“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” – Greek Proverb
“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
Longleaf Pines: Site Preparation
Establishing Longleaf pines (LLP) on old agricultural fields is particularly challenging due to aggressive weed species and high soil fertility. Careful site preparation is important for success. Continue reading
Greta
Her name is Berretta of the Autumnfire, but we call her Greta. Continue reading
Longleaf Pines: Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
As we have added to the acreage on our timber farm, two of the parcels included some established cropland. When purchased, the cropland was tended by local farmers and plantings rotated based on market conditions. Two of the typical crops were cotton and tobacco. The former requires quite a bit of chemical augmentation and with the latter we had ethical/moral concerns. Neither really fit with our overall goals to improve habitat for all wildlife. This left us with some decisions about the best management for these areas. We actively sought out other options and eventually learned about the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
Beaver Blanket
On an earlier post, I discussed the need to manage beavers on our timber farm. While the beaver furs have little market value these days, they are still really nice furs. I think they are worth the effort to process. It is hard for me to totally waste such a beautiful animal. They need managing but they deserve respect. In this post I will describe how these animals were recycled into a beautiful blanket that has provided some toasty evenings on the couch watching TV. Continue reading
Turkey Hunting: Spring 2018
This will be just a short post but I wanted to make sure I documented this year’s adventure because it was a special one indeed! This was the season that Jeanette successfully bagged her first game animal ever! And what a trophy it was. A mature, lovestruck gobbler. Continue reading
Trapping
My introduction to trapping furbearers began during my junior high school years. I am not sure how in fact it began, but I and a close friend of mine, Pete Leo (who I had lost contact with and only recently found out he passed away in 1988) started trapping muskrats and raccoon. We were self-taught, marginally successful, and certainly not making any money. We did however further solidify our love of the outdoors and I am certain we became better outdoors-men, if that is a correct term for young adolescents. What happened next was life. School. More school. Work. Marriage. Family. Moving. Divorce. Career. Marriage (got it right this time). Dear Pete, I’m sorry we lost track of each other. May you rest in peace. Hope to see you in the good place in the future.
Jump forward about 45 years. Continue reading
Turkey Hunting: Spring 2016
Turkey hunting may have become my favorite of the hunting endeavors…..at least for now! It is interactive, you get to use decoys, the weather tends is nice, the fields and woods are awakening after winter, and the prey is fascinating. This season was especially fun for me because Jeanette asked to come along. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to help her pick out camouflage and a comfortable seat. I did draw the line at the ubiquitous pink trim that must be required on all female hunting clothing. The compromise we came to was covering the pink lettering with camouflage duct tape (yet another use for duct tape). Continue reading
Spring 2016: Random thoughts
Once I recovered from my chicken pox last fall, my farm blogging came to a screeching halt. To be clear, it was the blogging that stopped, not the activity on our farm. We have been busy as ever. Since my last entry in mid September, there has been fall planting, deer hunting, duck hunting, trapping, trail clearing, preparation for Spring planting, Spring planting, ……..well you probably get the idea.We have even acquired more land, bringing our current total acreage to just about 190. There have been many things we did right, some not so right, and some blatantly wrong. Throughout it all, we have had a blast and have learned a lot about land stewardship, about farming and about ourselves. Continue reading
National Wild Turkey Federation
I have to admit….I’m a joiner. Not so much of an active participant, but at least a joiner. I am a life member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF). I am a longtime member of Trout Unlimited (TU) and Coastal Conservation Association (CCA). More recently I have joined Ducks Unlimited (DU) and Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA). My membership in these groups has helped me keep my fingers on the pulse of wildlife and environmental issues. I can respond politically better with good information. I trust that my membership dollars are constructively used. When possible I buy products either directly from the organizations or from retailers that support them directly. There is a lot of indirect benefit received by me from these groups. I would describe my self as a Conservationist, NOT an Environmentalist!
Gobbler in full strut
The organization that has BY FAR given me direct and meaningful benefit and help has been the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF). Continue reading