EarlyBird

I've been kicking up mud on the roads north of Centreville and Woodville for over a week. And we have beaucoup rain coming early next week. I may dump my leftover seed in spots this weekend. The real problem has been the acorns. About once every 5 to 7 years the white oaks rain down and that is the case this year. We dialed back our feeders yesterday until they play out. In other words, plots will be secondary to the deer for the next several weeks, at a minimum.

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Another disturbing trend I am seeing is guys using mechanical ascenders instead of prusik knots on their regular safety harnesses while hunting out of climbers and lock-on's.

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Oooof. Not good.

If you want a lighter rope (8 - 9 mm) because you only want to reduce weight, go with a CT Roll-n-Lock as an ascender. It can handle larger diameter ropes, but goes down to 8mm. One note, it does require an oval carabiner. The Kong Duck may also, but I think they had some issues, but I'm not 100% certain. If rappelling is the goal, the Madrock Safeguard is best for ascending because it is quiet and easy to operate, but is not rated for 8 mm ropes, so 9 mmm is your sweet spot (you do not want to haul in 30+ feet of 10+ mm rope). It can be jumpy when you begin to descend if you have it under tension for extended periods before doing so, but it'll get you out of the tree just fine. If you want the smoothest descent possible go with the Petzl GriGri Plus (8.9 mm+). Smooth as silk descent, but it can be loud when ascending. You can make it quieter with stealth strips or electrical tape on the connection points, but it's also bulky. It also has a fail safe that stops descent in case you panic and grab the handle.

If not rappelling or scared of a few more ounces, I like the JX3 tethers because the stopper ball holds the tether on the tree at height and they hold up to abuse well. They are also a little stiffer than Predator rope, which makes advancing the tether during ascent on pine trees easier. On the flip side, the stopper ball holds the girth hitch well on smooth hardwood trees. As far as length goes, 8 to 10 feet should be beaucoup unless you're hunting redwoods. If you set your tether lower on the tree at height, the tag end can get in the way, but you can always daisy chain it up a little.

The most important aspects to consider on a tether is the devices you'll want to utilize on it and the overall function:

Minimal weight tether only at height - Resc Tech 8mm + CTRNL
More durable tether only at height - Predator 11 mm/JX3 10 mm + Ropeman 1/CTRNL
Tether advanced as you climb (Especially Pines) - JX3 10 mm + Ropeman 1/CTRNL
Climb + Rappel (Pines) - Canyon IV 9mm + Madrock/GriGri Plus
Climb + Rappel (Mostly Hardwoods) - Canyon Elite 9mm + Madrock/GriGri Plus

Also remember that if you plan on using a friction hitch instead of a mechanical device, the hitch cord must be 60 to 80 percent the size of your tether. Smaller cord will tie easier, but may require more wraps and therefore be harder to break, while larger cord will usually grab better, depending on rope type. I like 7mm cord on a 9 mm tether.

Anyone know if we got any 10 miles north of Centreville?

Three capable hitters this inning. Stay off the sliders.

Sliders. We can't hit em. Tommy is the only one I know that can and it wasn't always the case.

I've never had any issues with it. I sprayed each herbicide in separate tanks but on the same day. Sometimes I use Basagran.

What is the ramification of using the unhulled seeds when top seeding? Guess we'll just need to spread more per acre than usual, correct? The existing stand of clover would act as cover.

Coach, shoot me an email. I'm in your area. Love turkey hunting and getting people pointed in the right direction.

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There’s a home weather station in Centreville

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Please show me how to access that. I can only access historic at Baton Rouge Airport.

I'm told our area got a seed-germinating rain between 4:00 AM and 6:00 AM this morning. The forecast shows more rain is likely, which I feel is the most important need. With these dry conditions and sandy soil, that first rain can germinate, but it will infiltrate/dry out quickly. A second rain on Monday/Tuesday would be money.

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Shhhh we don’t want you to scare it away.

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Precisely why I haven't mentioned it.

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if the forecast holds I’m skipping work Thursday and planting ahead of the rain

We’re doing the rain dance in Wilkinson County!

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Same area. I planted my disced plots last weekend and I'm hitting the no-till plots tomorrow. It's now or never. I'm tired of watching the forecast like it's a Catscan. Time to get the seed out and start hunting. NFW I'm dicking around with seed during Thanksgiving.