Mr. Brown, That reminds me of something Jonathan Foster told me about his grandfather, William Harnden Foster, who also sold a certain .410 in order to help in the costs of higher education for his children.
At least it went for a very honorable cause.

Dean

Fire In The Hole, Fred?
 

Yessir- a controlled burn and then the regrowth are great tools for the farmer/land owner that wants to maintain good game cover and habitat- I have about 17 acres on a bend in the river=house and buildings are on the high ground of course- but about 9 acres is in a 100 year flood plain area- wet and mucky- lotsa mallards nesting there in the Spring- we cut brush and tree limbs over the years and pile them down there for winter game cover- we see deer, turkeys and rabbits quite often- BUT when I hunt waterfowl, I am about 2 clicks downstream from where I live and there aren't any houses built there (YET)--

But my real ace-in-the hole is all the area farms I have developed over many years- once a friend asked me why I would help a farmer cut wood, pull fence posts and my specialty- do welding jobs- and I told him that when a farmer/landowner gives you permission to hunt/shoot on his property, he gains very little from that deal, you benefit (unless you do something really stupid and screw it up- has happened to others I know) so time spend working with (and drinking coffee with also) farmers, etc- is time very well spent for those of us who love to hunt- Farmers are the most honest and hard working folks the Good Lord ever put on the earth!

Ditto for the farmers observation. They cultivate the land and I "cultivate" the farmers. Time spent in conversation, time spent over a cup of coffee, time spent lending a hand yields time spent in some of the best bird habitat one can find. Over the years, I have changed one farmer's mind about hunters after inadvertently ending up on his land. It was "big sky" country with occupied homes many miles apart. He was annoyed and I was apologetic. When the air cleared, there was a pot of coffee shared and many a before sunrise breakfast to keep the energy up while taking some of the largest roosters to be found in that locale. He is no longer there but the memories remain. The best yet started two years ago, with nothing more than just being courteous and friendly. As a result, I somehow ended up being the only guy allowed to hike along a couple miles of winding creek that is full of pheasants. He has a decade on me but will wander along with an old single shot, just in case. I share the harvest with him and his wife makes a darn fine chili to boot. When the weather closed in last year in late December, he offered shelter for the night if I would be unable to make it to maintained roads. I made it out but the offer was highly appreciated. Yep, a few kind words go a long ways in life.
Cheers,
Jack

Francis,

"Smells like victory" That was pretty nice don't here much of that wish all shared your ideas. Most that come out here hunting act like they own the country and if you stop to ask them if they have permission to hunt there (you now they don't cause its your own ground) they look at you like what does that dumb farmer want muttering words under there breath. I probably shouldn't say this because i'm not a marine but i say it with the uat most respect for the service "SALUTE" to you Francis ch

Yes, Jack a little bs and a few kind words well get you a long way.

Hi James..! Imagine how I feel, as I'm the guy running the POM Contest..??! :)

Outstanding picture!!!

My Best Always!

John

John, A suggestion here...Why not just do the contest for the month of August?

Recoery
 

Well, it's been three months since I burned my 30 acre "playground" to the dirt. You just can't keep a good field down. The switch is back thicker than ever, 6' to 7'; and, the blue stem (my favorite) is coming in at 7' to 8'. The food plots are doing great with the sunflowers at about 30% bloom and the seed sorgam headed out. The seven or eight volunteer apple trees are producing. I watched a nice eight point saunter by the north end of the food plot about an hour ago. Autumn is coming and the colors will be beautiful and life will be great.