Ran out to the farm last night to check on the plots and they really need some rain! Looks like we will get a little tomorrow, so fingers are crossed until then!!!
Talked to dad last night about some last minute strategic brush hogging to open up some areas underneath oaks that overhang out bottoms. This will give deer a nice place to snack on acorns and should bring them in to range of some of my stands.
We went out Saturday and hung my final set just off the corner of an overgrown field. There is a thick N/S draw just to the south of the stand that holds deer most of the year, with a nice bowl to the N of my stand where several deer like to hang out on a consistent basis. Just to the SW of my stand is a late crop of beans, with oaks to the E of my stand. With the bowl behind me and the fence line in front of me, it necks deer down to a 30 yard wide strip, so shots will be close! Wasn't much for trees thanks to the timber harvest a few years back, so I tucked in a maple tree that has a younger maple crowding it. As long as the leaves are on, it will make for great cover. Once the leaves fall and the beans turn, I'll have to abandon this stand. This will be the spot I sit the first two evenings of the season as long as I have the right wind.
Dad and I also talked long term plans. He closed on the farm in October of 2005 and mom got sick with pancreatic cancer in May of 2006. It has been a stressful decade to say the least! A few years back it seemed a certainty that the farm would be sold. However thanks to signing a lease for the minerals and some renewed vigor on dad's end of things, it appears the farm will stay and will be around for years to come. That means it is finally time to start some long term projects. I have a pine planting in the works to create some bedding. I'll be adding a small orchard to the heart of the farm in the spring. We are also hiring a dozer for a couple days next year to upgrade roads. While he is out there with the dozer, I'm going to pay for 4-6 hours of work to open up a nice food plot on our N ridge. The final project will be the construction of a 10' tall box blind that will be 8x10 most likely. I'm in the process of locating some old telephone poles to use for the legs right now. This will be a late season spot more than anything, but will serve as a great place for the family to hunt together. It will over look our big bottom (see the food plot pic above to get an idea of the view) and at some point, I will have the entire bottom planted in a mix of food.
So lots going on at Sandridge Outfitters as I begin to work for the future so that the next generation can enjoy great things!
