Doc

Frankly I am always a bit suspicious of self-anointed experts whose only credibility is their own word. It could be that your self-proclaimed expertise has more to do with your own personal (financial) axe to grind than any real bona fide research and knowledge.

Love following this project through pictures. Keep them coming!

I'll admit that I don't know anything about deer farming, and frankly I have no real interest in learning much about it. But My comment has nothing to do with business, but simply civility in discussions. Somehow I don't think that being rude to a member here will have much impact on the bottom line of his business. I really don't see the correlation. If there is a problem with government administration vs business, this is probably not the place to take out frustrations against other members.

It does add a level of amusement to the national news.

It's the new Maxine Waters debating style ..... lol. Can't you just picture the bulging vein in the forehead, and the spit flying out of the mouth as FSW loses his mind at learning there are actually people that would dare to disagree with him. It's just a personality thing with him ..... Don't be concerned.

This happens often when I am sitting in my chair watching TV. All of a sudden, I will turn my head and look out the window just in time to watch a deer crossing the yard, or a fox, or a coyote, or some other critter. I have no idea why at that particular moment, I took my eyes and attention of something I was intently watching on TV to look out the window. The angle that the TV is, is away from the window. It happens often enough so that I know it is not just a coincidence.

What must it be like to be a Schumer, Pelosi, Maxine Waters, etc., etc., watching the impressive string of achievements that Trump is assembling during his term. And those achievements are all happening in spite of the frenzied best attempts at framing, resistance, and obstruction. And all of this effort with a left-leaning press in their pocket, twisting and sorting out what news to report and how to report it. Imagine how impotent they all must feel and what absolute failures they must regard themselves as. Is it any wonder that you get to see Maxine wild-eyed and screaming and ranting with spit flying out of her mouth, totally out of control and seemingly in the midst of a mental breakdown. And poor Nancy Pelosi periodically doing her best impression of a complete imbecile. These are the faces of the Democrat Party. All a complete laughing stock. The only scary part of it all is that no one knows for sure just how far some of their minions will go when it comes to lethal violence. Evidence shows that the left is moving closer and closer to violence with several individuals and organizations already crossing that line. Their leadership seems to be pointing them more and more in that direction. This latest episode where he is getting a second whack at the Supreme Court almost has them speaking in tongues, and all that with Ruth Ginsberg not looking all that healthy, perhaps to provide a third opportunity. The imprint left behind by this President will have impact for generations. It is not beyond the realm of possibility to think that history will eventually see him as the most successful and important president in modern history. That would truly drive the left over the edge.

I am only relating actions that I see every year. Call it what you want, but somehow their behavior seems to recognize the coming and going of deer seasons, what scents truly mean danger and when, and even occasionally what human activity and behavior is threatening and what is not. Is that learned behavior and some form of fundamental reasoning, I'll let others determine that. But there are plenty of examples where deer have modified their patterns and behavior from what they would perceive as "close calls" and experiences. Base instinct can only go so far with explaining some of that.

I am not really sure, but there have been some unique hardware left behind in the woods that are related to the oil drilling industry in southern NYS and PA. People have found old hit & miss engines and a system of push-rods strung throughout the woods that powered pumps for oil-well drilling. Perhaps this is a part of some pulley system used for this purpose.

One thing that cannot be denied is that deer learn and have some level of reasoning. I am reminded of that every year when all of a sudden all these spooky, reclusive, deer start showing up grazing on my front yard within days of the close of the hunting season. They do not need a game-laws syllabus and a calendar to figure out that hunting season is over. We hunters obsess over scent elimination to keep the wily whitetail from catching our scent and disappearing before we even see them. And yet I have watched them graze over top of piles of dog feces and not even flinch. I have also seen them munching on shrubs that are within a yard of our front door with no concern about the human scent all over that area. They seem to be able to assess situations and make decisions based on logic and reasoning.

Yes, the heavy pressure of NYS does offer the deer more encounters with hunters. And yes that intense "conditioning" could very well make them a tougher animal to hunt. They do seem to be able to separate out the harmless wanderings and shootings of small game hunters, and understand when they themselves become the target of humans. I find that in itself quite remarkable. And I also believe that the more encounters they receive, the more they start putting two and two together and begin employing a heavy-duty survival mode to their lifestyle.

There was a comment on another thread that made me start wondering about a deer's ability to learn and become a more elusive prey. What do you all think about the possibility that deer hunted in states with more pressure becoming more educated by more common encounters, and becoming what appears to be "smarter" than deer in states where the pressure is lighter? Do you think that pressured deer adopt better escape and hiding abilities?

Everything today seems to be focused on "shock value". Whoever can come up with the most disgusting ways to attract attention to themselves seem to be the happiest. That is true of body modifications and also the ways people portray themselves in personalities, and actions and attitudes. For me the piercing thing is disgusting and gives me the willies anytime I see it. I can't even imagine what kind of mentality ever got that nonsense going. But then, I am an old fart that doesn't get a lot of the crazy crap that goes on these days ....... lol.

Yes, as great as this growing season has been, we are still vulnerable to damaging hail, and heavy forceful rains, and flash flooding. I'm still keeping those fingers crossed, but so far this season has been the absolute best of all my years of gardening and that includes even back when I was a kid.

I'm afraid that I am of the age where I have to look at the level of physical energy that has to be expended. For example, there are critters in New Zealand that live on mountains that tire me out just looking at them. A lot of where Jim Shocky hunts would be impossible for me. Also, I no longer have any desire to hunt things that hunt back. I think I can happily live out the rest of my years without ever seeing a G-bear in the flesh. There was a time when I would like to have replicated Fred Bear's or Tred Barta's griz hunt with a bow. It doesn't enthuse me at all anymore. Further, I don't want to hunt anywhere that requires you to carry a snake-bite kit. I like to feel comfortable looking around at all of nature that surrounds my hunt and not having my eyes riveted on the next place I am placing my foot. Small game and deer found behind my house is just fine with me from this point on.

More and more, success in deer hunting is a product of glomming onto the best land and locking it up tight with posted signs and fences and reserving the hunting rights to only one or only a few chosen hunters. It is also becoming an outcome of good farming practices (food plots) and many other things that have little to do with actual woods lore and species study and hunting prowess. Is NYS unique in all these non-hunting activities resulting in success that has little or nothing to do with actual hunting prowess?........Absolutely not. But all these things are what makes it difficult to determine who are actually the "BEST deer hunters". It is not all completely about rack scores or harvest quantities. In my estimation, the best deer hunters are those that take on wild deer, with unmodified behavior, that hunt the deer the way they find them without artificial animal behavior and pattern modifications. To me this may be what puts some of the best deer hunters in NYS. Someone who takes on an area like the Adirondacks, far away from the farms and other such artificial deer attractants, is to me the guy who is most skilled at taking on deer in their own element, one-on-one, and is consistently successful in getting any deer. That, by the way is not me ..... lol. The patterns of deer in that kind of area are pretty damn random, and it takes some heavy levels of knowledge and skill to close the deal on those deer. NYS does offer a large area of that kind of hunting for those willing and able to take on the challenge. So maybe NYS does have some of the best deer hunters in the nation.........Maybe.

What a growing season so far. Just when I figured it would be drought that would kill off the garden, we got this rainy stretch. At the end of this week we are supposed to get warm again. Plants are growing way faster than I have ever seen them.

What a story! What are the odds that that dog would show up precisely when and where needed? That would make a hell of a movie.

My my......Aren't we getting sensitive these days. Too many people out there just looking for an excuse to be offended in all areas of life. I guess offense is easily found if you are actively looking for it.

Yeah, that must be why we aren't over-run with turkeys. I'm not out there shooting and trapping every critter walking or flying that eats eggs and turkey poults. I'd better start getting busy ...... lol.

I am trying to make some sense out of the simpletons sitting on both sides of this guy who think that this is all a joke. The one guy even equates wearing blue hair gel under his hat to this outright treasonous expression of his hostility toward this country.

A great identification page from the DEC: https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/72766.html

That is most likely Giant Hogweed. Stay away from it!

It really is not practical to eliminate all predators for the benefit of one species. Imagine all the species you would have to declare war on in order to eliminate or even put a dent in all the critters that like to dine on eggs and/or poults. There is nothing wrong with recreational predator hunting, or trapping for a bit of cash, but to set out on a mission to clear every enemy of turkey production probably will not turn out satisfactorily.

Approximately how tall was it?