Feb. 26: I Made the Perfect Buck Trap | Dream Farm w/ Bill Winke 

Same here on the double girdling. Last year I single girdled and some died while others did not..

Thanks for the comment and the insight. I have not done much girdling, I like them on the ground, but it would sure be a lot safer on the bigger trees especially in spots where finding a place to drop them without hanging up or damaging other trees is difficult.

Thanks Thomas. Much appreciated.

That is a very good point. We will look for them this spring. We cut elm on all 70+ acres but there were areas where they were more populated (the lower, moister areas). Thanks for the tip.

Yes sir. Man, we cut a lot of trees - lost a lot of sweat and a few pounds (which was good). Have a great day.

Thanks Dave. I appreciate the support and the comment. Have a great day.

Thanks for the comment Woodard. Much appreciated.

I will be honest Art. Cutting down 15,000 trees feels so much easier to me than lighting this place on fire. I need to gain experience to feel comfortable with burning. The local biologist comes by regularly and he laughs at me when I express my fear of torching this place. He has enough experience that he sees the future, but I just see the questions. A month from now, I will likely feel a lot better about it having burned hundreds of acres (I hope). You have to start small. I remember my first TSI project. It was very small and I was very cautious about what I cut. Now, I have a way better feel for it. I suppose fire will be like that too. Have a great day.

It will be interesting. That is for sure. I am sure I will get more comfortable with it in time. I appreciate the comment.

Thanks Takur. I appreciate the support.

Thanks Dean. Much appreciated.

Thanks. I hope it pays off too. There were three drumming grouse on the farm last spring so hopefully there is a nucleus we can build on to restore them. I grew up hunting them too. Have a great day.

Our oaks aren't the greatest. A few good ones here and there but most are bent and leaning and really crooked so they aren't really very marketable. The walnut are another story though! Lots of really nice ones.

@@bill-winke looks like it for sure nice and straight, cya in the next one

Thanks Alex. I learned a lot about cutting trees. The main thing I learned was when to walk away. There are some trees that are just not worth cutting and sometimes a tree hangs up despite your best efforts to direct it to the ground and it is not worth trying to get it down. The risk is very real, every single time you touch the chain to wood. There is not a tree out there worth taking any risk to drop. That is my final message about TSI. Have a great day.

@@bill-winke Great summary message on cutting! Enjoy the mild weather!!

This place is going to have it in spades Alex. There are at least three grouse on it now (based on drumming count from last spring). I hope to drive that number way higher over the next five to ten years. Have a great day.

@@bill-winke Out here in VA around where I hunt the grouse are few and far between. Cool when you see one it’s like seeing an endangered species

I asked about that. I was told that once a walnut gets past a certain age/size it won't put out any more side branches when you open up around it. Oak, as you mention, is another story. Unfortunately, though we have a lot of oak on the farm very, very little is high lumber quality and maybe none would be considered veneer for white oak. For some reason, this farm just doesn't have them. Good point, though.

The terrain is so steep it hard to even walk in many spots so getting trees out is a huge undertaking. I have a few neighbors that burn wood so I will invite them to take what they want but the challenges of getting it out is too great to consider a commercial firewood harvest.

We didn't drop enough to create a really good funnels with the downed trees, but I am sure I could make easy trails with some cutting and the deer would use them heavily. Some of this is now a snag filled jumble and a cut trail would be adopted immediately by all the deer. Have a great day.

I am with you. I am not experienced and I am scared too, but it has to be done - at least here - for this property to reach its potential. The local state biologists laughs at me when I tell him I am afraid to light this place on fire, but he is not the one that has to deal with the consequences if I do it wrong. I will start small and learn and then slowly expand my size. That is basically what I did when I started doing TSI many years back. Start small. Good luck.

Thanks Steve. I appreciate it. We have the DJI Mini 3 Pro. It does a great job for the size and cost.

Thanks Edward. Same to you.

The biologist I talked to said that as long as the tree was holding "energy" in the root system (prior to sap flowing up) the trees likely to root or stump sprout will. It more likely to kill the stump by cutting the tree off after the sap is up in the top, but I don't know that for sure. As I said, it is second hand information. If you are having good luck doing it your way, I would not change. Good luck.

@@bill-winke Thanks for the reply, that certainly makes sense. If I could start doing it now, I'd have more time to do more cutting before working on food plots......and my daughter's softball season 😁 Keep up the great work, and thanks again for the info.

Thanks for the support. That hoodie is made by Kuhl. looked for it online on their website but it is possible it is discontinued. Jordan bought me that from Scheel's around Christmas time.

Thank you, I thought I might be seeing their logo on the sleeve. 👍🏻

Jordan and I will be in the Code of Silence booth Saturday starting at 1:00 for a while. Stop by. You can't beat Jethro's. Awesome barbecue.

Thanks for the support Isaac.

Man, that price makes my stomach hurt. I didn't sell it for anywhere near that price!

Lol I know but that's the way with everything in today's world anyway keep the videos coming

Thanks. I am starting to gear up for the burning season now. It will be interesting. Have a great day.

I only wish I had a couple thousand more of them on the farm!

@@bill-winke do like I do, collect the nuts and plant them (and protect from squirrels).

I might make a few trails through the worst spots with my saw. I think that would help.

That is made by a company named Kuhl. I believe you can find them online. Here is a link: www.kuhl.com/ Looks like they may have discontinued the one I am wearing. I got that at Scheel's.