some fine looking sausage right there,getting fat on those pears!
Clover/corn food plot Day 122
Things are very slow here in the Panhandle. 'Bout the time it dries out for a few days, then it rains again! Not being able to burn the crabgrass where the clover was planted earlier creates an issue of creating that "perfect" seedbed to try again. Burying all the vegetation with a bottom plow is out of the question because of being too wet to pull the plows and disking over such a heavy stand of fertilized crab grass will certainly not leave a seedbed conducive to a good stand of clover. A good burn will clear the vegetation and a trip or two with a disk and drag will provide a place for the clover to germinate.
The corn side was gone over and the remaining corn was picked last week. Not enough to last till the season starts, the deer had really hammered it during the extreme wet time. This side will be planted in oats or rye, which doesn't require the well prepared seedbed like clover does. Still the seed must be in contact with the soil and corn stalks and weeds will prevent the grain drill from functioning properly.
Facing the issues that weather conditions create causes me to really feel for the area farmers, as their livelihood depends on being able to get out and do the same things I need to do to make a food plot. There is quite a difference in the bottom line between farming and playing with a food plot!
The pears are still falling in the yard, so I'm still running a camera in that spot. There was over 300 pics this week, same bunch of deer that can be seen in the peanut field. Some time the deer get our dog's attention, we hear her bark and then she gets quiet.
The 3 pics today show the timing involving the dog, a deer eating pears at 10:14pm, the dog investigating at 10:17 and then at 12:21 the deer are back under the pear tree in about 2 hours and the dog is in her pen. This dog will blood trail and so far every time she starts on a hot track or starts running a deer by sight, we just call her back and she quits the run (keeping the fingers crossed).
Treefarmer
Clover/corn food plot Day 128
What a different prospective a year makes! Last season we had plenty of corn standing in the field at this time, this time there is none. Decided to try and begin working up this little piece of bottom land for another shot a some clover and also a small patch of Rye grain. Rye grain is more tolerant of lower ph levels than most other winter grains. The dirt is very slick and still extremely wet and the crab grass did not burn as well as I had hoped. All this coupled with the possibility that Invest 97 will come our way this weekend, makes this an "iffy" project.
Started on this yesterday afternoon after going to my doctor for my annual check up. (He said blood work couldn't be much better, don't know if he was pleased or disappointed, however he wants to x-ray my hip that hurts, arthritis he suspects.) Did pretty well in the plot with the old Massey-Ferguson 175 pulling the off-set harrow. Had to feather it quite often as it would start to spin in this slick, wet soil. But as todays pictures will show all didn't go as planned. I didn't get back to the house on time or my wife couldn't hear the tractor running, either way she and the dog came looking for me and found me walking out. I wasn't stuck but I just couldn't go!
Had left the big "elephant rope" on the old Massey since last time she had to pull me out. Drove the 4 wheel drive tractor to the field and she followed in the cart. Momma pulled me out and we decided to leave the other tractor in the field just in case. Finished fluffing the plot so if could dry out a little more before I put the bigger leveling disk in the field. But if the rain from a depression or storm comes this weekend, it maybe several more weeks till planting some seed. Thanksgiving Day is getting closer.
Picture today show the little problem yesterday and one picture of the girls still chowing down on the pears.
Treefarmer
cont'd
cont'd
