading I could do with one in those food pots we just cleared.... it's gonna be a fun summer!


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[H20fwler]

I'm going to top work a few apple trees this weekend to finish out this years grafting, trying to add four more varieties to a red delicious. Putting a turkey blind out and then just early mornings listening for gobblers and chilling out with the family.

 

[mikmaze]

I'll be kicking up the dust in my fields, after a trip south to pick up some seed........ I already put my old tires in my truck so I can't foget them tomorrow, would be a bit tough to get anything done without front tires!

 

[Knehrke]

Between Wednesday and Friday, pulling ten hour days, I managed to get the remainder of the shrubs planted and tubed, as well as the older stock from Twisted Trees in Ithaca into the ground, On Friday I had a friend helping and we planted sixteen trees from Cummins, including six Franklin apples. Aluminum screen protection on the trunk, ground cloth and 4' diameter welded wire cages with three stakes. It was a long day, but productive. I should have taken some photos.

Oh, and in between planting on Thursday an MD-PhD from my lab successfully defended his thesis. I don't know if I'm more proud of him or my trees

 

[mikmaze]

woohoo, got my seed this am, thanks a ton Bill... got to the proeprty at 10, left at 5. tilled 3 acres, planted 2......... dang deer have zero patience, sneaking up behind me eating the seed before I had a chance to bury it. saw about 9 deer, 6 turkey on the proeprty... great day in the field.

 

[Bill]

Glad to help!

 

[Tree Spud]

Put in my first waterhole this past weekend. Ironically the rain and wet soil slowed my progress. Should be 20' long by 10' wide with a depth of 2'-3'. Got most of it dug and now need to feather the edge towards the food plot. My bow stand is in the back ground in the middle oak. Plan to plant willows on the back side to encourage the deer to use the front side.



Filled in as I was digging and was already full the next day.




After feathering back the soil I will over seed with clover.

 

[Someday isle]

That sure is some nice rich looking soil you're digging up there.

 

[bueller]

Wish I had some black dirt like that ^^^^

 

[bueller]

That sure is some nice rich looking soil you're digging up there.

Great minds think alike...

 

[Tree Spud]

That sure is some nice rich looking soil you're digging up there.

Great minds think alike...

My wife said the same thing, for some reason I think I will be doing more water holes to fill her raised garden beds ...

 

[Barndog56]

I work the weekend shift, so my stuff gets done during the week. Sure is nice having 4 days off to get stuff accomplished. Planted a Gala, Red Delicious, and a pair of Wolf River, all picked up at a big box store. The wolf rivers are supposed to be semi-dwarf, but they are already 10 feet tall at planting. Also picked up a couple cherry trees for the yard. And transplanted a dozen black raspberries out to add some edge between food plot and marsh.

Rebuilt my wife's deer stand. It blew over last year the day before the opener of rifle season, in the 50 mph gusts. Now the legs are buried 2 feet deep.

Also got all my early season gardening planted, onions, lettuce, spinach, and peas.

Tomorrow I'm picking up 25 bare root Chinese Chestnut. I'll post pictures of them when I plant them.