The deer right now appear to have locked down pretty heavy. There isn't much grazing pressure on the fields and the feeders are being ignored for the most part. There is still some activity on the licks and some browse sign on the peas, but I believe the deer have hit a wall on hitting the feeders right now. One good sign that we uncovered is that the deer are moving fairly heavily across Coon Bayou this year. I was afraid that after the lack of activity I saw moving N/S across the bayou last year, it would serve as a natural barrier, essentially landlocking that side of the property. There were numerous tracks/trails across the bayou with the low water levels we're currently experiencing. Thanks Matt. C for the scouting and the report you gave of the deer traffic traversing the bayou. It definitely gives me confidence to sit in the Oak Ladder and Pecan Tree Ladder during bow season.
One thing that there is no shortage of is doves. I was very excited to see the number of local birds hanging around. All of the power lines along the gravel roads were holding birds and we saw a pretty sizeable number floating across the dove field all throughout the day. I was able to get about 3 acres disced and the clean dirt should definitely be inviting to any doves that are able to see it as they fly over. Even as I was discing on Sunday morning, several different groups of birds went down into the freshly disced ground. We'll seed in "normal agricultural practice" on 8/18 and hopefully be able to have a barrel burner shoot on Sept. 1.
Along with the discing at the dove field/home site, we also sprayed all of the RR soybeans. Most of the bean growth is stunted due to the heavy weed competition. For some reason, the cowpeas do not have the volunteer weed growth that the beans do, and they are doing much better than the Eagle Brand Beans. I'm hoping the deer turn onto the fields once the beans begin putting on some new growth. I was also able to get the landing strip field disced and our goal is to keep it clean until we get ready to plant winter grains around Oct. 1. Other than that, we did very heavy trimming of the roads, secured and trimmed around a few bow stands, topped off the feeders, sprayed the fenceline, fertilized all three duck holes and the dove field (Milo Only!!!!!!!!!) and deployed 3 new game cams. I'm excited about the first pull of the year, hopefully this coming Saturday (8/11) if dad is able to get back up to the property. I'll start a new trail cam page showing updates each pull. The Matt's also made a quick, early morning hog hunt on Sunday morning but didn't have any luck, although Matt C. did encounter a 6 point that had just crossed Coon Bayou, further confirming the deer are moving across the bayou. We got word that our neighbor saw around 15 hogs right under the stand that Matt H. hunted Sunday morning. Unfortunately they didn't return while he was hunting Sunday.
All in all, it was a great weekend spent with good friends and it was good to see mom and dad as well. We worked hard, sweated a ton, played in the dirt and hopefully made our farm a better place for wildlife. It was so good for each of us to get home Sunday afternoon after a hard weekend and see our families and spend time with them before another week of work. God is so good to each of us and has blessed us with good health, good friends, and wonderful families. We're looking forward to putting the "work" ( I use that term lightly, as all outdoorsmen know it's more fun than work) behind us and being able to enjoy the fruits of our labor this fall. Dove season is only 25 days away and the first shots fired will announce that fall has arrived, cooler weather is on the way and many hours will be spent chasing that big, mature buck on his turf. Thank you Lord for the opportunities you have given us and the command you have given us in Genesis 1:28. "...rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."