Quick Stop for Planting

I was at a steel conference in Cleveland from Mon - Wed and I decided to stop by the farm on the way home.  I arrived Wed evening and left Thu afternoon.

 So as I'm in the kitchen opening up the cabin, this guy walks by outside the window.  I think that I saw a little jake beard.

 I'm planting two plots of summer annuals.  I disked and dragged the fields.

 During the disking I had to avoid obstacles like this turtle.  I relocated him.

 I haven't tried any of these annual mixes in a few years.  I've had a problem with warm season annual weeds (lambsquarter, galinsoga, pigweed, etc).  I went to roundup ready soybeans to try to get those fields back in control.  But I'm trying these two mixes in the main field (where the turnips were). Sunflowers, sorghum, soybeans, peas etc.  You have to wait for warm soil to plant them which gives the annual weeds a chance to start too.  We'll see how it goes in this field.

 I went with the roundup ready soybeans in this little field.

I hunted for an hour at sunrise without much success.  Heard a couple gobbles.

 No time to deal with these tent caterpillars. They will strip the leaves off that crabapple tree.

 Checked one camera that I missed previously.  This buck is starting on antlers and his coat is changing.

I'll start putting the minerals out more frequently for the next few months.  I still have three plots to plant - not sure when that will happen.

Turkey Nada, Mow and Disk

 This week I at least looked at the cameras before going hunting.  This is an evening strut.

The next 5 are selected shots from a morning strut in the same spot below the pond hi-rise.

Early morning strut on the ridge trail leading out to the pond field.

 Morning over by the ladder stand.

Here I am hunting at sunrise where all the action had been going on.

 And later down in the woods.  I had a couple of gobbling answers early in the morning but they didn't come in.  Everything shutdown both mornings by 7:30.

 Wandering by last week.  Bottom line - no luck in spite of ample evidence that they are over-running the property.

 Creigh and Pam welcomed their 2nd son this week.  Nathan was 7 pounds 14 oz and everyone is doing fine. Another potential hunter.

 Ok, so here are some weeds/wildflowers that I noticed while walking around aimlessly in pursuit of turkeys.  This one likes the middle of the atv trails.  Looks sort of like phlox.

 Violets (I think).

 I think that this is sweet yellow clover.  Not really a clover but that's what it's called.  Shows up in my clover plots as a weed.

dunno.

 dunno.

 The dogwoods are near peak now.  They are sort of an understory in the woods in some places.

 dogwood.

 Redbuds are still nice but past peak.

 I'm always finding trash just inside the woods line.  This hoop is beside an atv trail just below the barn.  I've been walking past it for 15 years and never noticed it before.

 Not sure what it was.  It appears that something was clamped inside it.  Pounded smooth on OD. Could it have been a metal tire on a wood wheel?  Or a barrel hoop?

 Just an interesting tree trunk.

 An area where I did some hinge cutting this winter.

 First mowing of the year.  Beautiful weekend.

 I had most of the machines out including my new toy - the bobcat.

 I tried it on a little trail maintenance.  I'm not sure what I'm doing but I didn't roll it, get it stuck, or break it.  I might have made some positive impact on the trail.

I disked up the five plots to plant this spring.  This is the pumpkin patch.

 I will probably plant sunflowers for my bride.

This has been soybeans.  It's a weedy mess.  I may just keep turning it and plant it in the fall.

By the firepit.  I might put some soybeans in this plot.  I always seem to plug up the back right disk. Part of it is soil moisture but I wonder if I have an adjustment issue...

Main field.  This was turnips last year.  I may try a summer mix here - Biologic Biomass.  Soybeans, lab lab, peas, milo, sunflower or something like that. Soil tests all came back with very little required.

 There was a great blue heron hanging out at my pond all weekend.  I guess that I must still have some fish in there.

 Full moon rising over the barn stand on Saturday evening.

Something nibbled thru the plastic seed bags in the barn - probably mice.

 Nice armpit.  I had just picked an attached tick off of there.  I'm very careful but they still get me every once in awhile.  I like it when it's cooler - I wear lightweight long underwear and it seems to keep them off.

 Trailcam tour - a 'coon.

 Playful fox.

Two coyotes.

Big bodied buck.

Camera tour on arrival Friday night.

In closing, here are some interesting links from the Ohio Dept. of Wildlife.  Several years ago, I thought there was a gas compressor in the neighborhood.  I eventually figured out that it was a grouse drumming.  Check this link out Ruffed Grouse Drumming Video I haven't heard it recently - are they gone?  Info on ticks and tick born disease Ticks in Ohio Info  And finally, a link to the Buckeye Buck Club Record Book Ohio Big Buck Records