Nimrod on Checking Acorn Crops

Its that time of year again. The mother of all seasons is nearly upon us. Nimrod tends to stay away from “how to” posts here at the Diaries. However I thought I would share a Nimrod deer scouting tip with you.

Nimrod ranch is in the middle of a oak forest so a primary food source to look for is acorns (akerns for my southern friends). Deer love them and God drops them on the ground for free. All is good in the world.

Some people claim deer prefer the white oaks over other oaks; as such will target the white oaks before the reds or other species. I have asked a few deer what they thought and the deer replied flipping me a white tail and running away. I am still curious how these people got the deer to talk about their preferences.

Often folks will look up at the sky and look for the acorns in the top of the trees. Some even resort to scorching their retinas by using binoculars to check the tree tops against the burning sun. Nimrod has a better and less painful way to check the yearly acorn crop.

First of all find two oak trees. Preferably a white and a red. Check the surrounding areas for obstacles. Retrieve the chain saw. Carefully drop the tree to the ground.

Once the tree is on the ground it is easy to check the crop of acorns without stressing or injuring your eyes. While its a small sampling it gives you a good indication of the number of nuts those two trees would have dropped. The bonus is that once the wood seasons, you will have a good amount of hardwood for campfires, smoking venison or heating the Ranch.

This years test showed the trees had a decent number of nuts.

Now to the business side of things. Nimrod is playing around with a new hosting platform for the Diaries. This post and the next few will be posted to the old URL (http://nimroddiaries.blogspot.com/2011/09/nimrod-on-checking-acorn-crops.html) as well of the new URL (http://nimroddiaries.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/nimrod-on-checking-acorn-crops/). Please let me know which one you prefer. Your input is important; we surely don’t want Nimrod making this choice on his own. Depending on the response we may switch the Diaries over to the new platform.

Less than a week until Michigan’s early doe season and small game season. 22 days until Michigan’s Bow Season! See ya in the woods!