Abby and Mattie Visit

Mattie had such a fun time the first of the week riding in the Jeep, enjoying all the new things to learn about in nature and letting the wind blow in her hair.  She was so good.

At Bowden grove the acorns continue to grow.  The deer are just waiting for them to start to drop.

There is a good quanitity of grain sorgham seed at McCollum.  The turkey and deer will enjoy this when the weather gets cooler.

A massive hole in one of our food plots developed over the summer.  I was glad I saw it when I was bush- hogging the other day.  I think you could crawl down in it and go underground to the stream about 30 feet away.  This was strange!  I can't see a reason for this hole to develop.

Bush-hogging complete at McCollum.  The longleaf pines are really growing on that tract. 

The Mountain Chestnut Oaks at McCollum are loaded this year.  The deer will have lots of acorns to eat this year.

Last week was bush-hogging at McCollum, and I also had a State Tree Farm Committee meeting in Montgomery.  This week another trip to Montgomery for a meeting on membership with the Alabama Farmers Federation.  I hope it cools off some so next week I can bush-hog and work on getting ready for the people from Haiti to come the first of October.  Saturday morning I will be helping the Game Wardens with a Hunter Education Safety Class at Mountain View Plantation (Richard Sprayberry's).  I hope to spray some Saturday evening. 

Don't tell anyone but I have got to go back to Montgomery again next week and a meeting at Sellwood in Alpine, Talladega County, on  another day.  Just plain busy right now.

Fall Work about to Start

Today it was cooler, which was just a reminder that there is lots of work to do.  I have got to get Pine Grove bushhogged and ready because the last day of the month RA's from church are visiting for some time to hike, talk about trees and feed the fish. 

The first of October everything must be finished because the students from Haiti will be visiting for a ten day seminar and learning experience.  I have much work to do and I will probably start at Pine Grove today and maybe finish McCollum this week.  One day I will be in Montgomery for a State Tree Farm meeting so that reduces the number of days to work this week.

GOD is good and I love the fall!

This and That

This week started off with presiding over the Clay County Farmers Federation Annual Meeting.  We had a good meeting with Rosemary Elebash, Director of NFIB, speaking on how grassroot efforts can stop an increase in property taxes.  She did a great job. 

Another day I met with a timber buyer about buying a tract of timber and thinning another.  Hopefully something will come of this.

Lisa and I put up more tomatoes for winter and I sold, probable,  the last of my crop for the year.  We are planning on making some salsa out of the remaining tomatoes we gather.

Another day this week we met at the Clay County Extension office for a review of programs for the year and a question and answer session.

We have had many different things going on this week.

Uuummm Good!

This Clay County grown white field corn is so good, but it will be better than steak this winter and when it will be added to vegetable soup when it is cold outside there will be nothing better!  We were able to get some ahead of the deer eating it all.  You can look at the picture below and see how they are enjoying their share of it also.

The Sawtooth Oaks acorns are growing also for the deer.  The rain is finishing them off for the year.  The deer will not be hungry in the woods at Bowden Grove.





I made a picture of the tracks of a big cat.  A big bobcat.  They are looking for the small turkeys and are waiting on the fawns to start dropping.  They are roaming the roads.

 



Alabama Farmers Federation President's Conference

Last weekend Lisa and I attended the Alabama Farmers Federation County President's Conference in Sandestin, Florida.  It rained every day but it was a welcomed site and to a group of farmers and I'm sure all the others at the resort wanting to play golf got tired of hearing the farmers say,"Thank GOD for the rain".

We enjoyed watching the fireworks one night on the beach in the rain.  They were sponsored by the Mississippi BAR Association also meeting at the Hilton.  It was a good show!

Rain, Rain, Thank GOD for the Rain

I went over to Bowden Grove today with a forester/timber buyer to look at thinning 75 acres of pines.  While over there at the corn field I emptied 3" of rain out of the rain guage.  About 90% of our Round-up Ready yellow field corn is going to make.  The deer are already enjoying it.  Last week when I was over there it was 95 degrees at 12 noon and there were two deer in the corn.  They are eating the silks and some are eating the corn.  The picture below is an example.

The Sawtooth Oaks are loaded.  The tree at the kudzu patch has acorns on it for the first time.  It will be one more feeding area this fall.

(Below)This corn plant is white field corn.  It is the stranges looking plant I have ever seen.  It looks as if the leaves have been eaten off all the way to the top and then the tassel topped.  I dont know what could have eaten the leaves this way and not pulled the plant over........Mystery Plant? 

Tomatoes grown on Dewberry Lands



Tomatoes did well.  They were grown on black plastic.



                                                                         

There are many tomatoes on the vines.



The hardest part about growing these plants has been
keeping them from falling over.