stubborn1VT

What is your method for removing honeysuckle?

We used to have domestic turkeys and I practiced on them. It taught me alot about cadence and it was nice to see the body posture of the hens and toms when they made different sounds. Good luck Bill. That sounds like a good way to get your "fix" in. I have called in a few toms on properties where I work. No hunting allowed, but I was there (with no gun) and had a diaphragm call in the truck.

Heard my first gobble this morning. It was 23 degrees and frosty. The tom was roosted tight behind the neighbor's house up the valley. I will have hens feeding and nesting on our property in May, so I'm guessing I'll get a crack at him. My brother had toms strutting and gobbling and harassing hens in the snow the other day at the farm. Lots more turkeys there and way fewer ticks, so that's where I do most of my turkey slaying.

Yesterday's forecast called for less than an inch with an inch overnight. By dark we had around 6". It kind of feels like second winter. Anyone else get this "blessing"? It sure looks pretty, but it's just a PITA, especially since the ground isn't frozen. Hopefully it won't stick around long.

Have the grounds checked and look at the fuse box. Electrical sux.

Great pics! p.s. Ya got more free time.

I frost seeded some clover and chicory on a small woods plot. Also tried winter rye and clover on last year's brassica plot. We'll see how that goes. I'm hoping it isn't too wet for the rye and that the crows didn't pick it over too bad. I have no idea what they were eating, but 2 does showed up in that plot before dark yesterday. I have another area I want to frost seed in clover/chicory but I'm running out of seed. Not sure how fast anything is shipping these days.

Hunting is good near the CT river, especially on the NH side. There are some real bruiser bucks in NH, not as many in VT. There is more opportunity for big woods/tracking in NH. Tons of turkeys these days, but I don't see the grouse I used to. Lived in and hunted VT my whole life, in Central Vermont and the Champlain Valley. Northern VT has bigger woods. Bears are much more common. The state is small compared to NY. There is ag in places and big woods in the Green Mountains and Northeast Kingdom. I doubt the deer hunting would compare to what you are used to in NY.

Great post Dino! Thanks for sharing, especially this time of year when the forum is so... sparse.

Congrats Biz. Go SOX!!!

DR walk-behind is self-propelled, but it's still work to turn it. A pull type would probably work for many people. The key would be to mow before stuff got too tall. My BIL tried mowing an overgrown field with a Swisher and it wouldn't do it. I had to come with the Kubota and real brush hog.

I have brush-hogged MANY acres with a DR walk-behind. I worked for the company for about a year. I am not totally sold on the ATV mower. It falls in between a tractor brush-hog and a walk-behind and doesn't do the job as well as either one. I have a 15 year old walk-behind and it has been an amazing machine. It is only 13hp, but can mow down 7' tall reed canary grass and 1" saplings. It works on steep and uneven terrain and in very wet areas. It's a workout to run but it does a great job. It will do things that the tow-behind never could for less money. I drive it up a set of ramps into the back of a pickup. Depending on terrain and vegetation, I can mow 1/4-1/3 of an acre per hour. It really shines on trails, fence lines and on mound systems. Just my .02. I will even come to NY and demonstrate this machine in trade for hunting permission!

When did you plant it?

Totally. People can pile on the Astros all they want, but it's ridiculous to think that the rest of the league wasn't doing something. They won't go after players. They can't afford to open that can of worms and they can't take on the player's union.

Kinda surprised by the Beltran move. I get it, but it didn't really seem necessary to me. What do Mets fans think?

No, because it happens gradually. To over simplify, deer have a summer diet and a winter diet and "summer" and "winter" bacteria to digest these diets. They eat stuff all summer/fall like grass, leaves, corn, apples until they run out. Then they switch to woody browse and the bacteria changes over. Once this happens they can't just go back to eating grass and corn. In the spring, things green up and the deer slowly switch back over to a green diet. You can kill a starving deer in the middle of winter by feeding it corn or hay. Standing corn wouldn't hurt them because the bacteria would stay present in their stomach as long as it was available. Bans on feeding make sense to me, mostly because people can't be trusted to feed the deer continually. In Maine you can get a permit to feed deer, but it has to be approved by the state. They also require that you continue feeding the deer until May. You can see one of these sites on the Youtube. Look up Brownville Food Pantry for Deer.

Nah. Pitcher vs hitter matchups are just a matter of numbers. The numbers tell the story and then it's just a matter of going with the numbers or your gut. Managers have every single set of numbers available. A computer could make the moves. NBA is a game of momentum. A good coach can get more out of a team than the sum of its parts. It's tougher to decide when to call a time-out than it is to pick a reliever. I get what you're saying about elite teams with superstar lineups, but that's only a handful of teams. Once you get to the 2nd and 3rd team in the division you have a team that does more with less, and that takes coaching.

Managing matchups, defenses, the clock, making adjustments is way tougher. Just the pace of the game makes it more difficult. NBA is a game of runs and responding to them. MLB is no comparison. You are way off on this one Biz. Just figuring out a defensive strategy against an elite scorer is more difficult than managing a bullpen.

At least MLB has finally done something about it. It was hard to take it seriously before. Now they know. The trash can things reminds me of when Pineda had pine tar on his neck. It gets to a point that something has to be done. I will be interested to see what Cora gets. 1 year I would think. Losing draft picks will hurt for sure. The only disappointing part for me is all the teams that got away with it. Everyone was doing it, but a few are really going to pay. Dunno. At least it should be a more level playing field going forward.

Am I the only one who misses actual winter?

Nobody posting about the Gardner signing? I am the furthest thing from a Spankees fan, but Gardner is a grinder. 28 dingers last year! Juiced ball? Little league ball park? Give that man 12+ million. Good to see he gets more than Hicks, since he actually takes the fields and helps them win.

Just curious about milo ( aka grain sorghum )as a later season draw. Deer won't bother it while it is growing and raccoons won't get into it like corn. Has anyone planted it? I don't see why I can't broadcast it. The taller variety can also provide some screening effect since it can get over 5 feet tall. I would be interested in hearing from anyone with firsthand experience with this.

I should probably mention that I am also insured.

Sorry to hear this Eddie. That's a tough one.

I am wondering if anyone would be interested in letting my hunt their property in trade for labor. I don't have money for a lease, but I do have some skills and equipment that I could offer for "payment". I was thinking of something like this: A long weekend of labor over the spring/summer for at least a long weekend of hunting. I can bring: chainsaws, walk-behind brush cutter, walk behind tiller, small stump grinder, other hand tools, farming and food plotting experience and insurance. I run a one-man "land care" business in Vermont. I cut trees, clear brush, brush-hog, rototill, prune and sell firewood. I am looking for: a place to hunt with a crossbow or a rifle, some leads on lodging, general hunting advice. I am particularly interested in hunting during the first 2 weeks in November. I'm not looking for a guided hunt, more of a base of operations. I had this in mind when I joined the forum 3 years ago, but I have never hunted in NY. I live near Lake Champlain and I'm not far from the NZ/SZ border. It's not important that I kill a deer, but I sure would like to see some. I have been hunting for 30+ years. I am a "sitter" as opposed to a stand hunter. I am a meat hunter, but I try to shoot 2.5 year old bucks. I am not opposed to shooting does, but haven't taken one in 11 or 12 years. I have killed 1-2 bucks a year for the last 10 years. I meant to do this sooner, but now seems like a good time. I run my own business and set my own schedule. If you are interested, feel free to message me or reply to this thread.