dogdoc

congrats Ruth. Always special to get one with a bow. great looking buck todd

I have a little ford ranger and love the little truck. Also a manual transmission but I paid a lot more than 200 bucks. I hear they are bringing back the Ranger after not making them for around 5 years. I hear they are also bringing back the Bronco.

good job on the catches. What's a mouse pelt bring these days? I've done a little coon trapping. Way too many at my place but it's hard to do when you live an hour away. Love the dog proof leg traps for coons.

Best of luck with the new crossbow. I shoot an Excalibur and really like shooting the crossbow. todd

I'll be out this evening sitting over some Eagle Soybeans. When ya getting back into the foodplot seed business?

well good luck with season and best of luck with finding a larger parcel. The purchase of my own 160 acres was a dream come true. Season starts today in Okie land. Sticking to evening hunts for a while. Cameras are not showing much morning activity but a lot of evening activity. todd

I have never seen one but like your area there are always rumors. My neighbor has stated he has seen one a few times but I keep cameras out 52 weeks a year and I have never got a pic of a big cat. I get lots of bobcat pics but very very rarely see one while hunting. good luck this season William todd

Prayers sent her way. I can appreciate what she is going through. I had a shoulder replacement 7 weeks ago. Bone pain is not fun. todd

Walnut trees put out a chemical called juglone that is toxic to many plants and trees but there are a lot of resistant trees also. Here is a website that gives trees that are susceptible and resistant to Walnut. http://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-and-plant-advice/horticulture-care/plants-tolerant-black-walnut-toxicity todd

God Bless todd

Some random cam pics from cards pulled today

Lots of Button Bush scattered around my property. Is a great little bush and provides some great cover. Seeds are sought after by many birds including ducks. The odd round flowers attract many butterflies and hummingbirds. The old faithful persimmon is a fruit that never fails. Some years may have heavier crops but every year they have fruit. I never have to worry about a late freeze to affect my persimmon trees. If you have any of my scions you can bet some of them came from this tree.

Eagle Beans are getting devoured but this little 3/4 acre plot is keeping up. Eagle Beans are starting to flower: [/url Water hole getting plenty of action--here is a short little video with a young buck taking a little drink--click on pic

My little pear orchard plot is struggling. Soil isn't quite a good as the boggy bottom so the dry hot summer has taken a toll on the clover. Part my fault also as I haven't sprayed this plot this year so lots of Johnson Grass and crabgrass invasion. I mowed it also a week ago and today I sprayed with Cleth at a rate of 12oz/acre. Still some decent clover so hoping with the cooler temps and less competition the clover will get a little more established. This plot was just planted 1 year ago. It did have a great early season flowering so hopefully there is a lot of clover seeds waiting for cooler temps also. Hopefully the cleth will also take care of all the grass in the plot:

My sunflower/cowpea plot was a total bust. Used a pre-emergent herbicide at planting and then sprayed poast plus a few weeks later. Too many perennial weeds and black berry vines. I mowed it a week ago and sprayed it today with glyphosate. Hopefully over labor day weekend I will be able to get it tilled up and planted in wheat, rye, DER, and sunflowers. This plot is only 0.6 acres and is on the edge of a heavily used bedding area. It is surrounded by thick cover so my hope is to see some late evening daylight activity before they migrate to the 2.25 acre boggy bottom plot. My hopes are high. This is the new stand that I built that will over look this plot. The boggy bottom plot is about 500 yards North of this plot and in between is the former fescue field that I nuked 2 years ago. Since most of the fescue is gone and no longer a competition this spot has turned into a jungle. So thick it is hard to walk in. Deer beds all in the junk. I did mow a few trails through it that will lead directly to the food plot but angles so I can see the entire mowed trails from the tower stand.

Well my shoulder is getting better by the day. Still painful when I move it the wrong way but function is returning. Went back to work last Thursday and even doing surgery. Hoping for a full recovery by deer season. A week ago I went out and did some mowing. Fortunately the mower was already hooked up to the tractor and with power steering it was pretty easy to mow one handed. I went slow. I was getting quite a few broad leaf weeds in my boggy bottom clover plot and wanted to get them mowed before they produced seed. The number one weed is what I think is mares tail. If I mow it right at the very early flower stage it will usually die. There were a few other scattered broadleaf weeds. We were suppose to get a rain the next day but it didn't come. However, I did get a 1/4" yesterday and the clover and chicory plot is doing great. Prior to mowing--you can see the weeds were getting pretty tall. However, the deer don't seem to mind the weeds. [/url A week later (today). No spraying on this field. It is very clean after a good mowing.

lol--I'm right there with ya buddy. I started my 25th of practicing in May of this year. What's also amazing is that we've been here at RT for 14 years. We've all seen our ups and downs! Thanks for teaching--I know it doesn't seem appreciated at time! todd

few more: [url}

A few current pics.

My favorite kill plot includes a blends of cereal grains (wheat and oats), winter peas and brassicas. My favorite is Dwarf Essex Rape. I have found the oats to be a great early draw as well as the winter peas. The oats will die with your first freeze and the peas won't last long but will get you through the early bow season. The wheat and brassicas will get through the rest of the season

dude--that looks awesome. great job todd

Red Clover is one of my very favorite deer plot seeds. My perennial plots consist of a mix of ladino, red, and chicory. While the ladino might go into a summer dormancy the red will usually stay green all summer. Seems to be more heat and drought tolerant than the white. Red clover is also included in all my cools season annual plots. In the fall i will plant a mix of wheat, rye, oats, radishes, red clover. The following spring I will mow the cereal grains once they start to produce seed heads and under all the grains is a nice carpet of red clover that will feed the deer all spring and summer. The clover will be tilled under the following early fall returning all the nitrogen back to the soil and increasing my organic matter. Then I start all over again with the same mix. It is almost a perfect year round food plot (except the 2 to 3 weeks after tilling and planting again). If you can purchase it locally then you will save money on shipping. If Martin can't get you hooked up then try Welters Seed and Honey. I have ordered seed from them online with great service. todd

congrats on a great bird Oneidaman---I mean Mathews Man. todd

I always get a couple when I am out at my place--in spite of spraying down really well. Wish I could put a dose of frontline on me.