stubborn1VT

My best guess is they sprayed a liquid lime or fertilizer. No need to terminate winter wheat unless it has gotten a couple feet tall. Winter wheat was probably the best available food source at the time and then other options like clover appeared. I have seen that here over the past month. Early on they were on winter wheat/rye etc because it grows first and is most attractive and nutritious when it is real small. Now the turkeys are all over in different hay fields. I didn't see any in the fields when we got 2" of snow yesterday, but they were back out today once it began to melt off. I could be totally wrong, but those would be my bets based on my farming experience etc.

The most minimalist hunt I had was late season. The grass was getting tall and was often wet with dew or rainwater in the mornings. Toms were not gobbling much and birds wouldn't come out in the fields until later in the day when the grass had dried. My brother patterned a tom, jake and hen that were coming out to a small strip of bare ground along the edge of the field. They were well screened by dead reed canary grass on one side and the woods on the other. They would fly down onto a nearby powerline and walk down it to the dirt patch to sun and scratch until it got good and light out. With this info I set up behind a boulder the size of bathtub and used a smaller rock next to it for a bench rest. The birds never made a peep. I never heard them fly down. They marched out to the dirt spot and preened and pecked around. For 15 or 20 minutes I got to watch them. The hen had zero interest in the tom. The jake didn't dare show any interest in the hen. The tom stayed right behind the hen and stayed in strut most of the time. I waited for the hen to bring the tom from 40 yards to about 25 yards, then waited for her to get well out of the way and dropped the tom from a solid rest. It was a heck of a nice morning. No blind or calls. No running and gunning. No other hunters around. It was the least stressful turkey hunt ever. Another hunt I got in close on a roosted tom in the dark, called once when he hit the ground and then wrapped a Velcro strap around my box call and tossed a couple feet out of my reach. I sat there just under 30 minutes before I heard the tom spit and drum on the other side of a thick cedar. I shot him at 18 yards when he came around the cedar.

4 for 5 with 3 homers? Not bad at all.

Saw my first tom at the house today! He followed two hens across an overgrown field. The hens were hanging tight to the cedars, looking for shade I assume. They made a big loop and made it back to my food plot. I was trying to stay busy working on wood and yard work, so I didn't stick around to see if they made it in front of my camera.

I helped take down a 60 footer. Did it the same way. Two of us with sledge hammers. We did hook a cable to one of the upper rings and gave it some encouragement with a tractor. Just like chopping down a tree!

No thanks.

Solar farms (fields) are a waste IMO. I understand rooftop panels, but a whole field? Those panels also end up in the landfill. Almost all solar farms sit on concrete footings also, making it cost prohibitive to reclaim that land. What a waste.

I learned with a deerhide glove and was never comfortable with a tab. To each his own.

The farm I sometimes work for has a Big Tex 5th wheel trailer. They have had it for at least 15+ years. I think it's a 24 footer, so not at all the same size. I can say that it has done everything they have asked of it. They were hauling scrap to the junkyard with it when I left today. We have used it to haul cars, trucks, tractors, hay, logs etc. The only thing they have replaced that I am aware of is lights/wiring and tires. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a trailer from Big Tex.

Nice!

Brassicas are worth trying IMO. In some places it takes time for them to use them, but I have seen them work more times than not. They aren't difficult to plant and they aren't expensive. Not many people have the option of doing soybeans, especially 10 acres. A blend of brassicas, top-dressed with winter rye or wheat should do the trick. Throw in a little clover seed, then frost seed in the spring and you should be in business. If the area is big enough, I would split it in in half. I plant clover for early season and brassicas for late season. Good luck with whatever you choose. Hope you enjoy the process. It's a satisfying feeling to take deer off a plot you worked hard on.

I fished all day Saturday in the Champlain Islands. Kept a 6 gallon buck of bluegills and pumkinseeds. Wish I had taken some pictures cuz some of the 'seeds were pushing 10". I could probably push it another day or two, but it's time to put my gear away and get to work on Spring chores.

The plan is to clean up my wood yard, prune apple trees, do some spring panfishing, dig and pickle some ramps and maybe scout turkeys a little (while carrying a .22 Mag for woodchucks).

There are some good things about this site. Sometimes that's difficult to remember. I'm a Vermonter and a Red Sox fan, but there is still some guys on here that I would like to shoot the breeze with some day. Happy spring time folks!

Happy Birthday Dan! Think they'll ever open up the border so you can hunt dem Canadian birds, eh?

Congrats to you both. He sure is handsome. It really is hard to measure how much they add to our lives. ALOT!

In 30+ years of farming I have never seen fescue take over anything. Tens of thousands of acres of hay land feed deer where there are no food plots. The deer seem to like it just fine. I totally agree there are better food sources, but there isn't anything I know that is as easy to maintain as grass/hay. I'm a huge clover fan, but deer will eat anything that you mow a few times a year. Also, endophytes are not truly a danger to deer, as they aren't stuck eating in one spot. They don't graze like cattle or horses, so they don't get enough endophytes to have an impact. If you fenced in a deer on fescue and rye grass they would have a problem.

Almost all the fescue planted these days are endophyt free. Fescue is one of the top grazing grasses for livestock and make up many of the lawns in this country. Every pasture mix out there has fescue in it. I wouldn't fence deer in on fescue, but I believe you are overthinking this one. If you have ever seen a deer feed on a lawn, golf course, pasture or many hay fields, then they are eating fescue. I agree that clover is the best bet, but deer will eat anything green when it is small and tender.

I think you're on the right track. Personally, I would try to keep it cut short and put the pelletized lime to it first. Once the pH is closer to 6.5 you could spread some clover seed. Sometimes simply addressing the pH will allow better feed to grow. I know a millionaire who has tried all kinds of plantings for deer at his house. He decided that a hayfield type mix worked as well as anything as long as he mowed it at least 3 or 4 times. His situation is kind of specific though. The deer are already there. He doesn't have to draw them from surrounding properties. For him, the easiest method is to maintain pH, fertilize a little and mow. I'm planning on a similar project in an overgrown pasture. I'm going to mow a section in the middle and leave the goldenrod, berry bushes, reed canary on the outside. I will have to use ramps to get my walk-behind brush mower there and carry in bags of lime and spread by hand, but I know that I will be a killing spot for deer and turkeys if I put in the work. Last season I mowed a path around the outside and one diagonally across the middle. I only hunted it 4 times, but I had 2 does with fawns follow the diagonal path to 15 yards of my 8 foot high ladder stand. I had meat in the freezer, so I just watched them. It was one of my favorite sits of the season. There's something to seeing your plan and your work pan out. So, back to your question. I don't recommend working the soil more than agressively raking it. I believe you can plant lots of things they will eat by spreading before rain or rolling with a lawn roller. Mowing and adding lime are the easiest and best way to improve forage IMO.

Sorry for your loss Fletch. Wish they didn't have to leave us so soon.

So sorry Cynthia.

I will give someone a pull, as long as there is something to actually hitch to AND they hitch the chain themselves.

Deer love pears. I would suggest crab apples though.

I have had some success in the pre-rut. I guess you could lump it in with the rut. Bucks seem to travel more and often move during daylight the last week of October. Just my observation. Those first cold mornings do it for me. I'm not against hunting the early season, but enjoy it less, as others have noted.

1) black cherry 2) not sure, not an ash. I could tell you if you cut it down and showed me a cross cut! 3) beech 4) probably a white ash 5) hard maple