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Auxier Ridge at Red River Gorge, Kentucky

April 7, 2019 by Jason Leave a Comment

We took a hike around the Auxier Ridge and Courthouse Rock trail at Red River Gorge April 6, 2019. I posted a video of Auxier Ridge and it’s surrounding features on YouTube. Auxier Ridge Trail to Courthouse Rock is a 4.4 mile moderate, well-known out and back trail. It features an awesome forest setting and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking and bird watching and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also welcomed to use the trail, just keep them leashed if they are exuberant explorers.

It’s easy to see several nearby features such as Haystack Rock, Raven’s Rock, Courthouse Rock, Bolt Rock and Double Arch. There’s tons of breathtaking views. I think Auxier Ridge is one of the more scenic trails at the gorge.

Climbing Courthouse Rock is totally possible and allowed. The casual hiker may not be ready for it. I’d recommend ropes and basic safety gear. If you are looking to get vertical, it’s a great trail but safety should be paramount. You can kill yourself if you don’t know what you’re doing.

As always, and most important to me… be sure to “leave no trace!” Take your garbage out with you and pay attention to the roped off reclamation areas. These are roped off for a purpose… to allow nature to recover from humans. Keep the gorge beautiful, obey the rules, be safe and treat other hikers on the trail courteously.

Enjoy these pics and aerial video of my experience. Here’s a link to the trail map.

  • Double Arch
  • Great group campspot
  • Steps decending to base of Courthouse rock
  • Bottom of Courthouse Rock
  • Base of Courthouse Rock

  • Courthouse Rock
  • Starting Auxier Ridge
  • Loonging down Auxier Ridge to
    Courthouse Rock
  • Steps on the trail
  • Entering Nada Tunnel
  • Auxier Ridge view
  • Auxier Ridge Trailhead
  • Steps near
    Courthouse Rock
  • Auxier Ridge
  • Looking off Auxier Ridge
  • Cool rock near
    Courthouse Rock
  • Auxier Ridge ending at
    Courthouse Rock
  • Interesting flora
  • Majestic
    Courthouse Rock
  • Haystack Rock
  • Haystack Rock
  • About Auxier Ridge
  • More flora at Red River Gorge

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Filed Under: friends, outdoors, Uncategorized, videos Tagged With: friends, outdoors, videos

Planting forage for bees and pollinators

February 22, 2015 by Jason Leave a Comment

During the January 2014 Moores Hill SIBA meeting last year, Roy Ballard from Purdue, and Tim Schwipps from the USDA-NRCS came and spoke about planting forage for bees and other pollinators. They made clear that there can be help available at both the state and local levels. I decided to pursue things since I had 1.5 acres that I wanted to do something with and I felt if it meant having some more honey in the hives, as well as some pretty flowers to look out at on my back hill, let’s try it out.

After exhausting all options, I found that having only 1.5 acres did not entitle me to any assistance. This is always changing, so don’t let this discourage you. I know there were a few others in our club that did get assistance since they had more land to work with. To be clear, the state DOES want you to reserve land for wildlife and in many cases, they will help finance some of your materials and effort. You just have to look around and contact the right people who know. I continued to pursue my goals and bank-roll myself since it was only 1.5 acres. Here is my story, and the steps I took. Keep in mind, I will be describing my specific plans in hopes that it can be helpful to someone else. Just be sure to make your own plan before executing.

I’m in Dearborn county and the result of my searches connected me with Chris Grauel who was extremely helpful, and my guide during this entire process.

Chris Grauel, Wildlife Biologist
IDNR/Division of Fish & Wildlife
2010 S. State Hwy. 3
North Vernon, IN 47265-7950
(812) 352-8486

Chris treated me just as if I was someone who was seeding 100 acres of land. He came out and took a look, offered advice and followed up with a detailed step-by-step plan… including a burn plan for my specific area. He also pulled applications for me and made me aware that I needed to contact the right people (local fire, neighbors, etc. at the right time before burning. If you do something like this, definitely have a single point of contact like Chris.

Susan Knowles also accompanied Chris on the visit to my property and she too made many suggestions, and directed me to potential resources… including where to look for wildflower and other seed mixes. Susan suggested depending on mu timing, she may be able to add my seed order on with someone else who was getting a larger order. It didn’t pan out for me… but that is a real option for people like us not sowing 10+ acres.

Susan M. Knowles, Wildlife Biologist Private Lands
Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge
12985 E US Highway 50
Seymour, IN 47274
812-522-4352

We started by burning a brush pile, but used torches to do a controlled burn across the hill.

Another key player for me was Vickie Smith at Dearborn County SWCD. When I was getting quotes for 8k worth of fertilizer, she directed me to Laughery Valley Co-op. suggesting I could get it there more reasonable. For my situation, bulk fertilizer, from Laughery Valley Co-op ran me $850 – 975.00 per ton (2,000 lbs.). They mix what you need into a buggy that you can pull home behind your truck, and then you do need a tractor with a PTO to spread it. I didn’t have the tractor and elected to have them drop it off to me, and spread it with the help of my brother-in-law who had a smaller tractor and a 500lb. spreader (see pictures). She also reminded me that lime should be applied in the fall before you seed. It will take the lime six months to make a difference, unless you purchase pelleted lime that works more quickly.

Vickie A. Smith, Environmental Technician/Educator
Dearborn County SWCD
10729 Randall Ave., Ste. 2
Aurora, IN 47001
812-926-2406 ext. 3
www.dearbornswcd.org

We tilled a burn perimeter in preparation for the burn.

Vickie also sent me the following:

“If you are interested in planting specifically for honey bees, then be sure to get online and check the seed that you are ordering will be what you’re wanting for honey bees… pollen and nectar source… and most importantly, the seeds have not been treated. I’ve attached a good article on honey bees (the article happened to be written by Kathleen Prough, our State Apiarist.)

With the key people identified, let’s start with my specific plan outlined by Chris Grauel. Believe it or not, the following is edited for brevity.

–Specific plan for converting approx. 1.5 acres to bee pasture–

The open area is approximately 1.4-acres; of which, about 1.0-acre of the area is slightly sloping (<12% slope) and the remaining 0.4-acre is severely sloping (>25% slope). The vegetative cover is composed primarily of tall fescue and smooth brome grasses; and, danced throughout the field are sapling trees. Herein lies the first step to your process of developing this open area; I would suggest mowing the open area once around May 1st, 2014 to suppress these saplings (i.e., to stunt their height) in order to make later herbicide applications less difficult.

The next order of business is to have a soil test performed. Most any farm co-op and seed store can provide this service for a nominal fee (it was free for me, being in Dearborn county at the SWDC); and, some soil and water districts offer soil tests to landowners or can suggest a laboratory to perform the soil analysis. The results of the soil test should include recommendations for any necessary amendments. I would predict the results will include adding lime in order to increase the soil pH; if so, make the application a few months in advance of planting your seed so it has time to incorporate with the soil.

Dropping lime

Next, you must perform a controlled burn (see my specific burn plan) and utilize a frost-seeding method of planting. The steps would be these:

a. Mow the planting area to a height of about 4-6 inches around the first week of September. Then allow about three weeks, or until the mowed grass has put forth about 6 inches of new growth, and spray the planting area with a glyphosate herbicide. Generally the per acre rate is 1½ quart glyphosate herbicide, 3 lbs. of ammonium sulfate and water. Read and follow all directions, rates and warnings as specified on the manufacturer’s label.

b. Next you will need to establish control lines (firebreaks) around the planting area. These can be accomplished by either discing or roto-tilling a 6-foot wide bare soil strip around the perimeter. These strips can be put in place about one-week+ after the spraying was performed.

c. Anytime between after the firebreaks have been put in place and up until February, a controlled burn must be conducted to remove the dead vegetative debris. You will need to contact me a month in advance for a burn plan. This removal should ensure good seed-to-soil contact when the seed is broadcast. Chris Grauel also lent me all the equipment I needed to conduct the burn, including flappers, drip torches, and water pack. He even dropped it off to me in November, and said he’d pick it back up in March. Wow… what a guy!

d. Following the burn, and between Jan. 1st and February 15th, the seed should be broadcast over the area. Frost-heave (freezing and thawing of soil) will work this seed into the soil for later germination in the springtime.

e. It is likely that, although you have killed the grass in the fall, come springtime new grass plants will appear from seed stored in the soilbank. If this does occur, or occurs over following years, a simple application of a grass-selective herbicide will clean these grasses from within your pollinator planting.

Fertilizer delivery

As for species selections and seeding rates, the sky is about the limit (and the size of your wallet). I have attached a USDA list of preferred pollinator plants that should offer good guidance with your choices. As I say, many wildflowers are a bit pricey. You may want to consider planting with a majority of clover species and perhaps including a small amount of wildflowers seeds. There are many clovers that would perform well at your site: crimson, red, white ladino, alsike, white Dutch (what grows in our lawns) and sweet clovers. Clovers will bloom throughout most of the growing season; whereas, most wildflowers have a fairly specific bloom period.

When/if you include wildflowers, choose varieties that will bloom at various times of the season. The seeding rates will hinge on the number of different species you select and what species you choose. Generally when broadcast seeding clover the rate should be in the ballpark of 10 lbs. of seed per acre; and, to that you might include about a pound of wildflowers seed per acre – total of 11 lbs. of seed per acre. And be certain the clover seed you use is either pre-inoculated seed or that you apply the proper inoculants to your seed.

If you want the area planted entirely to wildflowers, a general seeding rate is about 5-8 lbs. of seed per acre; 10 lbs. of a good wildflower mixture can cost around $300 to $400 per acre. Planting with several varieties of clovers is going to run you about $50 to $60 per acre.

20150215_130856
We used a rotary hoe to further fluff up the compaction from bush hogging. Then I lowered the deck of my walk behind to thrash it up.

I settled for a wildflower mixture from Jeff Dittemore at Bee-Friendly Beekeeping (info below). I paid $35 per pound of seed.

10 lbs. Bee Seed (Wildflower) mix $340

Because my hill was pretty steep, I couldn’t disc it without causing a serious erosion problem. This was already evidenced by the 4 foot trough we tilled around the field for our burn barrier eroding already. My method of seeding is frost-seeding. This method probably does cause a little more stress on the seed, but it was my only option. To get maximum soil exposure, I further worked the hill using a rotary hoe lent to me by a friend. It did a good job of breaking up thick tufts of dead grass and material I needed out of the way. After fluffing it up with the hoe, I lowered the deck of my 48″ walk-behind mower. This really thrashed everything up and threw it out of the way. I was very satisfied (see pics below) I mixed the seed with play sand at a ratio of 5lbs. of sand to 1lb. of seed to distribute properly. It was broadcast seeded at a seeding rate of 5-6lbs. of seed per acre the day just before a heavy snow! I am happy about that because it helped hold the seed in place vs. a heavy rain that could have washed it down the hill. We’ll see this spring how things work out.

Here is the information I’ve collected on seed sourcing.

Jeff Dittemore
765-891-1783
Visit Bee Friendly Beekeeping on Facebook

20150215_131515
Mixing wildflower seed with sand.

BFBK Seed Mix. ($35/lb. and 5-6lbs/acre)

Purple coneflower 10%
Dwarf sunflower 10%
Lanceleaf coreopsis 8%
Blanket flower 8%
Blue flax 7%
Perennial lupine 6%
Clasping coneflower 5%
Cilantro 5 %
Prairie coneflower 4%
Mexican hat 4%
Basil 4%
Partridge pea 3%
Prairie aster 3%
Annual lupine 3%
Dwarf annual lupine 3%
Crimson clover 2.5%
Lacy phacelia 2%
California poppy 2%
Lemon mint 2%
Cosmos 2%
Plains coreopsis 2%
Black eyed susan 2%
California bluebells 1%
Showy primrose .5%
Bergamont/bee balm .5%
New England aster .5%

—

20150215_140833
Soil exposure after burning. Not really good since we never had the perfect dry day.

All said here is what it took me to prepare and seed 1.5 acres with a wildflower mixture.

About 10-12 hours (not consecutive) of my time digging soil and sending samples to the lab, calling and emailing people to source reasonable tools to work the land, and running back and forth.

$50 paid to someone to come and bushhog my hill.

4-5 hours with myself and brother-in-law spreading lime and fertilizer.

3,659 lbs. of Fertilizer
4,878 lb/s of Lime
2.1 qts. of Glyphosate
4 lbs. Ammonium Sulfate
10 lbs. Bee Seed (Wildflower) mix  = $340
—-
$1190

4-5 hours and 4 great friends who came and helped me conduct the controlled burn on New Years Day this year.
11 hours of working with my brother-in-law who generously brought over his tractor to spread lime, fertilizer, and prep before seeding.

Here are other places I considered for seed. Just adding it here for your convenience.

20150215_171150
The final soil exposure before seeding.

Laughery Vallery Co-Op
Wayne Jenner sent me the following on their seed mix. ($33.75 lb. and 4-9 lbs/acre
11016 U.S. 50
Dillsboro, IN
(812) 432-5267

—

Applegate Seed House, “Tom” has a mix for pollinators and I did not get the data.
76 E 700 S
Brook, IN 47922
219-275-3664 or 219-863-2136

—

After frost-seeding, I will need to keep an eye on the back hill for growth. It’s no doubt that I will have the weeds I am trying to eradicate begin to emerge. In my plans, there is a suggestion to go through with a selective herbicide when needed. I do not know what this will be, nor the time as of yet. I also know there are many finger-sized stubs of black locust saplings that want to come up across the hill. I suspect I will be manually removing these as I can. Dealing with the past weeds that were on the hill will be interested and I am planning to allot some effort to try and keep it at bay until the new forage takes hold.

May 20, 2015 update on the pollinator pasture (with pics)

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Filed Under: beekeeping, do-it-yourself, gardening, how-to, outdoors Tagged With: beekeeping, do-it-yourself, gardening, how-to, outdoors

My first trials into maple sugaring

January 25, 2015 by Jason 4 Comments

See part two to this series here.

I remember my dad tapping maple trees as a kid. He told all the neighbors that if they let him tap their trees, they’d be invited to the “big pancake breakfast” that he’d throw at the end. Today, someone might look at you like you had two heads. It’s amazing how times have changed. Dad had a number of pots he rigged up over a fire… not really worrying about the smoke “tainting” the sap as it cooked down. In fact, I can’t remember anything too terrible about it. It’s a wonderful childhood memory for me… and one I planned to revive.

A beautiful sight when you enter the woods.
A beautiful sight when you enter the woods.

As I was gearing up, my wife and some others commented “just what you need, another hobby” but really, I have been thinking, and planning about tapping maple trees for about 2 years now. It happens during a time of year that I consider downtime and I’ve always wanted to try it out just as a homage to dad. So, this was the year.

Sourcing and fixing the evaporator, and building the arch. I was all set to convert a 55-gallon drum into a wood stove and set up some steam table trays on top to evaporate. By a happy coincidence, a fellow beekeeper found out I was interested in getting set up and offered me a deal on an evaporator she used before it was hurled by a tornado. She made me a good deal, so I grabbed it. So while my original plans with the barrel were changed, it was OK since the new set-up was going to be a lot more efficient… after I built the arch.

I picked up the evaporator and had it turned into usable shape by the end of the day. The next morning, I picked up the materials for the arch. It was a simple setup with c-blocks designed to hold the pan, and steer the smoke out the flu and away from the surface of the boiling sap. See the pics below for more details. All setup, I commenced boiling.

Here are the notes I’ve been keeping so that I know how much sap I can cook and for how long.

Ready to cook.
Ready to cook.

Tapping trees, and sap flow. I started with 10 taps at the beginning of this week and collected 6 gallons in the first 24 hours (a good, sunny day). The next two days remained colder and overcast and sap slowed a lot. Today (Sat.) was a bright sunny morning. I went back and some jugs were overflowing. I collected another 6 gallons and came back to boil… starting with 12 gallons of sap.

Cooking and gallons per hour. I started cooking the initial 12 gallons at 1:30 pm. After getting everything situated, I noticed the gallon jug I had up near the house was over half full already. I collected that and rolled out to the backwoods to check those too. I came back with another 5 and a half gallons or so. That’s another 6 gallons. I added it to the warmer and allowed it to trickle into the evaporator. Everything was finished and ready to bring inside at 5:30. So, 18 gallons in 4 hours. That’s about 4-5 gallons per hour. I think I can do better here as I was still getting used to the fire and the new set-up. But, that’s totally reasonable, and I was sad that the fun was over so fast!

Yield. I brought the concentrate inside to finish in a pot on the stove. It went fast. I think I actually cooked it too long. It became thicker than it seemed it was supposed to. Also, it had a very, very sugary taste. It wasn’t terrible, but not what I remembered from when I was a kid. It’s also possible there was some scorching going on too. All said a total of 23 gallons of sap yielded a little over 2 quarts. You can see the jars I filled in the pics below.

Correcting my maple syrup. Reading more about how to thin it… people said to add more sap. Well, I knew there was more out back… so I went out in the dark and collected another 5 gallons. (If you’re keeping track, that’s 17 gallons from 10 taps in one day.) I brought this back and decided to cook this down in two pots on the stove. It definitely took longer (as I sit here at 2:17 am finishing up). All this effort to correct what I think may have been cooking too much water out. Slowly I start consolidating the fresh syrup/sap into the finished to thin it down. It’s tasting better and the consistency is much better. Barring any last-minute issues, I’ll consider it a success for my first attempt.

Update 2-14: We just boiled another 85 gallons of sap. It took 12 hours from the main evaporator to the pot inside. It yielded just over 7 quarts for finished syrup. Right now, we’re in a cold spell. Since we have 23 taps in my home sugarbush, and another 12 at a friends, we’re expecting a flood when it warms back up again.

See part two to this series here.

Gallon jugs fill fast. I recommend 2 gallon containers!
Seems I walk out of the woods with 5-6 gallons at a time.
The evaporator as purchased.
The valves were tweaked from being flung in a tornado.
Tweaked evaporator that needed some TLC.
I started with brute force.
I polished as I went.
Heat and pound.
The drain valve straightened.
The finished work.
Detail of warming pan.
The site for the evaporator built into a hill.
How I was considering setting it up… with the pan being over the flu for faster warming.
Te site measured off.
Footers laid.
Noticed a tree that a bug bored into and it was seeping. So, I drilled it and hung a bucket.
A beautiful sight when you enter the woods.
Overflowing… and freezing.
Ok to empty out any ice. They say there’s no suger in it.
The only walnut tree that I tapped.
The finished arch with evaporator setting on it.
Ready to cook.
The firebox with grate and flu.
Ready to cook on.
Evaporator set up and ready to cook.
Quick mortar job to level and hold smoke in.
Filled with sap.
Evaporation starts.
I let the warm sap trickle into the main without affecting the boil.
Ripping through the sap at about 4-5 gph.
Another load collecting during evaporation.
Finishin the syrup inside.
A beautiful sight.
Robbing a little late-night sugar!
The rewards.

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Filed Under: homesteading, how-to, outdoors Tagged With: homesteading, how-to, outdoors

Ran my first marathon in 3:46:20

November 20, 2013 by Jason Leave a Comment

A good friend of mine challenged me back in July to run the Las Vegas Rock n’ Roll Marathon with him. I was never a runner, and I mean… never, a runner. Here’s how it happened.

Around mile 22, clearly tired.
Around mile 22, clearly tired.

I was commuting 45 minutes to my Newport, KY office Mon. Wed., and Fri’s. Since my job primarily consists of working on the computer and talking on the phone, I didn’t get a lot of exercise. However, I had already started going to the gym on my lunch breaks earlier in 2011. From about Oct. 2011 to Mar. 2012, I was hitting the gym diligently for a 30 minute workout. First thing I did when I got to the gym was run on a treadmill for 15 minutes. This, to me seemed counter-intuitive since I I have a treadmill at home, and didn’t need to be paying a gym to use theirs. Since the gym was about a mile and half up the road from the office, it made perfect sense to run to the gym, skip the treadmill, and jump right in to my workout upon arrival. As a bonus, I got a quick “cool-down” run back to the office. It worked so well, I didn’t miss a beat, and I felt energized for the rest of the day. The run to the gym one way was about 1.5 miles. It was an easy run, but perfect before and after my workouts.That equated to about 6 miles per week. In March of 2012, I began working from home exclusively. So, I cancelled the gym membership and needed to find something else to do. I got a lot of exercise building a chicken coop and installing a pool myself before our July vacation. This is when my good friend suggested I run a marathon with him.

The timing was really great I guess. I had the spring chores wrapped up and was on vacation. What was I going to do to stay in shape when I got back? I took my friend up on his offer. In fact, I bought shoes and began running on my vacation. My first runs were along Lake Michigan and ranged from 2-3 miles each. I kept it up when I got back and ran the month of July… when our real training schedule didn’t start until August. August hit, and I was already in the groove. I was doing 7-8 minute miles and could do them pretty effectively, it seemed. I found my pace, and carried the water on my back.

I did my runs in the mornings. Runs under 8 miles could be done before I took the kids to school. When the miles increased above that, I had to run them after I got home… but before the work day got crazy. I started feeling pain in both my hips if I ran anything over 6 miles. That’s when I took a closer look at my form and got advice from others as well as checking out the local running store. It was a little weird identifying and correcting my running form, but I did… and the pain wasn’t there after my runs. So, I ran forward!

In all, I missed a total of 3 workouts, and 2 were near, the beginning of my training schedule. I missed a later 17 mile run only due to freezing rain. I have run many times in the rain before, but had to draw the line at freezing rain. Once in the groove, I stuck to it and didn’t miss a beat. When the runs got over 10 miles, the pain started coming back. Upon closer inspection, it appeared as I tired, I was falling out of form. Here is where I learned the importance of conserving energy. I slowed my pace. I was running 7:36 miles… and I was forcing myself to run marathon pace of 8:23 at least for the bulk of the run. Then, if I had the energy towards the end of the runs, I would burn out the remaining miles. It worked good for me. Because I conserved my energy, it took longer to “fall out of form.” There’s no doubt that long distance running requires decent running form. When you identify and correct it, the feeling is something great.

My first marathon stats.
My first marathon stats.

As the miles increased, something new seemed to pop up–random pains here and there. Each was a challenge to be conquered. I already eat a decent diet and have been avoiding processed foods since Dec. 2010. Since then, I dropped from 190 (my heaviest,) to 175. I always stayed around 175, but by the time marathon day came, I was down to 160 and it felt great. My diet is nothing calculated, and I don’t spend time counting calories. However, I most meals are made by myself or I’m very aware of what’s in it. By eating “honest” food in moderation… be it plants, meat or anything, you will more easily lose weight, and feel better. The feel better part is the result of keeping preservatives and other scary scrap jammed in to processed foods out of your body. Still, I didn’t eat a serious runners diet, but this year, it will be my goal to gravitate more towards one. I love vegetarian meals, but alas, I also love meat… and in fact, I’m just delving in to Charcuterie… the art of curing and drying meats. This is another blog 🙂

I’ll spare you the play by play of my marathon day run, but let’s just say I’m happy. I did carry my water on my back and blazed past all the water and Gu stops. My friend and I set out to do a 3:40 marathon, and I nailed a 3:46. I didn’t know how decent that was at the time until I told other runners ad got their response. When the final results were in, I saw that of the 5000 people who ran the full marathon, 2900 people finished it, and I was number 386.  Looking back, I can count a number of things that slowed me down, or things I could have done better. Because of this, I now feel I have to do it again! However, the next marathon will probably be a half marathon. Why not? I’ll do a half marathon… then, perhaps commit to another full one later.

So, to all the people that have heard me mention this was my first marathon, and likely my last, sorry to disappoint. It’ s looking like I need to step it up a notch, all in the name of good health. For any novices that are interested, here is the training schedule I maintained for my first 26.2, along with my actual times for each run. The 3 items in red were the 3 runs I missed. Items highlighted in green meant that I beat the suggested run time. I hope this inspires at least one person to possibly give a full or half marathon a try. Maybe I’ll see you at “the pig.”

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Filed Under: friends, health, outdoors Tagged With: friends, health, outdoors

Process a white tail deer at home

November 22, 2012 by Jason 1 Comment

As we comb the archives of Morgan tradition, we see many actions aimed at protecting out environment. As “dwellers by the water,” “at harmony with nature,” we’ve gardened, foraged, hunted, lived off the land, and even built dams for flood control. I’m sure there were some adverse side-affects there, but helping out population grow during the TVA was a big job. Keeping our environment as pristine and unadulterated as possible has been a paramount objective.

Right around the time I turned 30, these inborn traits emerged. I found myself interested in many of the same things my father was in to like, antiques, gardening and growing our own food, making things by hand, and acquiring things naturally. To me, nothing is more rewarding than doing something that took some effort to achieve. There’s a lot to instill in our children to keep them humble and remind them that anything worth having takes work to get it. We aim to do things honestly, ethically, and exist by the labor of our own hand.

Hunting is one of the traditions that I try to keep alive. At first, I paused at the thought of taking an animal’s life, but reminded myself that we were all once hunters, and if we’re diligent in using every part of that animal that we can, then we’re no worse off than those killing for sport.

I’ve acquired a taste for venison… be it jerky, steaks, or grinding into sausage. I use chicken, pork and rabbit too, but venison has become a seasonal treat. When hunting season rolls around, I set a goal on what I want to take, prepare and execute my plan… and let the deer processing commence. Here, I’ll document my particular process of processing a white tail deer over a series of videos. Also enjoy some pictures below. The camaraderie among friends is one of the best parts of processing your deer.

Note: The following is not for the squeamish. Please… spare me any comments about animal cruelty. I can assure you that the animals I take are taken in the most ethical way possible.

Field Dressing

Separating the primals and roasts

Some of the beauty of getting out and hunting.
Some of the beauty of getting out and hunting.
Indiana White Teail Deer
Indiana White Teail Deer
Indiana White Teail Deer. The fun you see when hunting.
Indiana White Teail Deer. The fun you see when hunting.
Processing white tail deer.
Processing white tail deer.
Processing white tail deer.
Processing white tail deer.
Processing white tail deer.
Smoking white tail deer.
Smoking white tail deer.
Grinding deer for sausage.
Grinding deer for sausage.
Grinding deer for sausage.
Processing deer with friends.
Processing deer with friends.
Processing deer with friends.
Part of the fun of processing deer is eating some.
Part of the fun of processing deer is eating some.
Processing white tail deer.
Processing white tail deer.
Processing white tail deer.
Processing white tail deer.
Processing white tail deer with friends.
Processing white tail deer with friends.
Processing white tail deer with friends.
Processing white tail deer with friends.
Processing white tail deer with friends.
Processing white tail deer with friends.
Processing white tail deer with friends.
Making deer sausage.
Making deer sausage.

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AllMorgan started as a family blog to keep extended family and friends around the world apprised on what's going on at our Indiana homestead. It always been a cross between a family diary and photo … Read more

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