The state of Texas holds what are known as draw hunts. These hunts are by lottery drawing and are mainly management hunts. In 2003, Richard and I went on a management hunt at the Gus Engeling Wildlife Management Area. After the 5:30 am meeting with the Game Wardens we were assigned our area and off we went. After finding a place to park the truck I set out the map and took a compass reading then walked into the woods. Richard did the same.

I followed a creek for a while when I came upon a likely trail that headed into the center of our area and off I went. After about thirty minutes of stalking, the trail opened up into a clearing that was about 80 yards across. I picked a tree on the edge of the clearing that gave the best field of view. Once seated against the tree I waited for the deer. The sun was on my right side with the temperature in the low 50’s and a light wind in my face. It didn’t take long before I was in the middle of one of the best naps of my life.

Soon afterward I felt like something was looking at me. I slowly opened my eyes but saw nothing. Then slowly turning my head to the left I saw a buck about ten feet away staring at me. He stood motionless as our eyes met. In that instant my mouth went dry, my heart was pounding in my throat and my palms were wet with sweat. Neither of us moved. Ever so slowly my right hand inched its way to the 44 magnum handgun on my left hip. When my fingers felt the cold grips of the handgun, Mr. Buck cocked his head to the right and with an “up yours” look on his face, took off. He made it to the opposite side of the clearing before I could “skin that smoke wagon”. It was a surreal meeting and is one of the highest points of my hunting life.

After catching my breath I looked at the compass, got my heading, and off I went to the truck. I kept glancing at the compass but my head was filled with meeting Mr. Buck. After about 20 minutes of walking, I started to question my direction. Yes, I looked at the map and then talked myself out of the direction I was going. That was a mistake. I did make it back to the truck after an hour and about 2.5 miles of extra walking.
I did shoot a nice old doe on the trip. I also learned that my dead reckoning skills were not what they use to be. The next weekend I bought my first GPS. Haven’t been lost since. Have a safe hunting season!

Take a look at our October History for important events that happened this month.  Makes a great trivia game, too!

October 2, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court saw the first African American associate justice as Thurgood Marshall was sworn in.

October 6, 1927, “The Jazz Singer” opened in New York starring Al Jolson. This was the first full-length feature film using spoken dialogue.

October 7, 1985, the Italian passenger ship Achille Lauro was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists. Leon Klinghoffer, an elderly Jewish wheelchair-bound American, was shot and his body thrown overboard.

October 14, 1912, Former President Theodore Roosevelt was shot by John Schrank while campaigning in Milwaukee. He was saved by his thick overcoat, a glasses case, and a 50 page folded speech that slowed the bullet. He made the 90-minute speech with a bullet lodged in his chest.

October 14, 1947, the first man to break the sound barrier is U.S. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager.

October 20, 1818, the 49th parallel becomes the border between the U.S. and Canada.

October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy informed America of the existence of Russian missiles in Cuba. He demanded their removal and announced a naval blockade of Cuba. Russia announced they would remove the weapons six days later. The U.S. later removed missiles from Turkey.

October 30, 1938, Orson Welles and the Mercury Players dramatized the story by H.G. Wells “War of the Worlds” on a radio broadcast that panicked millions of Americans.

Enjoy Wells Brothers October History and come see us for all your pet, lawn, and garden needs.

Cover crop planting time has arrived. There are multitudes of reasons to plant a cover crop. They range from wanting to add green manure (nitrogen) to the soil to resting the gardener. Planting crops that have a nitrogen-fixing ability (legumes) will yield green manure in the spring. Some of the most common legumes are peas, beans, clovers, and vetches. To get the most from these crops you must inoculate the seeds prior to planting. Some inoculants are specific to the type of seed, so make sure you get the correct one. Any excess inoculant you have should be added to the garden soil.

Cereal grains such as wheat, oats, rye and cereal type rye are cover crops that do not require inoculants. Cereal type rye will also trap root nematodes. They have no nitrogen-fixing ability but will help with soil compaction, weed suppression and add a tremendous amount of organic material back into the garden in the spring. All cover crops should be buried when planted.

When spring comes there are three ways to handle the cover crop. One method is to cut back the cover crop and then plant the veggies. The second method is to kill the cover crop with an appropriate herbicide at the recommended rate about a month before you plant your garden. The third is to turn (or till) the entire cover crop into the soil about two weeks before you plant. If you planted a grass type crop, make sure you add nitrogen or molasses.

Wells Brothers Pet, Lawn, and Garden Center has Elbon rye (cereal rye), wheat, oats, Crimson Clover (over and over), Hairy Vetch and Austrian Winter Peas as well as annual ryegrass. We also have the appropriate inoculants for these crops. Give us a try if this is an overseeding year.