Week 27
Dry, no rain in sight.
No deer seen, even in the early hours. There is some evidence of deer bedding down in the long grass near the paths cut with the mower. They seem to like the long grass near a runway. But they must be very wary as we never see them.
Quail are still here. Saw two fly the other day, but no evidence of a whole covey
We have heard turkeys in the direction of Purgatory Creek, but have not seen any on this property.
Painted buntings are still here.
Week 28
Dry, have continued the emphasis on providing water.
Now we know there are deer here as they completely cleaned out the remains of the tomato garden,
No evidence of any noticeable grass seed production yet.
Cleared two big Prickly pears an put them on the brush pile
We plan to start a project for studying why only live oaks seem to grow here and no others. Over the last three years we have planted what seems like hundreds of red oak and burr oak acorns, and only two have germinated and are still alive. There is interest in these other oaks as they are big crop producers, good for wildlife.
Quail are still here.
No deer spotted this week and no obvious evidence of skunks, raccoons, or squirrels. Most have been attracted to the bird feeder at night, but since we re-installed the electric fence charger to the feeder, they have been discouraged.
Week 29
Received good feedback from Blake who works for TPWD on the oaks question. Studies have shown that red oaks and burr oaks just flatly do not like the conditions here in the uplands of the Edwards Plateau. So, that being the explanation why planting acorns from these two trees was unsuccessful, we will now switch to Post Oaks and Blackjack oaks. Now, need to find some acorns from those trees.
Still dry, still watering the tanks.
Week 30
Quail still here, but in fact, we need to see from literature if they ever leave, or do they just go silent.
Deer are eating the scraps in the feed lot, but still only three, sometimes two does. We have not seen any bucks yet this late summer.
Saw 8 full grown turkeys yesterday.
Heard faint sounds of coyotes, but they were so far away, it was difficult to be sure.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
June 2016 Activity
Week 22
Hauled two loads of brush to the main brush pile. The rain this spring collapsed the pile to such an extent that only small animals can now seek cover there.
No deer seen this week, wonder why.
Wet weather has helped the grass (and weeds).
All the water sources are full of water, so we set for a while.
Week 23
Even though we had a lot of rain this spring, its beginning to look dry again.
Two deer spotted this week on two different days.
Painted buntings are still here, looks as if they had a successful nesting season this year.
Still hearing the bobwhite quail in the mornings.
As mentioned before, there seem to be less songbirds this year.
No nesters in the purple martin house, not even blackbirds or sparrows.
Week 24
Strange that we have seen no fawns this year, not one, even on adjoining properties. Neighbor reports seeing a mountain lion, maybe that is the cause.
Keeping the bird feeders and bird baths full. The water in the birdbaths is what seems to keep the painted buntings to returning every year.
No mowing yet, as TPWD advisor says the best time is the fall when all the grass has gone to seed.
Week 25
Made a grass seed production survey this week. Of course the Texas winter grass covers several acres and has done well.
Other grasses that have produced some seed are: love grass, windmill grass, and a few others, but the sideoats don't seem to be set to produce any seeds. Need to wait and check later.
Two deer again this week, but, wow, are they wary. That's good, don't want them to be domesticated.
Put another load of brush on the main brush pile.
Week 26
Getting noticeably dry again, will pay particular attention to the watering holes in the two main places.
Native grasses are set for a big failure in seed crop unless we get some rain.
Inspected the back 10 acres to determine the condition of grass and habitat in that area that is grazed. It looks quite good relatively as the grass on the whole ranch has lessened the grazing pressure on this end of this tract.
Hauled two loads of brush to the main brush pile. The rain this spring collapsed the pile to such an extent that only small animals can now seek cover there.
No deer seen this week, wonder why.
Wet weather has helped the grass (and weeds).
All the water sources are full of water, so we set for a while.
Week 23
Even though we had a lot of rain this spring, its beginning to look dry again.
Two deer spotted this week on two different days.
Painted buntings are still here, looks as if they had a successful nesting season this year.
Still hearing the bobwhite quail in the mornings.
As mentioned before, there seem to be less songbirds this year.
No nesters in the purple martin house, not even blackbirds or sparrows.
Week 24
Strange that we have seen no fawns this year, not one, even on adjoining properties. Neighbor reports seeing a mountain lion, maybe that is the cause.
Keeping the bird feeders and bird baths full. The water in the birdbaths is what seems to keep the painted buntings to returning every year.
No mowing yet, as TPWD advisor says the best time is the fall when all the grass has gone to seed.
Week 25
Made a grass seed production survey this week. Of course the Texas winter grass covers several acres and has done well.
Other grasses that have produced some seed are: love grass, windmill grass, and a few others, but the sideoats don't seem to be set to produce any seeds. Need to wait and check later.
Two deer again this week, but, wow, are they wary. That's good, don't want them to be domesticated.
Put another load of brush on the main brush pile.
Week 26
Getting noticeably dry again, will pay particular attention to the watering holes in the two main places.
Native grasses are set for a big failure in seed crop unless we get some rain.
Inspected the back 10 acres to determine the condition of grass and habitat in that area that is grazed. It looks quite good relatively as the grass on the whole ranch has lessened the grazing pressure on this end of this tract.
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