-By Rich Miller
I have been at home the last couple of weeks and I really started to miss not being able to go jump in a deer stand. By the end of the season I was ready for it to be over, but now I am ready for opening day to come around again this year. Even though I can’t deer hunt right now, I do have a lot of things to do around the farm and on my deer lease. The main task has been trying to do a little squirrel hunting. These little gray tree rats have been reeking havoc on my corn and where I keep it stored in one of the buildings. It has been fun chasing these squirrels around with my little nephew and son. Whether we get anything or not they sure do love it and think we are really doing something.
I also have plenty of bush hogging to prepare my spring food plots. It seems to really help get these places cleared and rip them up with plows so the grasses and weed will start rotting. This also helps any moister we get to go into the ground and not run off. If you are thinking about planting any fall food plots this is also the perfect time to go ahead and get your lime on them to give it a head start. The little things I do in these slow times of the year really seem to make a big difference in the success of my food plots later.
Freshening up all of my mineral sites for the deer has also filled the time. Right now to me is the most important time to have these minerals out. With all of the does being bred, it is crucial that they have the minerals they need to keep themselves and their fawns healthy. As I have said many times before, the healthier these fawns are at birth, the bigger the bucks they grow into. I keep my mineral sites fresh year around and in the same places all the time. I try to find areas that are shaded and will stay damp even with little rainfall. Once I find a place I like, I rake all of the leaves and debris away from the area, take a shovel and break the ground up so that it is really loose. Every couple of months when I freshen the spot up I will do this the same way before I pour my minerals out.
Even though there isn’t a lot going on right now as far as big game seasons go, there is always the little thing to keep us busy. If you are like me and have more little things to do than you can keep up with, give some of your buddies a call and get them to help you. At least you will have someone to talk about past hunts with and you will definitely be making the right steps for some great stories in the future.
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