Looking good sir ! Love all the progress
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In my work to remove loads of junk over the last several months I found a small stainless steel sink and faucet that was a dirt dobber colony and looked like it had been abused.
At our lease in Push County we’ve been making due with a make shift cleaning station on uneven ground with little light, little water, and zero place to put knives, shears, drinks, etc. so I made a resolution when we bought the place that our setup at the Hilltop would be much different!
I took left over cedar from a porch addition and fence project and framed it up.
I used left over cedar fencing for the top. This is not a cleaning station but rather a convenient surface for knives, shears, drinks, etc. while we are processing deer.
A few new rubber O-rings, replacement handles, a faucet aerator later and she runs good as new.
I will eventually run hot and cold PEX underground to the shed but for this year I capped the hot water side and installed an adaptor for the water hose.
Cut legs from some leftover square tubing from another project.
I will secure the back to the barn wall and have these two legs support the front. If all goes as intended it will get installed this weekend.Comment
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Back up to the Hilltop and it’s time for the install. The cross brace for the barn wall was at the perfect height.
A couple of self tapping screws later and she is secure.
I had some 2x6 cedar left over so I decided to put a back wall and shelf in.
And the shelf.
A couple of well placed gear hangers for holding a hand towel or two and this part is done. I’ll bring some pvc to pipe the drain water out and away on the next trip.Comment
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Darton & Stan R Were Right!!!!! Pic Heavy
We spent a few days down in Push county this week, getting stands set and doing some fishing. The big boys are strictly catch and release!
Hung some nice ones late in the week.
Mr. Hunt is learning to clean the catch.
The blackberries are starting to really pop as well.
Just have to navigate the thorns, snakes, and chiggers!
Ended our time at the lease in Push county with an evening trail ride.
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Molly and I broke off from the rest of the family yesterday and headed back to the Hilltop at Quinton to prep for prescribed fire school in Ames on Saturday.
We needed to do some maintenance on the solar charger for one of the feeders. We just started up the feeders earlier in the week but I decided to pull the game camera cards to see who found them already.
Found that we have an uninvited guest at Molly’s set.
If this little guy hangs around then it’s likely that Daddy will also invite himself. If that happens we will have to start hanging the feeders on cables between trees, well out of reach. My experience from Push county is that they will do nothing but wreck feeders. Hoping that the bears push on out of the area but I don’t expect it.
Our first twin fawns of the season showed up on camera. Been seeing them one at a time but this is the first appearance together with Mom.
Won’t be long before their spots are gone.
Got some time on the tractor Friday evening to push up some of the felled trees and old logs that litter the area I’m thinning. It’s refreshing to see some progress.
Molly at field day today during the Oklahoma Prescribed Burn Association training. We got to visit with and get advice from two professors that teach fire ecology at OSU. That was an eye opening conversation!
Had a manufacturer’s rep on hand to demonstrate the effectiveness of drones in prescribed burns.
They manufacture the delivery and control system for the dragon eggs (pic and video below), retrofit the thermal imaging camera, and support the App. This drone mounted system takes potassium permanganate powder in a plastic sphere smaller than a ping pong ball and injects it with glycol before dropping to start or augment the traditional prescribed burn. The drone being demo’d was a Matrice 600 Pro.
Here is a quick clip of the ignition from chemical reaction.
The 25 guys at the class were jazzed about this tool until they heard the $40K price tag. [emoji15] We will stick with diesel and a lighter on the Hilltop for the time being.
Fire is a useful tool in our habitat management arsenal. Learning to use it safely and for maximum effect are the goals!Comment
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The journey continues
Looks like everyone had a great time!
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Spent several days this past week on the Hilltop continuing my work on thinning the ridge. Brought my best friend along to help. As a two man crew working for several hours in the evenings over three days we put a heck of a dent in it! I ran the chainsaw while Jon used the hatchet to hack and squirt a deadly cocktail of Tryclopyr, Imazapyr, and water. The method was simple: fell the smaller and medium diameter hickory and oaks. Treat the stumps so there isn’t any resprouting/regrowth. For the larger oak and hickories we girdled and applied the liquid death. The winged elm are a preferred species for whitetail so we left the smaller (those at browse height) saplings and felled the medium sized trees but did not treat them. We don’t want to kill those as the regrowth is highly nutritious and preferred by the deer.
I spent some time visiting with Dr. Dwayne Elmore from OSU at the fire school. He is the one that suggested the chainsaw and hatchet two man team. It turned out to be a great suggestion!
With these two items you can do some good work!
I know it’s hard to put context to the pic but about half of the trees in the pic have been girdled and all the smaller trees have been cut and pushed into a pile for burning.
On Saturday morning I met with a state forester out of Wilburton who walked part of the property with me and confirmed that we don’t have sufficient timber value to warrant any different path. That was the final green light to “Operation Girdle Down”!
Our visit was interesting because the forester’s assessment and suggestions to maximize our property to achieve my management goals were in line with and almost word for word with what the QDMA inspectors, Tim and Jay recommended. I like confirmation!
Saturday evening we lit the burn piles from a few weeks ago. There were ready to go and burned down great.
My partner cooling off:
A few of the bucks on camera.
Yogi continues to check our feeder at Molly’s set. So far he’s not tried to adjust the thrower but I figure that’s not too far off.Comment
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Booner, the bucks are coming along nicely!!Comment
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Originally posted by wingnut View Post
Thanks Bryan! Hope all is going well for you guys on the new place.Comment
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Darton & Stan R Were Right!!!!! Pic Heavy
Last season Will and I sat in a couple of spots while the target bucks were hitting the feeder out in front of the house. We have a mound of dirt and rocks pushed up from many years ago that would be perfect for a blind but the ground is very uneven. I set about to build a base for his popup.
We hit Fulton’s supply here in Denton for the angle iron and went to work.
Opted for painted OSB to give plenty of opportunity to secure the popup blind. Can be replaced easily in a few years as needed. Also made each leg adjustable so we can get her level no matter where she is set up.
28 yards to the feeder. Should be just right for the kid’s crossbow. We will have a permanent blind here eventually but this should work out well until then!Last edited by Booner Sooner; 09-10-2020, 09:05 PM.Comment
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Looking forward to how the new stand works out!Comment
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Darton & Stan R Were Right!!!!! Pic Heavy
Was able to get up and put in the turkey foot food plot. Better late than never. We’ve had a lot of rain recently but the ground was nearly perfect for discing. The Kubota did yeoman’s work.
Planted a mix of winter wheat, oats, barley, Austrian winter peas, and ladino clover.
Down the right lane there is a pond with a lot of sign.
I put in an exclusion cage just before the pond to help gauge the browsing pressure later in the season.
Gracie weighs ~60lbs and would get lost in the chest high grass surrounding the lanes. Should make for a safe place to graze.
On the next trip I plan on putting yardage markers to help gauge distance.Comment
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Your hard work is paying off. Looks awesome!Comment
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Never to late to get the plots in the ground! Looking good!Comment
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Thanks, Gents! Got some timely rain as well! Things are looking up.
Good luck to all those that are itching to get into the tree this weekend!Comment
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