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24 acre ranch build - raw land to paradise!

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    24 acre ranch build - raw land to paradise!

    I'm starting this thread to document what will be the long, costly, and exhausting process of turning the 24 acres of raw, undeveloped land I bought in Milam county into the perfect recreational/hunting property and game animal sanctuary.

    Some of the first projects will be clearing out tons of yaupon thickets from around the big oaks, building a 1500' fence to close the one open side of the property, making the front one acre that touches the county road an ideal place for my Dad to set up his RV when he comes to camp/hunt, get a good gate put up to keep neerdowells out etc.

    The larger projects will be bringing in the electricity, drilling the well (sweet jesus, it looks like I might need to go 700 feet or so here), and building the cabin.

    Stay tuned for pictures of the progress as it unfolds, and feel free to chip in with some nuggets of wisdom - I could sure use them!

    #2
    Excellent. Following along and taking notes.

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      #3
      Good Luck! Ambitious project but sounds like you have it well thought out.

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        #4

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          #5
          A logical starting point to this photodocumentary, the entrance to the ranch!

          I'm planning to build a better front fence, and have a decent gate installed soon.
          Attached Files

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            #6
            Almost every big tree has a ring of those daggum yaupons growing around it - a condition which will undoubtedly need to be remedied. It took two hours to free up one big oak, and after doing so, it made the idea place to hang a bucket feeder and put up a trail camera.

            The first pic is an example of what surrounds every big tree, and the second pic shows what it's like when it's cleared out, and with the feeder being set up.

            I'm going to either have some ginormous burn piles from all this yaupon, or I'm going to rent/buy a chipper, so that I can turn a pest plant into mulch to help fortify my extremely sandy soil with a layer of organic matter to hold in moisture and nourish the ground.
            Attached Files

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              #7
              Solar power? Lets see some more pics.

              I was under the impression youpon was good. Provides lots of cover for the critters.

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                #8
                Originally posted by ATXBowhunter View Post
                Good Luck! Ambitious project but sounds like you have it well thought out.
                Thanks! Part of the romance for me in this is that I'm going to be heavily involved personally, and not just farm out all the work to contractors. I'm also heavily emphasizing accomplishing all of the property goals with as frugal of a budget as possible, so there will be lots of craigslisting for fencing supplies, taking on big tasks with friends and beer, and living up the DIY ethic.

                Thanks!

                Originally posted by Dirtymike View Post
                Solar power? Lets see some more pics.

                I was under the impression youpon was good. Provides lots of cover for the critters.
                I do want solar power panels to power LED lights for the cabin, along with skylights.

                I don't mind keeping certain choice specimens, as they do provide great animal cover. It's just that 2/3 of my property is literally a nearly impenetrable thicket. There's huge, gorgeous trees in there, and I want to reduce the yaupons by *at least* 75% so that I can walk the whole property, and the heavily wooded area will be come a shaded forest refuge for the animals I want to hunt such as hog and deer, and the native grasses and flowers can regrow there (along with any food plots I plant) to make this the most heavenly 24 acres possible for both the animals and the large trees.

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                  #9
                  I have plans to do this as well. Looking forward to heairng how you go about it.

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                    #10
                    The property consists of three main areas:

                    1. A one acre square that touches the county road, which is the ingress point onto the property. I intend to mow this all down, keep the large trees, and have it serve as a parking location for visitors, and a place for my Dad to park his RV when he comes to camp/hunt. All it needs is a shredder to chew up all the weeds, and a few yaupon's to be sawed out. It will also have RV hookups for electricity, and some gravel laid down to form a logical parking area for the RV.

                    2. A 30' strip that connects the one acre box to the remaining acreage. This driveway had yaupons crowding it, and I scratched the hell out of my Tundra driving through it the first time, much to my chagrin (I will have that all buffed out soon). ALL vegetation is going to be cleared out from this part, aside from the large trees which flank either side of the driveway.

                    3. The remaining acreage - a large rectangle, fenced on three sides, 1/3 pasture, 2/3 heavy woods that need to have most of the thicket cleared out.

                    The attached pictures depict what part #2 is of the property, some of the efforts to clear out the yaupon, some firewood I cut up from a dead oak branch, and what the pasture looks like. The pasture presents an approximate maximum shot distance of 200 yards.
                    Attached Files

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                      #11
                      following. Best of luck to you. It's good to have goals

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                        #12
                        guna be sweet!...

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                          #13
                          Since Im in Lexington, I bet I can assist in some of the work/beer drinking on your place. Ive got the same kinda place in Lexington and have some of the same plans. We need to sit and have a beer and send some arrows down range one weekend.

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by Free2Hunt View Post
                            following. Best of luck to you. It's good to have goals
                            Originally posted by bwssr View Post
                            guna be sweet!...
                            Thanks! It's going to take time, but I intend to prove that raw land can be beautifully improved with the right recipe of hard work, patience, good deals on craigslist, and getting to know your neighbors and figuring out all the best helpers and folks to work with.

                            Originally posted by Blane View Post
                            Since Im in Lexington, I bet I can assist in some of the work/beer drinking on your place. Ive got the same kinda place in Lexington and have some of the same plans. We need to sit and have a beer and send some arrows down range one weekend.
                            Absolutely! But remember, beer drinking is no endeavor for the novice. There are a lot of important steps such as finding the ideal shady spot to sit, perfecting the opening of the bottle or can, and fine tuning elbow/wrist movement in order to maximize effeciency of beer consumption. If you've got the resume for it, there's always a shade tree that I could use helpers at.

                            I plan to set up 3D targets on the front acre, so we'll have a place to shoot the proverbial excrement while honing our archery and beer drinking skills.

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                              #15
                              These two pictures show one of the bulldozed property lines that separate the two tracts that I bought (and the need for a shredder to mow it all down again), and one of the corners of the property, showing how there needs to be perimeter clearing work done there.
                              Attached Files

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