Have some standing bean plots no-till drilled about a week and a half ago. Of course it has been 90 plus degrees with no rain ever since they were planted!  That does not get us down!!! We improvised and ran a trash pump with 500' of hose to water some very crucial plots!!
Planting soy beans late like this gets double duty for us. We will hunt them early when they are still green then we will hunt  them late once snow is covering the ground.

Started running cameras this week. Racks are starting to get to where we can tell who is who and which ones are possible shooters by this time. Running around 60 cameras on over 13,000 acres is a full time job!!
In March over 65 mineral sites were freshened up with over 3000 lbs. of mineral. These sites, along with Big N J products is our mainstay for camera locations.
After bucks are inventoried at these sites, we are constantly moving them to key locations to find that big one. The older they get, the smaller their area gets. So, a camera can be off by a couple hundred yards of missing a giant.
Note: Keep them on the move but smart about doing it. Always scent-free and low profile. If your property has an apple tree on it, every buck will visit it when apples are dropping!

For the months of May, June and July  it means stands, cameras and food plots by day and girls softball by night. I coach a girls 10 and under team and my wife Lisa coaches a girls 8 and under team. We started the season off by finishing 2nd in the Pre-Season Tournament. I could not be prouder of them!

The end of April through middle of May is our Ohio turkey season. We had a very successful turkey season with reaching our target harvest of 25 birds. Our turkey hunting just keeps getting better and better!

In April I ventured to Clinton, Illinois to do some filming for the new TV show coming out in June, Dominant Bucks. It is a Matthews title sponser show that is hosted by Stan Potts and produced by Tom Miranda Productions. We did 3 days worth of filming in various locations.

End of February and March equals shed hunting time.  I also tore down every stand and blind this season to go over, check straps, paint rusted spots and inventory. Space is also a valued commodity around here so I built a lean-to for storage off the back of my barn.

We got some concert tickets to go enjoy good friend Craig Morgan with Carrie Underwood concert. The girls had a blast!

Between family and business once August/September time hits my time is extremely valuable. I will try to catch up on whats been
going on. Our Ohio deer season rolls through the first week in February. As soon as the snow melts off and it drys up a little, I get
all of my mineral sites reworked up and freshened.

Just received a group of pictures from Tim Oldham with a lot of great updates on the Duck Creek property. Things are chipping away and getting closer to completion every day!

-Finished the shooting range.
-Poured a concrete patio along the front of the lodge. Will enclose this next season.
-Planted and strawed the yard.
-Got the electric terminated into the houses panel.
-Dish Network installed in the guide house and lodge.
-Most importantly, fall food plots are under way!!

Back home in Ohio! Panic and reality is starting to set in. The opener is not far away and there is A LOT to get done!

This spring we worked on my Morton Building adding three new bedrooms. Just needed to put some finishing touches on like staining, trim and doors. Not to mention the finish plumbing and HVAC work! Work on things around the lodge during the evenings and weekends. During the days, I run cameras and work on hanging our new Muddy Treestands!

The pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall in to place for the Sept. 26 opener. I have most sets ready and trimmed with a handful to go. This week I will put up some observatory stands where we can watch some areas safely from a distance! This will help on some fine-tuning.

I will place a couple pictures below of some deer that are targets for the opener. These are deer that are regulars and I have pin pointed fairly well.

From Missouri last week pulled in to Illinois for a long 4 day weekend. There is a lot to do in Illinois but we are chipping away at it. Towards the end of July, we wrapped up a 14x20 scent-free locker room. Looks NICE!! Once again, it was a very productive few days with several items checked off the list.

-Gun range under construction.
-Water and electric ran to the house.
-Clean up of dozer piles and yard preparation.
-Parking area completed with split-rail fence surrounding it.
Tim and Ben have been spending a lot of time on the property bush hogging, preparing exit/entrance routes, fall food plots and wrapping up stand preparations.  In all there spare time(Ha Ha) running 25 scouting cameras and glassing in the evenings. I think all of the hard work is going to pay off big dividends on this property!!

I spent the last week working at our Missouri land in the town of Purdin, located in Linn County. There is a large Morton building that had a portion already finished, but the layout of it was less than ideal. We added another bedroom and 3 bathrooms. That gives us 3 bedrooms and 3.5 baths for the upcoming season. With no more than 6 hunters per camp, things will be very comfortable with NO bathroom congestion. While in Missouri, also checked several other items off the to-do list.
-Interviewed a cook/housecleaner and got all details worked out with her for the upcoming season.
-Made a run 3 hours south to Muddy Outdoors and picked up 155 treestands that we had ordered.
-Walked some new leases the last day and got out 6 new cameras!

Overall, a very productive trip with no wasted time!!

Pulled several memory sticks while in Missouri. So be sure and check out trail-cam pictures!!

As July arrived in Missouri, the rains continued to cause problems and delay a lot of farmers from getting crops out. Between the rains and the
attempts to locate the equipment we wanted, it has been a tough battle. The first week of July we hit it hard and planted a lot of switch grass and Round-up Ready soy beans. Now, we pray that the rains don't come to a sudden halt.
During the end of July and August we are working on completing the Morton building for lodging. Adding a few more bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. We have several cameras running in Missouri, so stay tuned for some trail cam pictures.
Later.