Quapaw Meadows (My 160 Acres)...

[OkieKubota]

Look at that red dirt This drought is a real bad deal but I think we may get some relief this weekend I hope. According to the reports you may get some ice over that way. I think they show us out of it but you never know...

 

[dogdoc]

Look at that red dirt This drought is a real bad deal but I think we may get some relief this weekend I hope. According to the reports you may get some ice over that way. I think they show us out of it but you never know...

red dirt--have plenty of that in my area. Amazingly though that red dirt can still produce some pretty decent plots. Hoping the ice misses us but I am prepared.

 

[OkieKubota]

Seen a lot of wheat out there in that red dirt country when I hunted north of Clinton...That stuff is an absolute mess when it gets a little wet and is the first time I ever got stuck driving down a main county road in a 4 wheel drive truck with MT tires right in the middle of the road. It had rained about 20 minutes and that stuff was slicker than greased owl $%!#

 

[dogdoc]

Seen a lot of wheat out there in that red dirt country when I hunted north of Clinton...That stuff is an absolute mess when it gets a little wet and is the first time I ever got stuck driving down a main county road in a 4 wheel drive truck with MT tires right in the middle of the road. It had rained about 20 minutes and that stuff was slicker than greased owl $%!#

I grew up out my lake Thunderbird (dirty bird) and we would swim in the pond (which was a dark red pond). All my socks and underwear as a kid were orange from all the red clay. lol

 

[lakngolf]

Glad that red clay is producing for you. I have always been amazed at how a crop can grow in that stuff.
On the clover, I was pleased over the last few days to find lots of little clover leaves in my plots. I think the drought restricting the grains early on has given the clover some room to thrive.

 

[dogdoc]

Went out and called coyotes today. Blew it. On my very first set called in one fast and missed with the AR. I don't know why? I was right on him. Calling yotes is fun and can be very slow or extremely fast paced. Yote came in and grabbed my call breaking the little tripod it was sitting on. He sat just looking at it with a head on shot and I missed. I hate to admit it but it was only about 40 yards. Called on 4 more different areas with nothing.
Did have a new buck show up. Crazy this late and this buck's antler is clean--no broken tines. Hope he hangs around and I find these sheds but as thick as my sanctuary is it would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

todd

 

[buckdeer1]

It happens,hope your decoy survived

 

[Andrew-okhunter]

What call sounds do you usually use? I have the Foxpro call, but haven't used it much.


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[dogdoc]

What call sounds do you usually use? I have the Foxpro call, but haven't used it much.


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The one I called in yesterday was with a foxpro. I did a short 2 minutes of a female bark/howl. Waited about a minute then did a cottontail distress. The yote came in within 2 minutes after the distress. I feel like that when I do a coyote vocal at the first it lets the local yotes know that a stranger is around which gets them curious then when they hear the distress they think the stranger is stealing their food. I am in no way a calling expert.but that call sequence worked on that set.

 

[Andrew-okhunter]

Well I haven't had much luck in the past. So I definitely try that sequence out!


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[buckdeer1]

I will start using the foxpro soon for coons,thats alot of fun and can be action packed.

 

[DrDirtNap]

Doc, I've been looking at the FoxPros. What model do you have and would you recommend it?


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[dogdoc]

Doc, I've been looking at the FoxPros. What model do you have and would you recommend it?


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I have their inexpensive Spitfire. It was my first electronic call and didn't know how much I would use it. It works well. Could use a little more volume. It come preloaded with 24 different calls. I just purchased a Primos Alpha Dogg E-caller from Rogers Sporting Goods. They had it on sale for 159 and a 30 dollar rebate with free shipping. I haven't hunted with this one yet but it comes with 100 preloaded calls. I've played with it and really like it. However, I have had no issues with the Foxpro and the sounds are really nice. Gonna play with the Primos this winter and see if I like it more than the foxpro. Will be nice though to have a back up.

 

[dogdoc]

Haven't had an update in close to a month but really haven't had much to update. I've spend my time after the close of deer season to do some duck and predator hunting. I have only killed one coyote this year so not putting much of a dent in them. Tuesday is the close of the late goose season so me and my BFF, Belle, went out for our last hunt. I was hoping to get her a few retrieves and she did end up getting one goose.

Geese just weren't flying much today--maybe because of the warm temps.

It is dry and warm. Has been a miserable late summer to now with dry weather. We are in severe drought status and pretty much the entire state is in a burn ban. Middle of February and at 4pm my truck said it was 90 degrees. Record heat for this date.

After goose hunting I headed to the 160 to do a little work. I have a very thick patch of trees in front of my main food plot that I wanted to thin out. It was thick cluster of persimmons, locusts, pecans, and a few small post oaks. So earlier this winter I flagged the best fruit bearing persimmons in the group and cut all the other trees out of there. It was so thick you couldn't even walk through it. I had to use the chainsaw to cut through the briars just to get started. Forgot to take a before pic but here it is after thinning and releasing the persimmons. I used straight 41% gly to pain the stumps. I just took the chance that the other persimmons that I cut out weren't root suckers from the ones I left. I guess I will find out this spring. Probably cut close to 100 mix saplings out of this small area. I hope the persimmons will really take off now.

 

[dogdoc]

BBJ plot is alive. This was a new plot I planted this fall. Wheat, rye, oats, radishes, and ladino clover. It's been warm enough for growth but in order to grow it's got to have a drink every now and then. There is a 90% chance on Monday so hopefully that comes true.

Boggy Bottom plot (ladino clover and chicory) is struggling also but the clover seems and alive but still getting heavily browsed. With this warm weather and possible rain on Monday it might really take off here in a couple of weeks. Should be a lot of volunteer crimson and red clover seed sitting on the surface also.

I mowed the former fescue field. Just a thick jungle of dog fennel. Be a sweet spot to call for yotes if we get some colder weather. You can see a little scattered fescue but not much. I'll use my ATV sprayer to spot spray all the remaining fescue in about a month.

 

[dogdoc]

My lazy plot actually did surprisingly well. If you remember last fall I got lazy and just broadcasted my seed and then lightly tilled the ground. Took a fraction of the time compared to full tilling, broadcasting, covering seed, then dragging. I see this again in my future for this plot.

Little bit of scattered clover mixed in. I need to go get some red clover and over seed the cereal grains in this plot.

 

[dogdoc]

Now on to trees. I pruned all my apple trees today and planted 3 trees today around my front pond. Really hoping for apples this year. Last 2 years early spring and late frosts have taken them all. With as warm as it has been and mild winter I see a 3rd year in a row.

These 3 trees are all grafted to seedlings I started from seed. These will be full size trees so probably won't see anything for many many years.
Goldrush:

An unknown cider apple (scion given to me from a client)

Korean Giant pear (Thanks brushpile for the scions)

Planted the Cherry Tree Brush sent me last week

 

[dogdoc]

Apple trees after pruning.

Arkansas Black (cage got hit by the mower but it's still working)

Puny grafted Dolgo that is the same age as the arkansas black.

One of my first apple trees, Golden Delicious. I worked hard when this tree was young to get good angles. It has flowered the past 2 years but no fruit yet. Planted the fall of 2013.

Gala Apple. Also flowered last year but late freeze got it. Not a disease resistant tree but so far it has done ok.

This granny smith grows just like a pear. The crotch angles aren't bad but those branches want to grow straight up. I'm hoping one day when they have fruit the fruit will pull them down some. It was planted as a bare root spring of '14. Has a lot of fruit spurs right now but has not flowered yet.

Braeburn Apple

Honeycrisp--this tree has been a disappointment. Just a very slow growing tree. This will be it's 3rd spring in the ground so we will see what it does this year. Just thinking about a honeycrisp apple makes my mouth water.

Winsap Apple (cheap $5 dollar tree from Wal-mart). I don't know the rootstock on this tree but it has been one of my fastest growing apple trees. This will be it's 3rd leaf

Red Beauty--planted bare root. Will be 3rd leaf

 

[dogdoc]

One of my pecan grafts from last spring. Native to a paper shell pecan.

Couple successful persimmon grafts from last spring. These trees are so close I will probably sacrifice one at a later date.

Guess that's it for now. Two more months and us oakies will be planting spring plots and chasing turkeys!

God Bless America!
todd

 

[lakngolf]

Hope those blossoms turn into some great fruit for you this year. Looks like your grafted trees are quite healthy.
I hope to make Mandy Hollow and Bull Pen look like your mowed dog fennel patch in picture above.
Glad you were able to kick around the 160 a bit. I know that was therapeutic.