Journal

In the past two weeks:
1 - D bushhogged the millet; still some patches where neither millet nor centipede grew and could erode later so we will be doing "spot" soil tests
2 - Confirmed the tree orders with suppliers; Mr. Bunn may not have all of the varieties grown to his satisfaction but we will adjust the layout when/where needed if necessary; Mr. Berdoll has more than sufficient to cover our Pawnee/Desirable order with him
3 - Re-laid three full rows just east of the fruit orchard, more accurate now that the millet has been cut. Ethan has been especially helpful pulling the measuring tape and driving the four-wheeler to get tools for us!
4 - Reconfirmed monies available. With recent economic crisis/market crashes/job layoffs/etc. it has been good to know we had made early arrangements and have the funds available thanks to D's good foresight.
5 - Had some dove hunters come on opening day but very little luck. A couple of weeks later doves are in large flocks all over the field !
6 - Will allow deer hunting this fall/winter with several neighbors and friends. Lots and lots of does and fawns roam over the field daily but very little sign of bucks. However, we know that when runt starts....
7 - Planned layout of some extra trees along the path and at the old sawmill site.

Misc happenings

Planted 10 pecans in large pots yesterday, from Pawnee nuts. Just experimenting with them. D finished bush hogging the fields and realized that he had run over about a half dozen volunteer trees from near Coy's old house. Next spring we will check around before he bush hogs to see if any of them would make good root stock. Got the disc tire replaced today, ready for D to use next week (he is off all week and we hope to get the rest of the sections cleared and planted in millet). The centipede in the back yard is amazing - it is not quite 2 weeks since we planted and it is looking like a golf course already. We've watered every day but it has been well worth it. Two corners of the yard have "leaked" seeds out in the orchard area so we already have some centipede started there (which is fine since that's what we want in the whole orchard eventually). One pound of centipede is almost $30 so the more it spreads naturally, the better.

Ground cover - part 2

Since we still do not have ground cover planted yet D spoke with a landscaper about what to plant this late in the spring that will be good for erosion control through the hot summer. We have now decided that we will supplement the clover and centipede (yes, we decided centipede over Bermuda grass) with millet. It will come up almost immediately, is great to hold the soil in place and cheaper than most other options. We are hopeful with the Memorial Day weekend coming up we can finally get things in place to sow the seed.