Started the big project yesterday...

[growalot]

I do this by my self so two ppl should make short work of it...I worked on the upper fence area several hours yesterday. There was a lot of fresh droppings around the two big Ash I cut the  other day. I have decided to only clean the woods floor were I wanted deer to travel. I want them traveling near the blinds and stands and not near property lines. The fences steer them as well..deer will not jump what they can not see over, remember that..but they will walk a fence to find an opening..once found they will use them regularly and as escape routes. I also incorporate native brush in the fences..We have a lot of honey suckle and dog wood bushes.

With this melt we had and time on my hands, I could clearly see where I went wrong in some areas last year. I know why some travel patterns changed around our place.. New Hunters in 2 areas and they were an everyday presence. I also realize this is going to be a continued future issue. This will permanently change patterns. After next year they will have the new pattern down so I can adjust to it and attempt to get certain areas on us as part of the new routes. The other thing was not really looking closer at the woods floor obstruction...I underestimated just how bad the tangle was and in areas I rarely frequent. They travel and bed in these areas. Last year's high winds took down so much they just filled in, making movement nearly impossible. So there I sat waiting for the usual movement which just wasn't going to happen. These areas will be cleaned by spring.

My local turkey should love this..I do not remove everything, I need rot to produce food for the soil and the birds. Rotting ground litter is perfect for bugging,and maintaining moisture. Speaking of Turkey...removing the standing dead timber will open the canopy for remaining live trees. Allowing branch development and spread. This allows for roosting trees to develop. Turkey need flatter spreading branches to roost on. They tend to roost at a specific height. Trees too close, keep lower branches continuously dying. Too many and they won't have good roost trees. If you've ever watched a turkey tumbling down through a tree after landing on a dead limb not once but a few times, you'd understand why they'd move roosting areas. 

 

[stubborn1VT]

Took a walk in the new snow.  Unfortunately, we got a good shot of freezing rain before that.  Brought the .22 mag, but it was crunchy walking.  I kicked a big turkey off it's roost, saw a gray squirrel, and a flock of robins.  There weren't as many tracks as I expected.  I did find 5 sets of coyote, 1 partridge, many squirrel and rabbit and ZERO deer tracks.  I did find an old rub line.

I also looked at how to get up the hill above the woods plot.  There's a couple different angles, but if I can get up there with the tractor, there's a lot of firewood before it turns into pines/hemlocks and nasty honeysuckle/buckthorn thickets and blowdowns.  It's great cover.  Seeing it in winter makes me realize there's a very defined "path of least resistance" along the hillside.  If I can clean up some of the blowdowns, cut some of the firewood, and direct their travel with some brush fence, then I can really take advantage of that path.  I can only do so much to bring deer to our property, but at least when I do, I can predict which way they'll arrive.  

On a different note, the woods are strange around the hill.  Below the hill is almost all green ash and red elm.  Above the hill is mostly pine, hemlock and some cedar.  Right along the top and bottom of the hill there is all kinds of other hardwood!  There's soft maple, black cherry, white oak, beech, 3 kinds of birch, hop hornbeam, poplar, and American elm.  I wish I knew how that happened. 

Anyhow, I guess my point is that I was feeling finished with tree work around the woods plot.  Now I have another project at the top of the hill! Thinning, cleanup, and possibly some hinge cutting.

[growalot]

LOL ..you silly guy you...It's NEVER DONE!...the the Joy of it

Quote

I was feeling finished with tree work around the woods plot.

 

[stubborn1VT]

The ground firmed up overnight, so I took the truck out to the plot to cut some more.  Three or four deer had been through.  I didn't bring my digital camera to check cards, so I don't know what they were.  They wandered around from brush pile to brush pile.  Seems like they were more curious than hungry.  I didn't see much signs of browsing.  

I cut a new log road up the hill that overlooks the plot.  Took out a bunch of small yellow birch.  I tried hinge cutting some poplars, but they were kind of big.  It didn't go quite like I had hoped.  I started a brush fence to steer them down the hill where I wanted.  So much more to do.  I should be able to get the tractor to the top of the hill now.  That should help with thinning the poplar, taking some soft maple for firewood, and getting some light to the few oaks, cherries etc that I want to leave.

Last time I went in, I cut a bunch of small elm and birch.  While I was picking them up and big partridge landed in one of the few hop hornbeams (ironwood) and was feeding on seeds in the tree top.  I wandered all over picking up wood and dragging brush.  He stayed right there, and let me walk right under him.  Kind of cool.  Season closed here Dec 31.  

Next time in I will work on the dead cedars and pines along the edge of the hill.  I want to use them to steer critters along the hill where I can see them from my stand.  There's a TON of work out there, but it's nice to improve our property.  Cold weather on the way.  I'll probably try to call a coyote and ice fish for perch and lake trout.  Good to get outside.

[growalot]

Poplar snap!...I can cut rather large ones with my pruning saw...they are easy to cut through and I cut at an angle in the direction I know is the best fall ,according to the trunk angle and limb growth then let gravity snap them off...the great thing about a long pole pruner. Hophorn are a great feed tree to have ...Hell on saw blades but unwanted ones make great fire wood. Glad your getting a lot done it's a good feeling, I know...I have so much to clean up, the woods looks like a bomb went off. Trees snapped off branches everywhere...the neighbor's wood lot is looking the same..I see he lost some big maples as well.. The wind just howled last night and it's pretty brisk today dang cold too...

[stubborn1VT]

These poplars are 14" - 18" across.  I hung a bunch of them up and had to drop an even BIGGER poplar across them to knock them down.  I'd probably have better luck if there was more room to drop them.  Oh well.  My new plan to is to drop them and skid them.  They're nice and straight.  I'll take the logs to the farm and have my brother's friend run them through his portable saw mill.  Can't have too many boards.

I wish I had more hornbeam.  It's my favorite wood for really cold weather.  Makes great big coals.  I'd heard the birds really like the seeds or "hops", but I'd never seen it firsthand.  

I found a single red oak on top of the hill.  The only other one on the property is right on the driveway, and that one was planted from an acorn 40 years ago.  They're 1/4 mile apart.  I can't figure that one out.  

I'm trying to be careful with my thinning along the hill.  If I open it up too much the wind could get in there and make a mess.  

Well, time to marinate some wild turkey breast for supper.  If it gets cold enough overnight, I might go back in tomorrow.  

[growalot]

DEC forester pointed to mine and said..."Want turkey?, keep those"...He was right, but I knew that from camp half our stands are in hophorn ...The thing I didn't know was how much deer love them...It's comical watching. They walk around on their hind legs trying to eat every drupe  they can reach. ever see a deer hop on it's hind legs...I have....hhhmm..... I wonder if that's how they got their name?

That's the size I've cut with my trusty little Stihl...and let me tell you I'm very careful they are one darn heavy tree when alive...I am not allowed to cut with the chain saw while alone...so Mr B got me a long pruning  Stihl pole saw...I learned quick how to get the most out of it years ago...I have too much to do to be waiting around...the pole keeps the chain at a safe distance from me and helps me stay a safe distance from the trees's I cut...I saw what a chain saw did to a guys under arm...from his arm pit to wrist.....How he managed that I do not know ,but as his sister told me while showing the NASTY ER pics...he's lucky he's fat...it didn't hit the artery and he was 2 miles from the nearest help. No thank you...I have 5 chains and they are in a constant rotation making sure I always have a sharp blade on...

Edited January 27, 2017 by growalot

[growalot]

So I thought Id add a bit before heading out...winds have calmed so it's safer...I went around the brush pile fence lines and the areas of ground clutter I am doing to find this:

Deer hugging the fence lines in their travels...literally  and using the fence line openings a lot. This lets me know they are training them selves to quick escape routes through cover, good thing to know. The grounds I have cleared are being used...especially the upper woods area that will run along the new trail plot I'm putting in. I have a lot of work to do on this...still several dead ash and maple to down and curved ash and maple that aren't good for anything but fire wood...they curve over the lane way shading it. I'll be cutting a bunch of those today...I spend good days dropping trees . Bad days cutting tops and sectioning to move. I need to do this before raking off the moss and raking in the lime. I will add new lime, 3 bags at a time on good days...I also need to clean out a drainage culvert I added a few years ago with the backhoe...this will be done by hand. ...it was installed to keep the bigger plot at the end of this trail from having seed washed down yet another connecting trail...50 acres of my neighbors land drains and flows through our place to the gully...actually their place is why we have a gully.. no complaints gullies make for GREAT hunting. Well I'm off to get er done...

[growalot]

Well the big project...holy cow I'm not sure I will have many trees left...I went down yesterday to work and ended up pushing over another 20+ saplings...too many large ones that will need sawing to topple......I'm a tad worried about whats happening to the maple on the hill...it's not isolated and I am loosing timber sized trees. It has been happening over the last few years but after last summer it's increased significantly.

Anyways this project has spread to other areas so I'm hop scotching a bit. It will be a guess as to what I actually finish.

I can say that the oak flats project I've been working on over the last few years has started working well. I have been hinging and cutting to open the oak canopies and let more sun to the trail plots plus cover in the bedding. I went over to check it out. In an area under the oaks in a heavily hinged spot 50'x70' there were no less then 51 piles of deer droppings. they were everywhere. I had watched the deer going in and out of that spot last year from a couple of stands...There is also two apples(one producing) in that spot...I'm hoping it produces a nice deer for me this year.

[dbHunterNY]

those brush fence lines look like a lot of work.  seems they'd break down as fast as you can stack it.

[growalot]

No you just need to get a good base worked on them...then add all the junk you need to clean each winter and spring. Maple breaks down the fastest. poplar lasts awhile as well as the ash and bass wood.

[gjs4]

Fencing works best- but that is an interesting labor intensive approach you've got going there


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[growalot]

Man what a temp. change but great to work in ...got out at 9:30 and home at 1:45....things are coming along nicely I have spots ready to frost seeding. The woods floor is so much better and in a huge area...the brush pile fence is over my head in several places. I had started 2 new fences one 200 ft and another 200yrds...those will take some time the 200yrd one is up about a foot...I'm looking to have all 600 ft at least 4ft by mid summer. the 200ft one is at 2ft now. I need to rake a bit more moss and then get out the saw and hit a bunch of trees...The winds have kept the saw put away for now...maybe tomorrow.

[growalot]

Rains have stopped so I'm headed out to do more cutting. I downed sever junk and dead as trees yesterday to open up a producing oak and bring more light to a new /old plot area.. I got a new view barrier fence line up to 4 ft high this will block rifle shots through my woods to the plot and steer the deer closer to a couple of old stands.

All my plans are now changed...looks like I'm loosing my tractor right during crucial spring planting and ground work..Ticked but I understand..I has to be done...she's going in for a sandblast and paint job. As soon as the shop can take her. So looks like the DR and the tiller will be getting a work out( me too) ...best get my turkeys early this spring...... Frost seeding has now taken on a new importance...and I'm glad  I was on the fence about some summer annuals...looks like fall planting will take priority.