Bollingbrook Plantation

Change in direction

2009-12-20T06:19:00.000-08:00

If its alright with you, I am going to expand the depth and breathe of the Bollingbrook Blog. The farm in Georgia is my passion, my escape and my neverending project. In order to better coomunicate my sporting life, however, I will now be including stories and reports from my entire sporting life, not just those events thsat happend at Bolingbrook. As with everything else in life, one must sometimes travel away from home to better apprieciate it.

Quail Hunting at P Arrow Plantation

2009-12-20T05:53:00.000-08:00

Most of my days chasing quail have been spent in the famed south Georgia quail belt. So when my friend Jeremy Brown invited me to accompany him to the P Arrow plantation in the heart of Alabama's Black Belt, I was more than just curious about the quaility of hunting I would find.
The lodge at P Arrow is beautiful, a refined southern quail lodge that immediately feels like home. The proprietor, Drayton Pruitt is the quintessential southern gentlemen, and he welcomed us with a wide smile and warm greetings, I could tell immeditely Drayton operated P Arrow more for the love of the outdoors than the love of the profits derived from such a buisness.
Our hunt was lead by our guide Wesley and the dogs were handled and points called by Pete who rode ahead of our jeep atop a fine Tennessee Walker. Unlike the endless sea of open pine forest one finds in South Georgia, P Arrow's land is a mix of rolling wood lots and open fields. The property harkens back to the way southern quail hunts used to be. Quail love edges and P Arrow has plenty.
Lunch was served afield overlooking a beautiful horseshoe shaped lake that I am sure was home to many largemouth bass. We hunted our was back in the afternoon, rotating pairs of guns between the four of us. The two none shooters relaxed aboard the jeep and never missed an opportunity to comment on the missed shot of one of our friends.
The day ended where it started, at the lodge. To my suprise, Mr. Pruitt's favorite pointer, who was locked up on a covey just an hour before, was curled up on the couch enjoying a warm fire and college football, and I was more than happy to join my new hunting friend.

for more info see: http://www.parrow.net/

Whitetails at Bollingbrook

2009-12-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

While my days in the field have been limited, they have been productive. On the 6th of Decemeber a mature 8 point stepped into our south field to freshen the scrapes he had established weeks earlier. As I saw him, I was reminded of the story of the 8 point my father had seen one one year earlier. This was the same buck, undoubtly. He had not grown and it was obvious this deer was maxed out. At 150 yards my model 700 30-06 found both lungs and the old buck was anchored to the ground. Hopefully, this is not the largesat buck harvested at the farm this year, but if it is the season will still be considered a success.

Spring Creek Co-Op

2009-12-09T13:06:00.001-08:00

I am really excited about the recent develops in Early County Georgia. A couple of weeks ago while visiting with our neighbors I learned about a group interested in promoting Quaility Deer Management in our area by way of a cooperative among landowners. The name of the group is Spring Creek Cooperative, and I am proud to report that Bollingbrook Plantation is now a member.

The group's goal is to promote a quality deer heard within the Spring Creek/Early County Area by taking only mature bucks ( 4 1/2 years or older) and controlling the doe population in order to have a more equal ratio. I think this is really going to improve the hunting for us and everyone else in the area. Its also easy for us because we have been practicing QDM since we bought our farm. This is the link to the site http://springcreekcoop.com/

2009 Update

2009-01-22T20:07:00.000-08:00

My apologies for the absence of new posts. I have a few updates that may be of interest. First, we have planted an additional 27 acres in longleaf pine. This was done last week, just in time for a good rain. Our forester is one of the most upstanding individuals in the industry and I am always happy to see his prompt and expertly executed handy work. In a week or so we will burn a large portion of our pineland which will result in one of my favorite sights, the explosive rebirth of the forest in the spring.

Also, my father has begun the undertaking of rasing quail at his home for release at the farm. The idea is to release young quail that will take up residence at Bollingbrook and procreate. We will see...

Finally, turkey season is approaching and although my spring schedule is full of family, work and a trip to Argentina I hope to try my hand at calling in a tom once or twice. However, luck usually sides with the longbeard when the hunter has as little time in the woods as I. Till next time.

Our new President

2009-01-22T19:49:00.000-08:00

My son is not yet one year old, however, he has already felt the cold chill of a winter morning on his face, seen ducks fly over his head, deer feed in fields, dogs retreive game and sat in a field of wild paper whites with his cousins. My son will know the outdoors. He will understand the beauty that is all around him and the peace and understanding it can bring.

The last time we were in at Bollingbrook these thoughts ran through my head the entire weekend, How can it be that the man who is going to lead our country barely knows it. Yes, he knows the problems, and the opportunities and exist in our citites. Does he know the wonders that exist in our country's wild places? I don't think so. I do know that for the first time in a long time, and maybe ever, we have a president who is not a sportsman, not an outdoorsman. He does not fish, ride, hunt, walk in the woods or do any of the things that bring so much meaning to me and many of the people I know.

I am in no way against our new President, I wish him great success, we all need a great leader at this point in our history. But, I also believe that part of the American spirit lives in its wild places, and to not know those places is to not know all of America.

A Quick Trip

2008-12-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

The immortal words from Jimmy Buffett rang true this week,

..."I ran away from politics, its too bizarre at home"

Don't tell anyone but I ditched work on Tuesday afternoon and and headed to Bollingbrook. By 10:30 on Wednesday I was on the road, headed home, and back to work, with a proverbial B-12 shot of God's Country in me. Unfortuantely, or fortunately, I will need another soon.

As I made my way through the front gate I was greeted by a beautiful Accipiter, perched on a newly planted sawtooth oak. Of course I left my camera in Pensacola, so I have no proof of how close he let me get to him before he lifted off to a safer perch much higher in an enormous pecan tree.

The pond is filling up due in large part to three days of rain, and with more in the forecast, worries will hopefully be submerged.

The hunting was ok, nothing special, but it was beautiful and solitary. I saw the usual cast of young bucks, that remind me of adolescent boys at a high school dance. The young bucks are constantly roaming this time of year, not running, not walking, not eating, but smelling the air for Ms. Right. The mature bucks are fashionable late, and won't make apperance until the time is right. With any luck I will be there too. Stay tuned.

Weekend Report

2008-11-25T09:17:00.000-08:00

The activity is heating up ayt Bollingbrook as the rut approaches. I saw quite a few deer this past weekend. At least 10 deer on two seprate hunts. We seem to have alot of young bucks as well, everytime I've sat in a stand I have seen at least one buch, however, most are about the same size and age as the two pictured above. Nevertheless, as the rut appraoches, the big boys will start moving more.

First Published Photo

2008-11-19T12:48:00.000-08:00

Great News! A photo that I took at the farm was recently published in the University of Florida's IFAS Extension Gardening in the Panhandle Newsletter. This is very exciting because it represents my first published photograph. It looks like I am on my way to being a full time wildlife photographer and blogger. Ha, yeah right! Nevertheless, I am very excited for my early fall whitetails that made the newsletter. Hopefully this is the first of many. Honestly, it motivates me to get out there and take more photos. check the link below to read the newsletter, not only does it have Bollingbrook Plantation whitetails in it, but its also a very informative publication.
http://santarosa.ifas.ufl.edu/documents/November-DecemberColor.pdf

Spring Creek Lodge

2008-11-17T12:44:00.000-08:00

The photos above were taken recently at a neighboring farm called Spring Creek Lodge which is owned by Nick Collins. Along with having a beautiful place, Nick is a great story teller, and serves good strong drinks. In other words, he's my type of guy. Great photos and great looking bucks as well. I'm getting excited about this weekend.

Photogentic Young Buck

2008-11-08T12:53:00.000-08:00

This young guy was photographed by my father yesterday afternoon. Obviously he's a young deer, but he looks healthy and in a couple of years could be a fine buck. I'm always amazed at how relaxed young bucks are and how much they change as they grow older. Catching a photo of a mature deer would be quite a feat, but for this guy its no big deal. In fact, when I retrieved my trail camera this morning, the display screen said I had 1200 photos. Not suprisingly the same buck was photographed hundreds of times. I won't bore you with duplicates, but I will say this young buck needs to wise up if he wants to survive the winter. I can't garauntee our neighbors will be as benelovant as we are.

I had a fine morning hunt today: 1 seven point, 2 six points (not Mr. Photogentic), 5 does, 2 montpillier woodpeckers, and 10 squirels. The cherry on top was the covey of 20 quail I flushed on my way back to the house. Being able to see the variety of wildlife that lives on our farm in one morning is one of the most rewarding things for me.

Duck Pond: Update

2008-11-08T12:40:00.000-08:00

As I write this entry there are two tractors and one bull dozier creeping along in a clockwise pattern. Each one taking dirt from one area and depositing it in another. At its deepest point the pond is 12 feet deep, at least. It measures 175 feet long and 225, just under 1 acre. Its amazing how big it looks though. The tractors are dwarfed inside the pond. The well is in place and now we are waiting for the completion of the earth movers.

Weekend Doves

2008-11-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

I was not able to make it to Bollingbrook this past weekend. My son's first Halloween and a Halloween party planned by my wife kept me close to home. I was able to slip away on Saturday afternoon for a dove hhunt at a friend's house in Baldwin County, Alabama.
A very cool morning gave way to a warm and sunny afternoon, I spent the afternoon on the edge of loblolly pine plantation overlooking a wheat field, with my lab jeb at heel. As it is with most dove shoots, its more about the food, and visting with frieds that the actually shooting. Nevertheless, I bagged a hanful of doves, and was delighted that Jeb's first day in the field this season was an absolute success. He made bee line retievers on all of my birds, and helped one another shooter on three more. Jeb's manners and abilities always make me overestimate my training prowess. Jeb is a natural, I am not, we both had alot of fun though.

A Worthwhile Read

2008-10-30T06:27:00.000-07:00

If you are reading this blog then chances are you are interested in wildlife, and wild places. I would like to pass along a recommendation for book I just finished for the second time, For a Handful of Feathers, written by Guy de la Valdene. I read this book for the first time probably 5 years ago and at that point was ignorant to the work and effort that goes into shaping a piece of land into a haven for wildlife.

For a handfl of Feathers is one year look at an 800 acre quail farm located in the redhills of North Florida, approximately a hour south of Bollingbrook. Valdene shares his thoughts on quail management, hunting philisophy and even his culinary adventures with wild game. These topics have always been of great interest to me, but after having my own place and working to shape every square inch into my vision Valdene's words have much more meaning than the first time around.

While at times the frenchmen is less than complementary about southern cooking, and deer hunters. I can't say that I disagree with him on many isssues. Furthermore, Guy de la Valdene is successful in his elequent description of the joy, pride, heartache and frustration that comes with hunting quail, living with bird dogs and working one's own land.

October 24th, 2008 - Sparring Match

2008-10-29T16:04:00.000-07:00

I arrived at the farm on Thursday afteroon excited to see how the pond was coming along. I was amazed when I made the first turn on the two track road and saw at the bottom of the hill, a deep red clay whole much larger than we had planned. Gerald said it was going to work and I really didn't have a choice but to believe him. Shortly thereafter the rain came and did not stop until Friday afternoon. I spent the day inside with Krisitn and Hudson just relaxing, and watching our duck pond fill up with water.
When the rain broke I snuck out to the big field to sit for a hour or so before dark. Bored, I decided to get down and walk. As I approached the point where the planted longleaf meets the soybean field I saw two does wander out into the field. I sat on the ground and enjoyed the show, minutes passed and six more deer where in the field including two 2 1/2 year old six point bucks who put on quite a sparring match for me. The wind was in my face and and the wet conditions supressed my scent so much so that two of the does came within 15 feet of me! They never spooked and as the moved to the low end of the field I crept up and back towards the house.

This weekend at Bollingbrook

2008-09-13T10:55:00.001-07:00

I had the chance to spend a little time with my dad away from the office and at Bollingbrook this weekend. With the various hunting season and cool weather (hopefully) on the way we had some serious work that needed to be done. Luckily for us we have one of the finest dozier operators in southwest Georgia at our disposal, Gerald McGaha. We are constanlty coming up with projects for Gerald to work on, one thing we have found out is that you need the right equipment to get a job done and Gerald does a wonderful job.

This weekend we got a start on the duck pond, a project I mentioned in an earlier post, we cleared a new food plot in some planted pines and we moved two tripod stands. Finally, I must have pushed over 50 undesirable dead trees that had been poinsoned by a chop and spray application we did last spring. Our place is really looking great and I am truly proud to be a steward of it.

New Toy

2008-09-11T17:41:00.001-07:00

We have a new toy here at Bollingbrook! I took it out for a spin Thursday afternoon and it is a smooth riding vehicle! Plus it seats six and still has room for all the dogs, equipment, coolers, game, etc...

We need a name for it though, what do you think?

New Projects Part 1: Operation Duck Pond

2008-09-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

We have been discussing the prospect of constructing a duck pond on the plantation. We have quite a few spots in mind, however, this photo represents what we think will be a good location for the first one. As you can see there is a ditch to the right of the pond area where the water has been flowing, so the area stays wet all the time. We would need to use a dozier to dig it out and construct a small dam where the current road is.

I think it would be a great spot to attract ducks and dove. Plus, its close to the lodge, so the view from the front porch would be enhanced.

If anyone has any thoughts on construction methods for ponds, or about the location, etc. let me know. I would love to have some feedback before we start pushing dirt around.

More Trail Cam Photos

2008-09-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

A buddy of mine sent this photo to me, its from a Merriweather County Georgia. What a great buck! I hope we have one or two like this at Bollingbrook.

p.s. I know I've been heavy on whitetail photos, there's more variety on the way.

While We were there...

2008-09-02T17:27:00.000-07:00

In my last post I shared some photos that were taken with the trail camera. These photos were taken with my Canon last Friday afternoon. I love how red the deer are this time of year.

When we are away...

2008-08-31T11:46:00.001-07:00

My wife Krisitn gave me a digital trail camera for christmas last year, and its awesome! Check out the photo album link below to see what's been happen at Bollingbrook the past couple of weeks. I have repositioned the camera to what I hope is a more active area for wildlife, The camera was setup close to the main entrance so I had plenty of photos of our caretaker coming in and out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30077375@N02/sets/72157607039830356/show/

Welcome!

2008-08-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the blog for Bollingbrook Plantation, a small patch of woods, fields, and swamps located in Southwest Georgia. Bollingbrooke is many things; a retreat, where plenty of hard work is done and plenty of relaxing too! We have alot of fun at Bollingbrook and this blog will keep up with all the actvities we enjoy.
I think we have finally turned the corner on a long hot summer and thoughts of cool mornings in the piney woods are filling my mind. More updates coming soon on the approaching season at Bollingbrook.