Yes, Deer! Baby it's cold outside -
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AMERICAN TREE FARM SYSTEM Mountain Mead Farm has been a member for 25 + years!
Being a good steward of land means being involved in WOOD - WATER -
RECREATION - WILDLIFE in many ways throughout the year.
When the first snows arrive we use our 4X4 tractor with a back scraper and chains all around to open roads connecting two deer browse areas on either side of the Christmas Tree fields. We do this to insure good movement for food and escape paths if needed.
When apples are abundant our white-tailed deer will have abundant food supply early on. As we are situated near the northern extreme of the white-tailed deer's range, functional winter habitats are essential to maintain stable populations of deer.
This red maple bud may not seem like much to us, but after being hungry for three months the deer are excited to have fresh food. We have marked red (soft) maple for next year’s fire wood for friends and we will cut them down for deer food. The small deer will come running when they hear the chain saw and immediately start to feed. As their hunger is stronger than their fear it is impossible to get them to run away. So, we simply move to the next area and wait for the deer to catch up.
We wait until late summer to brush hog our fields making sure the ground birds are all flying and we are not disturbing their nests. But in early summer we do brush hog around the perimeter of the fields for paths and escape routes, but only after I have walked the path to make sure our new critters are not in the way. Occasionally we see a treasure like this new born fawn and hope that in some way that our love for animals has somehow helped them be healthy so we may enjoy them for years to come.
DAVID JAMIESON, REALTOR BROKER
802-522-6702