Wetland Work

We have been hard at it trying to get all the wetland work done so we can irrigate and get some duck food growing. The big wetland unit we have is 196 acres total and needed to be split in order to be able to manage it properly. We split this property roughly in half with a road that meanders through the unit. In order to do this we laser leveled all the ponds and swales so that we could  get the necessary amount of dirt to construct the road as well as making the unit flood and drain properly. The project went smooth and we can now irrigate in a week to ten days where it used to take almost 30 days to get the water across the entire unit. We can flood the top half and then let the water into the bottom half allowing us to reuse the water. The watergrass is coming on strong and soon enough we will be seeing the birds as they make there way down here!

New Airport!

The guy who I lease the grazing rights to on our ranch is a pilot and likes to fly up to check his cows. He asked for an airstrip so we built one real quick when we had the grader on the ranch. I got this picture the next day, I guess it was long enough!



Pig Down

Back to the ranch chasing pigs again today. We hunted yesterday evening and saw some but they were on the move and gave us the slip. We hunted our ass off this morning and we were blanked. Called it quits at noon and were headed out when we rounded the corner and ran into a herd of pigs. They walked over the hill so we grabbed the guns and scrambled after them. As we topped the hill there they were at less than 100 yards! Matt was able to drop a nice sized meat pig! Just goes to show you it's not over until you are out the gate!

     

Stuck!

We're trying like hell to get the ground dried out so we can get to disking and moving dirt but I guess it still may be a little wet!

Wetland Work

We are starting a big wetland project and have been mowing cattails so we can burn and disc them and get the place dried out and ready to move some dirt. The air quality gave me the green light to burn today so I went and lit it up! We got a good clean burn and will start disking tomorrow.

 



Hogzilla down!

We had one hell of a hunt this morning!! We hit the ground running this morning and were on top of the ridge in the dark and searching for the pigs. We started walking down a ridge towards an area that has had a lot of sign the last few times I've been to the ranch. We had walked close to a half mile glassing into the draw when Hogzilla showed himself! At first glance I knew the pig was big, and we had him at 200 yards.  After a quick discussion with Patrick he wanted to get closer so off we went. We started to close the gap and lost sight of the pig for awhile. I knew we would be close when we saw him again so I had Patrick turn his scope down to 3X and lock and load. As we started to crest a small knoll I knew the pig would be close and sure enough there he stood at a mere 42 yards! I got Patrick set up on the shooting sticks and told him to go ahead when ever he was ready. As he eased the safety off the pig heard it and looked up but went right back to feeding. Within a few more seconds Patrick touched the trigger. At the shot the pig took off side hill at full speed. No tell tell slap was heard and the pig never even buckled so we weren't sure if he was hit or not but Patrick said the shot felt good. We quickly got on the trail the pig was using and could see his dig marks but not a drop of blood. We stayed on tracks for 150 yards or so when we looked up and there he lay, down for the count or so we thought! As we approached the downed pig I could see he was still breathing so I racked a round in my .45 and was just about to hand it to Patrick when all of the sudden the pig was on his feet and coming straight towards us!! It was now or never, I drew down on him and started shooting, hitting him in the head 6 of 7 shots before he collapsed at our feet! It was damn exciting and an experience I am sure Patrick won't soon forget. The pig ended up being a big boar, 300+ pounds with 3 inch cutters. The best part of the whole thing was Patrick's 6 year old son and father got to watch the whole stalk unravel through binoculars. What a great hunt and an impressive trophy.

More Willow Trees

After all of the recent rains it finally dried out a bit and we were able to get into the wetland and plant some trees! We had these in the nursery and planted them along and existing tree ditch to try and block off the wetland from all of the AG work that goes on around us. 

The dove candy is coming up!

I went out and checked the safflower plots today and things are looking good! The seed that was planted shallow is coming up and the stuff that got planted a little deeper is on it's way! Within a week or so we should have a solid stand!

Hills are looking good!

I went up to the ranch today to watch the crop dusters seed all of the areas where we have removed the brush! The pilots did a great job, getting good coverage of all the areas. Those pilots are damn good, the way they come right through the trees!

The pond in the picture was almost bone dry prior to the last few days of rain. It's full to the top now and spilling out of the spill way! What a difference a few days can make!

Time to plant

In an effort to beat the rain we have been running full throttle for the last few days! It's the time of year when we need to get crops planted with hope that the rain will get them growing! I have been busy the last few days planting our safflower plots for the up coming 2016 dove season! We also took delivery of 40,000 pounds of a seed mix that will be flown on and broad casted on our brush removal sites in the hills. This is an exciting project and I can't wait to see the new growth come late spring! This should provide some great feed and cover for all animals that inhabit the ranch!