Beat Summer Heat and Other Summer Fun

Here are some tips for beating the heat:

• Play in the pool!  Great for cooling off.  Play Marco Polo, have jump contests (biggest cannonball splash).
• If you don't have access to a pool, have a water balloon fight.  It's fun!  Make it more fun by playing games, like Capture the Flag, but instead of tagging throw balloons!
• Smaller kids can play in a sprinkler.  That's always a good thing to do if they can't swim.
• When its cooler in the evening, play some volleyball, badminton, and other fun games.

Scouting for.. Squirrels?

Yes.  It is quite easy.  Scouting for where squirrels are in the preseason is a great way to know where they are.  Here are some things to look for:

1. Nuts:  Nuts are must.  Oaks, Hickory, Beech.  Any squirrel food source (including crops like corn).  Identifying nice squirrel food also might help with finding nice deer food sources (both like acorns and corn for example).  Look also for opened nuts on the ground.
2. The squirrels themselves. 
3. Look for the nests.  They look like big balls of branches in a tree.  Squirrels also use hollow parts in a tree for nests.  

Knowing where squirrel habitat is and how much of it there is can help a lot in wildlife management.  You know a rough population of squirrels and can know how many to harvest in the future.

Scouting Tips

Today I'll talk about some things I have learned and come up with for helping me scout in the hunting off season.  Both are helpful in ways that you may not have to go into the field (you still have to, but these lessen the time).

Google Earth
Great program.  Use place markers to mark spots of stands, blinds, points of interest, etc.   Trails can be marked also.  Use them to mark out logging roads (if any), trails, any other thing related to paths.

Printable Maps
I use a downloaded topo map and printed it and marked down all the sighting I had of deer and used them to locate likely spots for next season.

Fishing Tip

Fishing is fun.  A great way to enjoy the outdoors.  I'll give a new tip I learned on my last time fishing.

I fish in a pond that is mostly round.  But there is one part that makes a little point in it.  A little bay almost.  I fished in that little "bay" and I caught fish every time I went there.  So here is what I am saying.  While fish may be in the bigger body of water, look in small bays in lakes and ponds, because fish will gather in calm water and the small fish feel a little more secure.

Food Plots

Food plots are very important to wildlife.  Providing food, and, depending on the type of plant and animal, even cover.

What to Plant

Plants that you can plant on your own are included here:

Clover
Clover is one of the most popular food plot plants out there.  A good food source that provides protein, deer love it.  Given good care (mowing, fertilizing), clover can last forever.

Corn
Also a favorite of hunters, corn is a deer magnet.  If the corn field is big enough, it can provide ample food and cover for a bunch of whitetails.  But, don't rely on corn as your only food source, it can run out (depending on how much you planted).  You may need to plant another type of grass or clover to provide more food.

Others
Other seeds include: the popular soybean, wheat, turnips, chicory, buckwheat, and others.

Popular food plot brands that sell seeds and food plot blends include: Whitetail Institute, Antler King,       and BioLogic.

Care For Your Plot

Food plot plants don't prosper by themselves, they need help to grow.  Here is a few tips on helping the plant get their maximum potential:

• Increase pH.  7.0 pH is the target for soil acidity, which is neutral.  Check your pH with a soil tester or send it to a lab.  Once you know the pH, if needed, lime your plot to increase it (pH).  The lower the acidity, the better the plants.
• Once you have improved pH, you can fertilize.  Use a fertilizer that will target your specific food plot plant (or plants) needs.  Antler King has come up with great fertilizer's Plot Max and Jolt.  Both help increase pH and increase the amount of food plot foliage.

Tip

• When you don't use brand name seeds to plant you plot, it may be helpful to plant a mixture of seeds,  because different plants provide different nutritional needs for deer.

A good food plot will pull in deer from around your property and the surrounding properties, if put in the right place.  Happy hunting!