Outdoorsman Thread

[Doc B]

Nice Bass, Charlie! I think fall is the best time of year for bass in my area. Speaking of fall, temperatures took a dive today. Finally feels like fall!

Nice garter snake, Joe. I always like it when reptiles come to visit. My wife is not so fond of them.

Are garter snakes poisonous ?

Nope.

[Doc B]

What a difference 3 days makes in my little deer plot:012.JPG003.JPG
Treefarmer

Wow! The plot is looking good TF!

[cudgee]

Nice Bass, Charlie! I think fall is the best time of year for bass in my area. Speaking of fall, temperatures took a dive today. Finally feels like fall!

Nice garter snake, Joe. I always like it when reptiles come to visit. My wife is not so fond of them.

Are garter snakes poisonous ?

Nope.

Thanks.

[Mumbleypeg]

Nice garter snake, Joe. I always like it when reptiles come to visit. My wife is not so fond of them.

Are garter snakes poisonous ?

Nope.

Totally harmless. Some people even keep them as "pets".

Ken

[Waukonda]

Here is my Garter snake story......several years ago when my sons were young, I was mowing the lawn one day and, too late, saw a Garter snake pop its head up just in time for me to run over it. I got off to take a look and it was a female, dead of course, but evidently had been on the verge of giving birth, they are live bearing. There were smalll 2-3" snakes crawling everywhere! I scooped up a couple and my youngest son kept them in a terrarium for the rest of the summer and fed them insects and worms

[cudgee]

Great story. You have a good weekend.

[Dinadan]

I may be wrong but I think that garter snakes are some of the most common snakes in North America. Just because they are common does not mean that they are commonly seen. I know that there is a population of garter snakes in my neighborhood because every year or two I seen one or two young ones. But I never see the adults. Here is a little fellow in a pile of bricks in my back yard. I have seen smaller ones completely coiled inside one of those brick holes.

[treefarmer]

Our timber harvest has finally restarted. Been over a year because of Hurricane Michael destroying so much timber, I had to wait till the "big boys" salvaged what they could. Being a small timber tract owner, you end up on the short end sometimes.
Here are some pictures of the operation after they shut down this afternoon:

A load ready to go in the morning.

These logs represent 35 years of timber management and a large percentage was destroyed in about 5 hours last October by Hurricane Michael.

The logging deck is a muddy mess.

Equipment all over the woods waiting for tomorrow.

Took this picture to send to my 3 year old grandson.

Treefarmer

[Old Hunter]

Nice bass Charlie, congratulations!
Phil, hope you at least break even on your timber. OH

[TPK]

Great catch Charlie!

Enjoyed the garter snake pictures. I had 3 pet snakes as a teenager. Two MD Black racers & one FL Green snake. Had them about 2-3 years untill one of the Black racers got loose in the house and my mom found it. Then she made me take them all outside and let them go. I guess the snakes were probably happy but I wasn't.

Like OH said Philip, I hope you at least hit break even.

Y'all have a great weekend!
Tom

[Quick Steel]

Good Morning. Laundry day. Also a trip to the bank is needed. Anything else needing to be done will just have to reveal itself in the course of the day.
Stay safe.

[Waukonda]

Great pictures Treefarmer! Really enjoyed them. Is 35 years about the norm for harvesting, or was it earlier due to hurricane? Also curious, do you now start over?

[RobesonsRme.com]

I used to catch, clean and cook fish and I know the fresher, the better.

However, I really have no desire to clean fish now.

We have nice fish markets here, so I can buy what we need or want.

I just made a quart or more of homemade jalapeno tartar sauce, so fish and shrimp are in our upcoming menus.

Charlie

[RobesonsRme.com]

As re' garter snakes:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/07/scie ... -pits.html

Charlie

[TPK]

As re' garter snakes:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/07/scie ... -pits.html

Charlie

Thanks for sharing this link Charlie! Never seen so many snakes on one pile. That's pretty cool!

[treefarmer]

Waukonda,
Thanks for the compliment on the pictures! We planted our pines in a bit wider rows to take advantage of the grazing for cattle that is afforded by allowing a bit more sunlight to reach the ground as the trees begin to grow. Cows were kept off of the newly planted pines for about 18 months then it became a dual purpose field, tree growth and Bahia grass for the cows. The first tree thinning usually takes place at around 10 years by removing every 3rd or 4th row and any diseased trees. The 1st cutting was always used for pulp wood. The 1st cutting also provides more space for the remaining trees to grow. Each consecutive thinning produced better grades of wood , Pine chip and saw, Pine logs and finally, Pine poles. Our small tract had been cruised and marked prior to the hurricane and there were a great many marked for the pole mill as these pines were 35 years old. The intent was to clear cut then replant after the harvest but the downed storm trees have created a nightmare that is cost prohibitive as the estimate of land preparation would be several thousand dollars per acre. To beat this cost, we have decided to allow the ruined timber to rot down for a few years and keep burning it each year and then we bypass the extensive land clearing that would be necessary if we were to replant next year. Had the storm not created such a mess, replanting would have been basically to shift over a few feet and parallel the original rows of stumps. If I'm able, I'd love to replant for the family but we never know about tomorrow especially when you get our age. One thing is pretty sure, I wont live long enough to see pole timber mature on that piece of ground again.
Treefarmer

[Waukonda]

Tteefarmer, Thanks for the very informative reply, this stuff fascinates me. The only logging going on around me is selective cutting of Oak and Hickory every few years and the woods repopulate themselves. I was surprised to read that you could "dual purpose" the land for grazing. I would have thought that the acid from the Pines would prohibit growth of grass for grazing. Interestjng also, that yiu are able to periodically generate revenue with the thinning of the tract. Must be an IRS nightmare tho when you have ongoing expenses each year and revenue only comes years later. I have known a couple of fruit farmers who started new orchards and had 4 or 5 years worth of expenses before any revenue comes in, can't fathom 35 years worth. Anyway, thanks for the great oost

[Dinadan]

Interesting photos of the timber harvest, Treefarmer. Seems like logging often does turn into a muddy mess, with bulldozers sometimes having to drag the trucks down the logging roads. Of course, there are a lot of wetlands in my area: might be different in other places. I hate to imagine how it feels to see 35 years of management being damaged.

It really is a shame about the hurricane damage. I recall that after hurricane Frederic hit my area back in 1979, it was about a decade before the woods were back to normal. The first few years you could not walk through the woods for the downed trees. Hunting was certainly not the same, nor anything involving being in the woods.

[WillyCamaro]

Really great pics and such being posted guys . I know how you feel Philip, farming of any kind is not easy. Especially when you get hit by terrible weather (lived through that many times, over the years). Hope you do well on the harvest .
Today in my end of the world. Out my entrance, the white stuff fully set in, and dad's new toy that he keeps having problems with ….

[Quick Steel]

Yesterday I wrote some comments intended for the First Cup Diner. Later I noticed they did not get posted and thought I had neglected to click the submit button. Today I discover I somehow posted the item in the Outdoorsman Thread. I just want to assure any and all that I do not consider that a trip to the bank or doing laundry makes me an outdoorsman.

[Waukonda]

Yesterday I wrote some comments intended for the First Cup Diner. Later I noticed they did not get posted and thought I had neglected to click the submit button. Today I discover I somehow posted the item in the Outdoorsman Thread. I just want to assure any and all that I do not consider that a trip to the bank or doing laundry makes me an outdoorsman.

I think you posted in the wrong spot again, because that one is hilarious and belongs in the "heard a good one lately". Then again, if you're walking down to the creek to do your laundry on some rocks then maybe the OP did belong in the Outdoorsman thread

[Quick Steel]

Sometimes in going to the laundry room, if the weather is nice, I will look out the window. Just my basic outdoorsman activity.

[FRJ]

Yesterday I wrote some comments intended for the First Cup Diner. Later I noticed they did not get posted and thought I had neglected to click the submit button. Today I discover I somehow posted the item in the Outdoorsman Thread. I just want to assure any and all that I do not consider that a trip to the bank or doing laundry makes me an outdoorsman.

[TPK]

Waaaay to funny! Laughed my butt off! You guys are killing me! lol

[garddogg56]

A good day in the Maine wood my son and his new bride with a 180ld 8 pt buck all in all four deer out of our hunting group ::super_happy::for some reason I can't download pics from my phone My sister in laws 115lb spike and the gang waiting for lunch