How We Grow Antlers and Creatures in the Backyard at Long Ridge.

 Let me start by saying that 90% of these pictures are behind the farmhouse, in the back field. An occasional food plot picture shows up, and never mind the dates on the camera pictures. They are are in the last two months. I do not waste my time trying to reprogram cameras every

time the batteries go dead. So, here we go with 'Growth'.

This guy below is at a mineral lick 100 yards from our back door. By a mineral lick, I do not mean salt. I mean essential minerals for maintaining bones depleted by growing LAST years antlers. Read up on it. Fascinating. Also, the lactating does crave these essentials and use them regularly in the summer. By this time (first week of September) interest in minerals of any kind, including salt, completely wanes.

Nice gray fox below.

 This one will be a taker. Of course, if as usual he is as smart as he is handsome, we'll never see him.

Two daytime pictures of a doe and buck behind the homestead...

Four buck shots below, three different guys. 

Gray fox, turkeys racoon and woodchuck at this cross roads.

Turkeys everywhere. It is hard to believe that they were once extirpated from New Hampshire. Thank you Ted Walski, you have a real legacy.

The next pictures simply demonstrate antlers in pure velvet. Beautiful.

Woodchuck, deer, racoon, squirrel and possum. They ALL come to this intersection.

Shots below are thrown in from the upper Far field, a very busy wildlife place. Not many coyotes here these days, but the few that are left love this field.

I love the snout below. They know the camera is there, but cannot figure it out.

A shot of the East plot, just after seeding...(stand by)

This pretty much catches us up on summer pictures. Fall is about to start along with bow season. 

Hope to get some good stuff to you soon! Jack

Critique and comments always welcome

jackzeller@myfairpoint.net

Catching Up at Long Ridge Deer Camp.

It is the tail end of August as I write this, having been absent since March. I appreciate the inquiries I received from readers. Family and health issues precluded any meaningful blog until now. I did manage to till and seed food plots before surgery, and they have been coming along fine with the recent rain we have had. We did have a work day here at camp, and eight of us cleared trails, tightened tree stands, and reset two of them. Shooting lanes were reopened, and a fun day for sure. 

Anticipating surgery on my right arm, I did purchase a crossbow. It has been sighted in, and is unbelievably accurate and powerful. There is probably no reason to go back to my compound equipment, so I will sell all of that. I will miss it though. 

This summer we have been in a moderate drought, and there is much less mast and many fewer apples in our wild trees. W hat we do have is falling already as you will see below. Not too many exotic pictures as I could not maintain camera cards for most of the summer. Below are some recents though with a few late winter census shots thrown in. 

First you see the ant hill I posed last year. It is a full foot higher now with a brother/sister smaller mounds on each side of it. On a major highway near here.

 Below is a shot of a forty acre piece we logged this winter. It was a dark piney piece completely dead at ground level. In a year it will be lush and green, and we'll see grouse, woodcock and other game flooding it. 

Below is the 'eyeball' on you from the census station.  

A few more winter shots...

1.5 yr. buck

Mom and babe below in the Far Field.

A handsome bobcat on the East Plot.

Below are some earlier shots of spring babies.

Turkeys are always in the equation. Love abounds.

Nice spread on this guy so far, but we'll see if he amounts to much this fall.

We have more squirrels than mosquitos here on the farm.

Nice fawn up on the Far Ridge...

Same place, different camera for this large Tom...

More logging pictures. All done best practices. No whole tree chipping. Give back to the Earth!

Below is a piece of black cherry I split this winter. Quite plainly an ant colony was wintering here. I hate dislocating happy ecosystems like this. I did take some of the ants and warm them to room temperature, but they never showed signs of life. Oh well... 

Winters onset and the stables are ready.

I love this shot below. It is a 40 year old Christmas tree plantation. It is right behind these trees that I conduct the yearly deer census.

So, it is good to be back, and I will try to keep up with news here at Long Ridge. Bow season opens in two weeks, and bear season in a few days. Camera or gun, you takes your choice!

Comments a critical thoughts welcome as always.

jackzeller@myfairpoint.net