Farm and Ranch Living November 2020

November 2020

Here We Go Again Horace McQueen See page 3

Wee Thanksgiving Baxter Black See page 5

Dead Eye Virginia Luce Matt Williams See page 7

Hay for the holidays

By PennyLynn Webb

T

Palestine Herald-Press

he holidays are a great time to drive through East Texas. Whether you are traveling to visit relatives, or just looking at the changing autumn leaves, now is the perfect opportunity to take the scenic route. You might even find some fun fall art.

Sprinkled throughout the countryside, farming and ranching families use hay bales to get creative and create outdoor holiday decor. From wreaths and pumpkins, to larger-than-life Teddy bears, you never know just what you’ll find hidden along the road.

Beth and Don Bolton, owners of Rockin’ B Ranch, with the help of their daughter-in-law, Tabetha Paysse, have created a Christmas scene for their neighbors and locals to enjoy on Anderson County Road 118.

According to Beth, the bales originally said “Trump 2020,” and featured a picture of the President.

“We didn’t want to further waste the bales we used, so Tabetha drew up a Christmas scene,” Beth said.

Beth said Tabetha is the creative one and she is just her helper. The hay creation took two-six-hour days of work to complete, incorporating a few square bales to finish the look they were going for.

With some elbow grease, paint and a pair of Santa Claus legs, the duo put together a gingerbread house See HAY on Page 3

Tis’ the Season

5 Ways to Prepare for Holiday Gatherings

By Danielle Hammond-Krueger, MPH, RD, LD, Extension Program Specialist, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

L

iving with pre-diabetes or diabetes can sometimes result in wondering what to do with food at gatherings around this time of year. Should you enjoy in bliss or restrict yourself? Well, it can be a happy balance between these options.

The holidays should be a time we can feel confident in our choices but enjoy our time together. The tips below can help you prepare for events that come your way!

1. Remember to enjoy the season. No one wants to worry about having a good time and about the foods we choose. Take this time to give yourself a bit of grace. Enjoy time with your family or friends without the worry of food. You can still prepare for food choices and participate in holiday gatherings.

2. Does it spark joy? Not just for organizing your home, asking yourself if you really enjoy the food can make deciding on what to eat easier. It’s the time when you sit down for a meal and everything looks delicious. Take a moment to think about the foods you enjoy the most. Mushrooms, not your thing? Then pass on the stuffed mushrooms and choose a food which you have been looking forward to.

3. Check-in with your body. When you sit down for a meal, take a moment to as-

See FOOD on Page 3

Volunteering

Community garden grows more than plants

By Michelle Dillon

S

Jacksonville Progress

tudents from Jacksonville College recently participated in a volunteer workday at the Community Garden inside Nelly Crim Park, located at the corner of Myrtle Drive and Cherokee Trail in Jacksonville.

The students, all part of Dr. Gerald Hawkins’ biology classes, assisted with planting vegetables and fruit trees and preparing no-till gardening beds for spring.

The purpose of the students’ visit was more than to simply volunteer. There is a plan to establish a garden at the college and the day of service at the park served as part of their education.

“We were studying photosynthesis and I thought that [school garden] would be ideal in getting these young people engaged,” Hawkins said. “They seemed really receptive to the idea.”

The students will be planting pansies in front of the chapel next week in a beautification project so work on the garden is likely to begin in late November.

Monica Horne, one of the Jacksonville College students who will participate in creating a school garden, helped create no-till gardening beds in preparation for spring planting at Nelly Crim Park.

The no-till method used consisted of laying down layers of cardboard, potting soil and straw to a depth of approximately four inches, then watering the mix well.

“I thought it was kind of different because normally, whenever you plant, you dig into the ground,” Horne said. “This method, I feel is a lot better because it doesn’t disturb nature.”

The intent behind the community garden, which falls under the Em-food-power program of YOU! EMPOWER™, is to provide fresh produce to families in need and to educate individuals about gardening in See GARDEN on Page 3

Photo by Michelle Dillon

Kyle Bacon looks on as Dallas Buck loosens soil and untangles the roots of a Japanese persimmon tree before planting. Kim Benton, County Extension Agent-Horticulture, supervises their work.

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November 2020

East Texas Farm & Ranch Living

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Dead Eye Virginia Luce

Kitchen window whopper a refreshing highlight in budding list of East Texas big buck tales

By Matt Williams

I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

Outdoors Writer

T

exas’ 2020-21 white-tailed deer season is still young. Not surprisingly, there have already been some remarkable bucks taken by hunters all around the state. With the meat of the rut still ahead in some regions and lots of holiday hunting traffic sure to come, it’s a safe bet plenty more will surface before the season’s end.

Virginia Luce’s 11 pointer isn’t the biggest buck reported from eastern Texas this season, but the story behind her Houston County whopper is arguably one of the most refreshing to come down the pike in quite a while.

The veteran huntress from Kennard is a fourtime cancer survivor who retired just two months ago after working for 25 years as a registered nurse. Luce hasn’t missed a season opener in years, many spent on the 80-acre spread where she and her husband, Myrl, built their home back in the 1980s.

The property is conveniently located adjacent to the Davy Crockett National Forest.

The big woods gobble up more than 160,000 acres of real estate in Houston and Trinity counties. Family members are the only ones who get the green light to hunt on the couple’s little slice of heaven.

“It’s a pretty good spot,” she said. “My husband and I have hunted and fished together for our entire married life — 63 years. “I usually kill a buck every year, but we don’t allow anyone to shoot the momma deer. The way I see it, if you leave the girls alone, the boys will come.”

Luce turned 80 on her last birthday, her husband, 83. While neither gets around as well they used to, the lady hunter can still shoot a rifle as well as she ever did.

The couple keeps corn feeders going on the property each fall and they rely on game cameras to watch them. Luce has logged countless hours in hunting blinds over the years, but physical limitations have forced a change in strategy the last few seasons.

“I do all my hunting from the house now,” she chuckled. “My kitchen is my deer stand. We take the screen off one of the windows every fall. I can see a pretty good ways from there.”

Luce always keeps her trusty rifle close by during deer season, and the window sill makes a good rest just in case she needs it. She shot a .30-30 for years but claims she went to a flatter-shooting Remington .243 a few years ago so she could extend her range.

“That .30-30 is a great brush gun for East Texas, but I like my .243 pretty good, too,” she said. “It doesn’t kick near as hard, either.”

Big Bucks Online

Photo courtesy of Virginia Luce

Kennard huntress Virginia Luce with the Houston County 11 pointer she bagged from her kitchen window on Nov. 8. Luce, 80, dropped the buck with one shot from her .243 at 175 yards. The deer has been gross scored at 160 2/8 B&C.

Lunch Time Whopper Luce was at her post making lunch at around noon on Nov. 8 when she peeped out the kitchen window and saw what looked like a buck slipping along the edge of the national forest, about 175 yards away. Curious to get a better look, she grabbed her binoculars.

What she saw was a familiar face that came as somewhat of a surprise.

“It was a really big buck,” she said. “We’d seen him on our game camera at a feeder a few weeks back, but that was the last deer I expected to show up right here behind the house.”

Luce didn’t waste any time tending to business.

She poked her rifle barrel through the window, found the buck in her scope and touched the trigger as he slipped into a narrow lane near the edge of their property.

Mr. Luce, who was kicked back in a living room recliner watching television at the time, said he had no idea his wife was even looking at a deer until the rifle barked.

“She watches them all time in there,” he said.

“Right after the shot she hollered ‘well, that was the big one, daddy.’ That’s when I put my boots on, got on the tractor and went to load him up. He didn’t go far. She doesn’t miss very often.”

Of all the bucks the lady hunter has shot in her lifetime, Luce claims this one is by far the biggest.

“When I saw all those horns I thought was I seeing things — I’d never seen anything like it,” she said. “I got so excited about that deer that I can’t even remember what I was fixing for lunch.”

There was plenty to get excited about. Sporting 11 scorable points, including a split brow tine, the buck has been taped at 160 2/8 gross as a non-typical by Jacob Carter at McCarty Taxidermy.

“It a really neat looking deer,” Carter said. “And what a neat story. It’s not every day you hear about an 80-year-old woman shooting a big buck out their kitchen window!”

Other Big Boys As earlier mentioned, several other outstanding bucks have been reported from across the state in recent weeks, including several from East Texas counties as far north as Wood, Smith, Bowie and Red River to as far south as Polk, Tyler, Walker and Montgomery. Here are a few top-notch East Texas bucks you may or may not know about: * Pernell Davis, Trinity County 11 pointer: Splendora archer Pernell Davis’ free ranging 11 pointer from Trinity County may be best archery buck reported from the region thus far. Davis, 58, said the 8 1/2-year-old non-typical has been taped at 171 3/8 B&C. “I got on this deer in late-October and I told my wife I’d be home when I killed him,” Davis said.

The hunter finished the job several afternoons later, on Oct. 30, with a 22-yard shot. “He never knew what hit him,” he said. * Collin Moore, Nacogdoches County 17 pointer: The scoring verdict is still out on a massive non-typical taken in Nacogdoches County by Collin Moore of Central Heights, but the rack is sure to ring the bell thanks to 17 scorable points and tremendous mass resulting from the palmated main beams.

Moore shot the deer just before dark on the afternoon of Nov. 14.

“I’d seen him crossing a pipeline at 3:30 p.m. that afternoon, but he got across and never checked up,” he said. “I kept my rifle pointed that direction the rest of the day. I was looking at four does through my scope just before dark and he walked right out right into the crosshairs. That’s when I let him have it.” * Dustin Pridgen, Shelby County 14 pointer: Pridgen was hunting from a box blind on 50 acres on the afternoon of Nov. 15 when he shot one of the best bucks taken in Shelby County in quite some time.

The 14 pointer has been officially scored at 180 4/8 gross and 176 3/8 net for the Texas Big Game Awards program.

Pridgen, 27, said he got pictures of a buck a few seasons ago that looked remarkably similar, but he hadn’t seen any sign of him since and thought he was gone.

Others hunters knew

different.

“Not long after I posted pictures on Facebook I had lots of people contacting me saying they had been after him,” he said. “I know of at least three other hunters on land around me who had pictures of him.

Two of the best online sources for keeping tabs on the pulse of Texas deer hunting are texasbiggameawards.org (TBGA) and loscazadores. com.

TBGA is run jointly by the Texas Wildlife Association and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The program provides a recognition outlet for hunters who harvest quality big game animals and the land managers responsible for producing them. There are categories wild-raised white-tailed deer, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep and javelina.

The program is free for anyone to enter qualified harvests. Scored entries must be documented by an official TBGA or official B&C scorer.

The site maintains a fluid list of bucks taken across the state, including photos. The listings are broken into eight geographical regions, high and low fence.

Loscazadores.com links to one of the state’s most popular big buck contests.

Based in Pearsall, the contest is currently in its 34th season. For years the contest catered mostly to South Texas and Mexico hunters, but there are now multiple categories for deer taken in the Hill Country, West Texas and along the Gulf Coast.

There are several options for entering; basic entry is $40. The website maintains entries in 11 divisions with multiple categories in each one.

Photo courtesy of Collin Moore

On Nov. 14, Collin Moore was manning a box blind on 900 acres in northern Nacogdoches County when he bagged his big 17 pointer.

There was no official score on the rack at press time, but the buck is sure to score pretty high as a non-typical.

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East Texas Farm & Ranch Living

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Here We Go Again!

B

ack to the present, the cattle market is still suffering—often being up $5-$10 a hundred pounds one day and falling that much the next. Those folks needing to market cattle are in a quandary— looks like most of the sellers are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t! One friend suggested that when he takes cattle to the local sale barn and

learns that the market is “limit down” that day, he’ll just PO his offering and load up to sell another day. Sounds like a plan.

And for those who are watching the skies for some promise of rain, seems like we can’t hit a winning streak. Even the feral hogs are taking a break from ripping and snorting across our pastures—they are bedding up in damp areas and preparing

for the days ahead. All this is taking place plus the fact that the price for feral hogs is shot to heck. The buyers have backed water and those good folks who trap hogs for money are suffering as well.

In a normal time we should be seeing lots of ryegrass and other winter succulents starting to come up on our pastures. Those farmers who overseeded ryegrass,

often with clover seed, are still waiting for emergence—and it will take some good rains for that to take place. Meantime, the Covid-19 pandemic continues almost unabated. There are some things each of us can do to lessen the impact. Wear your mask when in public, stay away from places where crowds gather and be careful every time you leave home. Is that too much to ask?

HAY, continued from page 1

FOOD, continued from page 1

that anyone would be proud to have in front of their home.

They used another bale to paint a wreath and Christmas tree scene.

“On the bales we used for the gingerbread house, we painted a Christmas tree on the back to cover up the Trump art,” Beth said. “That’s also why we painted a tree on the side of the wreath bale, but if you look on the back of that bale, Trump’s head is still there.”

Beth said neither ranchers, nor their wives, would use their best quality hay for these types of projects, opting for old or low quality hay. And they do not it to feed to livestock afterward.

“You could bust up the bale and use the inside, however, we used quite a bit a paint on these roles, so we wouldn’t chance it,” Beth said. “When we are done, we’ll most likely dump them in a ravine after the holidays are over.”

Everyone invited to drive out and check out the Bolton’s ranch-style Christmas décor throughout the holiday season.

sess your hunger level? Did you just eat a snack, and the meal happens to be ready? Choose smaller portions first then assess whether or not you feel satisfied. It is easier to add food to your plate than return it to the pot!

If you eat a smaller amount because you’re not hungry you won’t find yourself on the couch trying to decide if the pie will fit onto your plate!

GARDEN, continued from page 1 order for them to become self-sufficient, according to Founder and Executive Director Sandra Fry. “We want people to be able to learn, to see this as an acquired skill. You learn how to assemble beds, how to prepare your soil – without good soil, you can give it up.

Planting, maintaining, harvesting, someone may take on a passion for it.

They may even want to do it as an entrepreneurship.

They may want to do it as a small business,” Fry said. “At the end of the day, everything we do is about training and developing people to become selfsustainable and to make a social impact as well as giving back to their community.”

The organization was founded in Nov. 2018, and has four core programs.

Getting Ahead in a Just-Geeting-by-World, Christian Women’s Job Corps, Lead to Learn and EM-Food-POWER. The community garden was established Oct. 23, 2019.

According to Fry, the first projects at the garden were the same as those the college students were assisting with, planting winter greens.

“At that time we had three raised beds and we put in mostly greens,” Fry said. “In the spring and summer of 2020, volunteers planted tomatoes, green beans, squash, eggplant, okra, peppers, zucchini, purple hull peas and melons.

“It graduated to 12 raised beds, and going into 2021, we expect to have 12 more raised beds, so we will have 24

in all. Additionally, we are preparing two no-till ground sections and raised bed plots for spring 2021 planting.”

Produce from the garden is provided to volunteer workers, elderly, shut-ins, and women and families in need, not only in Jacksonville, but throughout Cherokee County.

“We want to, at this inbetween stage, be able to serve up to 150 families,” Fry said. “Now that doesn’t sound like a large number, but we’re talking families.

It could be two people or eight people in one family.”

She further stated the organization hoped to serve up to 300 families within the next couple of years.

“It’s uplifting to be able to produce food,” Fry said.

“It’s about independence and a self-sustainable lifestyle.”

That’s –30—horace@valornet.com

YOU! EMPOWER depends upon the volunteer labor and monetary contributions from the public. The organization will host a month-long online fundraiser from Nov. 15 through Dec. 15. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, donations are tax deductible.

To donate to the online fundraiser, visit donate. seedmoney.org/4921/thecommunity-garden-ofjacksonville.

YOU! EMPOWER maintains a Facebook page and can be reached by email, sandra.fry@hotmail. com, or phone, (903) 3398605.

4. Divide your plate and portion to accommodate your carbohydrate choices. Wondering if you use your carbohydrate choices for the mashed potatoes or the dressing? Is this the one time of year you eat these foods?

Foods make the holidays special.

Depending on the number of carbohydrates you have for a meal allow yourself to fit these favorites into your plate. If you have 3 carbohydrates choices for a meal, look at the portion size and make it work for your plate.

5. Be mindful of how you fill your plate. If all else fails, use the diabetes healthy plate model. Fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables, one-fourth lean protein, one-fourth starchy foods, one serving of fruit, and one serving of dairy. In total it is about three to four carbohydrate choices which can help you keep to your diabetes plan without having to pull out your trusty measuring cups.

Fitting foods into your meals takes balance and practice. The tips listed are just a few of the many ways to enjoy the holidays without guilt.

If you would like to know more about diabetes and how to manage your health and food choices contact Lorie Stovall, Navarro county Extension Agent at lorie. stovall@ag.tamu.edu or 903-654-3075.

Photo by Michelle Dillon

Jacksonville College student Brooklyn Allison plants winter greens in one of the raised beds in the community garden at Nellie Crim Park.

4

East Texas Farm & Ranch Living

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November 2020

Is it too late to plant?

I

s it too late to plant?

Never! It is never too late to plant. The question simply becomes “What should I plant?”

Right now, the answer to that question is seeds. It is time for our cool season gardens, and hopefully all that time you spent pouring over the seed catalogs last winter payed off with seeds to plant right now.

Root vegetables are now about to have their time to shine – carrots, radishes, turnips, and parsnips even – are ready for soil and winter sunshine. Although less commonly grown in East Texas, parsnips grow exactly as a carrot does, and need the winter frost to develop the delicate sweet taste they are known for because they need to mature under cold weather conditions. The roots take

l00 to 120 days from seed to maturity and must be subjected to cold near the freezing point to change the starch to sugar and give the parsnip its flavor.

According to Dr. Jerry Parsons, parsnip roots may be left in the ground all winter or dug out in late fall and stored in the refrigerator. Gardeners who have had experience with parsnips indicate the flavor is enhanced if the roots are left in the ground throughout the winter.

The same can be said for Brussels sprouts regarding needing the cool weather to change the starches to sugar. They are truly a cool season crop and only have their best flavor when grown in the fall for us. For firm, good-quality sprouts plant them about 120 days before the first expected hard freeze, which for us

means planting in August or September. Although it is late for typical planting of Brussels sprouts, you can always plant them now and pinch them back to hasten the development of the sprouts, so that you can get good sweet sprouts to eat before that freeze that takes us below 20 degrees.

Kale is another crop whose taste improves with a touch of frost. This ‘super-food’ leafy green packs the best nutritional punch in the garden and is well worth trying out.

The young tender leaves can be harvested for use in salads, and the older leaves are best cooked.

In general, kale is a ‘cut and come again’ crop, and doesn’t store well, as it has a flavor change after about two weeks of refrigeration.

There are so many varieties of kale to choose from -

Photo by Toni Garrard Clay

Central Athens Elementary teacher Audrey Haley shows kindergartener Nixon Thompson how a calf is bottle fed. Students met the calf during recess throughout the day and were told how newborn calves must be cared for if they are orphaned.

What a great, handson experience!

We accept all Medicare Part D, WellCare & Humana.

Stop by and we’ll guide you every step of the way!

Palestine

Hometown Pharmacy

City-Wide Delivery & Drive-thru 903-729-3100 101 Medical Dr.

Tuscan or Lacinato kale (also called Dinosaur kale), winterbor, redbor, dwarf blue curled Scotch, dwarf blue curled vates, and green curled are among the best for us.

Beets are another yummy cool-season crop that can easily be grown with some attention to a few garden details.

Beets will no do well in an acidic garden, and are also very sensitive to boron deficiencies, so having your soil tested can help you have success with a beet crop.

Additionally, the seeds can take up to two weeks to germinate, which can seem like an eternity when you are waiting to see some sprouts. One way to shorten that wait is to soak the seeds for at least 24 hours before planting. Each ‘seed’ is actually a seed ball that contains two to four seeds inside, so once they do germinate, the sprouts should be thinned so that they are at least four inches apart. Both the young greens and the beet root are delicious and full of nutrition, and October is an excellent month to soak and sew those beet seeds.

Carrots are another delicious cool season treat for our East Texas gardens.

It always delights me to see the joy on kids faces when they pick a rainbow of carrot colors, and this is an excellent time to sow those seeds. Be sure to check the ‘days to harvest’ for the variety you are sowing because the best

attached, the roots get soft more quickly unless you keep them in a very humid environment.

Kim Benton

Cherokee County Horticulturist flavor will be once the roots have reached maturity.

One handy garden trick is to trim the greens as soon as you pull the carrots.

When you leave the greens

For more details on what to plant and when to plant it, see the garden guides from Texas A&M located at http://counties. agrilife.org/cherokee/ files/2019/09/East-TexasPlanting-Guide-Springand-Fall_Updated.pdf and https://agrilifeextension. tamu.edu/browse/ featured-solutions/ gardening-landscaping/ fall-vegetable-gardeningguide-for-texas/ or stop by the Extension office to get a paper copy.

November 2020

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East Texas Farm & Ranch Living

Support Agriculture Businesses... They are the Heartbeat of Our Economy

Wee Thanksgiving H

ow do you explain Thanksgiving to a 3 year old?

“A long time ago...”

“Yesterday?”

“No, more than yesterday. A bunch of people came in a big boat...”

“Pirates?”

“No, good guys and mamas and babies...”

“And boys, too?”

“Yup, and boys, too. But when they got in the woods they were hungry but they didn’t know what to eat.”

“And they had bears in the woods, and tigers.”

“Probably, but they didn’t see them. So they were hungry and walked around

looking for something to eat. And then came the Indians who lived in the woods.”

“With... with bows and arrows and shooting...?”

“No, no. The Indians said they would help them find something good to eat...”

“Like fruit bars and pop tarts and chickanuggets...”

“Well, the Indians said they should have a picnic and so the Indians got some turkeys to eat and they cooked’em and made fry bread and corn on the cob...”

“But no peas, but some cottage cheese and bread and honey...”

“Right, so they made a big table...”

“On the blanket...”

“Yeah, no table, just a big blanket and they all ate and ate till their stomachs were

full...”

“And the little boys, too?”

“And the little boys and little girls and little boy and girl Indians, all of ‘em ate... and then took a nap.”

“But the little boys no wanna take a nap. Little boys wanna play with bows and arrows.”

“Okay, but when everyone woke up they were happy. So the Indians shook hands and they all said Thanksgiving to each other and Thanksgiving to God...”

“And to Jesus and Pastor Mike and Grandmother Phyllis and to all the little boys.”

“Yup, and they said it was so much fun, let’s do it next year.”

“And tomorra or free days.”

“So now every year we have Thanksgiving with friends and eat a lot and say thanks for the blessings we have.”

“Bessing? What looks like, a bessing?”

“A blessing? Sometimes it looks like a little boy.”

“Like me?”

“Yup, sometimes it looks just like you.”

Growing trees = investing in the future Autumn is prime tree planting season

By Pam Denson Anderson County Master Gardeners

N

umerous studies have shown that access to trees and green spaces calm us and help to alleviate stress.

I could use a little extra stress relief this year. How about you? Trees are an investment of time and money, so we want to be sure that we plant them now, so that they have the best chance to not only survive, but to thrive with vigorous growth.

So, why now? Our most stressful season for our plants is our long, very hot, often dry summers.

This is especially true for our perennial plants, those that live for more than one season or year. By planting in the fall, trees have the best chance to grow a root system underground before they are stimulated by warm temperatures and long days of sunlight to leaf, bloom and bear fruit.

Newly planted trees will require regular water for at least their first year. Once they have established a healthy root system, they will be much better able to withstand the rigors of our summer droughts. This is especially true of our resilient native varieties.

So back to the technique of tree planting. Safety comes first. Always check for underground utilities before digging. One phone call to 811 from anywhere in Texas will route you to a state service which will alert you of underground pipelines, phone lines, water/sewer, and power lines. Local utility technicians will mark your property with flags within two full business days of the

request. There is no charge to you for this service. You may be surprised to find out where your buried utilities are located on your property. Remember to look up for overhead power lines as well. That five foot red oak that you plant today could be a 40 foot beauty in 10 years. So it’s usually best not to plant anything that will be taller than 15 feet full grown under a power line.

Now let’s talk about what kind of hole you will need for your new tree. How you dig this hole, place the dirt back around the roots, and mulch the surface can have a huge impact on the health and growth rate of your tree.

First, clear all of the plants, weeds and mulch from the site where you plan to plant the tree for a circle of about three feet across. Part of the purpose of this space will be to keep mowers and weed eaters from accidentally damaging the tender trunk of your new tree. This wound can be an entry point to the tree for insects and disease.

Now it is time to begin to dig. First, check the drainage of the site. This is called a percolation test.

Dig a one foot deep hole, fill it with water and see how long it takes to empty. If the water level drops less that one inch per hour, drainage is poor. This is often due to a strata of clay soil that can be hidden under the surface.

Remember, trees eat, drink and also breath through their roots, so standing water around a tree can be deadly.

If you have normal drainage, the hole should be about twice the width of the root ball, but only as deep as the root ball so that when you set the root ball in the hole, the soil line of the tree in the pot should match the

Photo courtesy of Metro Creative

surrounding soil or be one to three inches higher. This allows the roots to spread laterally which will help the tree to become more stable. Do not dig the hole too deep, this can cause the tree to settle deeper than is healthy for the feeder roots.

You will need to place the tree in the hole to judge if the hole is the correct depth. Leave the tree in its container to do this.

So what do you do if your percolation test looks more like Lake Palestine than a well drained home for a tree? Expand the hole to three to four times the width of the root ball and not quite as deep as the root ball.

Now you are ready to remove the container from around the roots. Don’t pull the tree up by its trunk. Lay the container on its side, push on the side as you rotate to loosen the soil and

roots, then carefully remove the pot from the tree. Look at the roots of the tree. Are they crowded in an almost solid mass? If the roots are “potbound” use your fingers or a blunt instrument (to minimize root tearing) to carefully tease the fine roots away from the tight mass and then spread the roots prior to planting. It is very important that these roots spread outward to gather nutrients and stabilize the tree. “Girdling” (when the roots continue to grow in a tight circle) can kill the tree, usually after 10 to 15 years.

This next step is awkward, but important. Handle the tree by the root ball, don’t lift it by the trunk, to place it in the hole. Make sure the tree is straight and then backfill the hole, using only the soil that you removed.

Do not use any soil amendments at this time.

Be sure to tamp down the

soil as you fill the hole and water it in well to eliminate air pockets and thoroughly settle the soil around the roots. This one time, you want to soak the root ball and surrounding soil. There are countless air pocket in the ground that will dry out the roots.

Don’t fertilize now — remember this is the dormant season for trees, so save the fertilizer for the spring and only lightly then.

Watering is really important. Watering every seven to 10 days can mean the difference between success and failure. One of the big advantages of planting at this time of year is that we usually have cold fronts that come through with rain every week or so.

If we’ve had a soaking rain in the last seven to 10 days, you can skip watering the tree until we have been a week without rain. However,

more water is not better.

More frequent watering can result in root rot — so beware that more trees and shrubs fail from over watering than from under watering.

Finally, add two to three inches of mulch (and no more than three inches when the compost is settled) to the base of the tree in that three foot circle that you originally cleared.

This will deter weeds and conserve soil moisture.

Also be careful not to pile the compost around the tree trunk. Remember that string trimmers used as weed eaters can cause deadly damage to our young trees with very thin bark.

Trees teach us patience, but the wait is worth it. The old saying is that for perennials …”The first year they sleep, the second year they creep and the third year they leap.”

6

East Texas Farm & Ranch Living

Support Agriculture Businesses... They are the Heartbeat of Our Economy

November 2020

PBR World Finals dramatic title win

M

ost of the time, there’s plenty of drama throughout the Professional Bull Riders World Finals’ closing performance.

One big attention grabber is the world’s leading bull riding association traditionally awards a $1 million bonus to the year’s top athlete and it often comes down to the last performance.

But this year, Jose Vitor Leme, a Brazilian who lives in Decatur, entered the 2020 World Finals closing performance on Sunday, Nov. 15, at AT&T Stadium with the coveted seven-figure check already secured.

Leme snared his first gold buckle and the $1 million in dramatic fashion during the Saturday, Nov. 14, show by winning Round 3 with an unusually high score of 95.75 aboard a rampaging bull named Woopaa (Barker Bucking Bulls).

During the Nov. 15 PBR World Finals closing performance, Leme was bucked off of his fourth and finals round bulls.

However, he had reached his gold buckle goal at the World Finals by staying on each bull in Rounds 1-3.

When the dust settled, Leme clinched the 2020 PBR world title with 1,573 points. Joao Ricardo Vieira, another Brazilian who is from Decatur, finished second with 916.91.

“I just did my job riding bulls,” Leme said through an interpreter. “It came in God’s time.”

Leme was a PBR world title contender in 2018 and 2019.

“The last two years, I lost, and it’s not a good feeling,” he said. “But, it made me stronger. It’s also kind of helped me get better in my riding percentages ...”

According to pbr.com, Leme won a PBR best 16 rounds in 2020. He was 44-for-65 against the bulls throughout the year on

the Unleash The Beast, the association’s top tier tour.

He had a commendable 67.69% qualified ride average on the UTB. After receiving the $1 million bonus for clinching the 2020 world title, Leme’s total earnings for 2020 in the PBR were $1,601,931.

Boudreaux Campbell, who is from Crockett, clinched both the PBR World Finals event title and the association’s top rookie award. He earned a $300,000 World Finals event champion’s check and pocketed more than $470,000 in the PBR throughout 2020.

Campbell has an opportunity to earn more bigger bucks at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s Dec. 3-12 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo at Globe Life Field in Arlington. He has earned a trip to the 2020 Wrangler NFR in bull riding.

At the PBR World finals, a bovine named Smooth

Operator clinched a second consecutive PBR World Champion Bull title. The bull is owned by Dakota Rodeo, Julie Rosen, Clay Struve and Chad Berger.

Berger, who is from North Dakota, received a record 10th PBR Stock Contractor of the Year award.

Women’s rodeo finale

Jackie Crawford, a Stephenville cowgirl who has earned 19 Women’s Professional Rodeo Association world titles, clinched the all-around title at the Women’s Rodeo World Championship in Arlington.

The first part of the Women’s Rodeo World Championship was Nov. 8-12 at Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum in Fort Worth. From there, the top six in each event advanced to the finals rounds at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium.

The finals rounds were conducted on Nov. 13-15 in conjunction with the PBR World Finals.

Crawford, who competed in team roping heeling at AT&T Stadium, earned the all-around title and the $20,000 prize that went with it. Her total earnings from the entire Women’s Rodeo World Championship in Fort Worth and Arlington were $34,539.

Hope Thompson of Abilene and Rylie Smith of Whitsett clinched the team roping title with a finals time of 13.66 seconds on Nov. 13 at AT&T Stadium.

They each earned $90,000.

The reason that their earnings were inflated was because they were the only duo that made a qualified run during the finals round.

Hallie Hanssen of Hermosa, South Dakota, clinched the barrel racing title with a 14.735-second run on Nov. 14 and Madison Outhier of Utopia, Texas, lassoed the break-away roping title on Nov. 15 with a 2.05.

Hanssen and Outhier each earned $60,000.

Brett Hoffman, a Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame member, has reported on rodeos for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for more than three decades. Email him at bchoffman777@earthlink.net.

The Women’s Rodeo World Championship was produced by the World Champions Rodeo Alliance and the PBR.

College rodeo update On the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s Southern Region circuit, Sam Houston State’s women’s team finished second in the women’s team title race at the Nov. 13-14 Sam Houston State Rodeo in Conroe. After finishing strongly, SHSU is ranked No. 2 in the NIRA’s Southern Region 20202021 women’s team title race with 710.66 points.

McNeese State is ranked No. 1 with 1,047.5.

Sam Houston State’s men’s team finished third in the men’s team title race at the SHSU Rodeo. SHSU is ranked No. 3 in the NIRA’s Southern Region men’s team standings with 1,057 points. Panola College is ranked No. 1 with 1,990.5.

The Sam Houston State Rodeo was the fourth show of the 2020-2021 regular season in the NIRA Southern Region.

TVCC rider places

Photo courtesy of Metro Creative

HUDSON

In bull riding at the SHSU Rodeo, James Cameron Rogers of Trinity Valley Community College finished second with a 76. He’s ranked fourth in the Southern Region 2020-2021 bull riding title race with 169.5 points. Christopher Kyle Villanueva of Sam Houston State is ranked No. 1 with 255.5.

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November 2020

7

East Texas Farm & Ranch Living

Support Agriculture Businesses... They are the Heartbeat of Our Economy

East Texas Stock Prices HUNTS LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE Updated: 11/16/2020 Head Count: 812

STEERS

ATHENS COMMISSION COMPANY Updated: 11/20/2020 Head Count: 1281 Sellers: 218

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STEERS

200lb - 299lb

.80 1.99

300-DOWN

0.85 1.90

300lb - 399lb

.80 1.79

300lb - 400lb

0.80 1.75

400lb - 499lb

.80 1.63

400lb - 500lb

0.75 1.55

500lb - 599lb

.80 1.41

500lb - UP

0.70 1.45

600lb - 699lb

.80 1.31

HEIFERS

700lb - 899lb

.80 1.23

300-DOWN

0.80 1.65

300lb - 400lb

0.75 1.50

HEIFERS 200lb - 299lb

.80 1.75

400lb - 500lb

0.70 1.40

300lb - 399lb

.80 1.59

500lb - UP

0.70 1.30

400lb - 499lb

.80 1.37

SLAUGHTER

500lb - 599lb

.80 1.37

Cows

0.25 0.58

600lb - 699lb

.80 1.17

Heavy Bulls

0.55 0.87

700lb - 899lb

.80 1.19

PAIRS

SLAUGHTER

Top

NA NA

Cows

0.26 0.59

Low-Middle

$500 $1000

Bulls

0.55 0.84

PAIRS

$610 $1,420

STOCKER COWS

0.55lb 1.05lb

GOATS

$50hd $250hd $25hd $250hd

STOCKER COWS

$300hd $1,170hd

BABY CALVES

GOATS

$150hd $185hd

HORSES

TRI-COUNTY LIVESTOCK MARKET Updated: 11/21/2020 Head Count: 1456

STEERS UNDER 300lb

1.25 1.70

300lb - 400lb

1.20 1.65

400lb - 500lb

1.15 1.64

500lb - 600lb

1.00 1.38

600lb - 700lb

1.00 1.38

700lb - 800lb

0.95 1.20

HEIFERS UNDER 300lb

1.15 1.60

300lb - 400lb

1.10 1.50

400lb - 500lb

1.10 1.35

500lb - 600lb

1.05 1.22

600lb - 700lb

1.00 1.20

700lb - 800lb

0.85 1.18

SLAUGHTER Cows

0.15 0.57

Heavy Bulls

0.65 0.84

PAIRS

$1100 $1350

BABY CALVES STOCKER COWS LOW-MIDDLE

NA NA

$150hd $850hd

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STEERS Under 300lb

1.32 1.82

300lb - 400lb

1.10 1.92

400lb - 500lb

1.05 1.65

500lb - 600lb

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500lb - 600lb

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700lb - 800lb

0.90 1.15

PACKER Cows

0.35 0.99

Bulls

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PAIRS

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GOAT/SHEEP

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$100 $135

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Updated: 11/17/2020 Head Count: 2407 Buyers: 34 Total Sellers: 272 Feeder Calf Order Buyers: 18 STEERS 300-DOWN

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305lb - 400lb

1.33 1.84

405lb - 500lb

1.23 1.66

505lb - 600lb

1.18 1.54

605lb - 800lb

1.10 1.36

HEIFERS 300-DOWN

1.24 1.98

305lb - 400lb

1.22 1.72

405lb - 500lb

1.18 1.60

505lb - 600lb

1.13 1.38

605lb - 800lb

1.06 1.28

SLAUGHTER Cows

0.39 0.60

Bulls

0.73 0.88

PAIRS

NA NA

BRED COWS

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8

East Texas Farm & Ranch Living

Support Agriculture Businesses... They are the Heartbeat of Our Economy

Reeling in the Cure

Pink Fishing fights breast cancer by fundraising

by Shelli Parker Athens Review

W

hen Misty Schmidt went through a stressful time in her life, she found peace and therapy in fishing. Little did she know the passion for the sport would lead to helping with a cause she held dear. She recently hosted the first Cedar Creek Lake Pink Fishing Tournament on Nov. 14 at Log Cabin City Park raising over $10,000 for the charity.

“At first it was like therapy, it still is, but it is much more than that now,” Schmidt said.

Mentored by an elite bass fisher, she said she learned on the lakes of New York State “bucket list fishing,” and realized her passion was for bass. Taking the skills she has learned, Schmidt has shared this love by teaching her daughter.

After losing several key women in her life to breast cancer, she wanted to help the cause.

“I saw Pink Fishing and thought, ‘I need to be a part of that,’” she said. “Pink Fishing is committed to donating $10,000 a year to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. In order to reach that goal, tournaments are held.”

She attended the annual Pink Fishing Tournament at Belton Lake near Temple.

This event has grown annually and when a survivor drove all the way from Pennsylvania, her heart was touched.

“After hearing her share her journey, I knew that I wanted to do something more,” she said. “They drove all the way down from Pennsylvania to share her story and I knew right then and there that I wanted to be part of this. As much work as it is, it is so worth it.”

The Belton event raised $7,000 by itself towards the $10,000 goal. Being on Cedar Creek Lake she knew that with her extensive contacts and fishing abilities she could make this event happen. With a pandemic, it was hard to ask people for donations when they were struggling themselves, but then she got her first sponsor, Galleria Chevrolet, and things started to snowball. Thanks to sponsors and donors this is not just a fishing tournament, it is a family event with live entertainment, hope and fun.

Kubota

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America’s Got Talent contestant Kadie Lynn of Kemp opened the tournament by singing the National Anthem and entertaining. The entertainer was recently nominated for The Texas State Legislature Artist— State Musician which is a huge honor.

When the boats left after the National Anthem, it was a very patriotic sight as the sun creeped up over the horizon. A candlelight prayer circle will be held for survivors, family and friends.

“You don’t have to fish to be an important and appreciated part of this tournament,” she said. “People can donate your time, decorate, clean up, I hope to do this each year and I hope it grows more successful each year.

This is not just a tournament, it is a family event!”

Contributed photos

Prizes were generous with cash and plaques for top winners: First Place: $3,000 sponsored by Galleria Chevrolet Second Place: $2,000 sponsored by Triple Play Sports Third Place: $1,000 sponsored by East Texas Door Company Big Bass: $1,500 sponsored by Miller Facilities — Brandi Winter Mixon For more information on the 2021 event contact: Misty Schmidt 903— 910— 0359 or Jerry Warren 903— 519— 3809 please leave a message or text. You can also email onetxfishingal@gmail.com or jerry. warren65@yahoo.com.

On the net: www.pinkfishing.com

Winners: • Brandi Mixon, breast cancer survivor won big bass — she won $1,500.00 sponsored by Miller Facilities, her big

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Misty Schmidt combines her love for fishing and passion for a cause while coordinating the first Cedar Creek Lake Pink Fishing Tournament.

bass was 6.71 pounds • First Place $3,000.00 — sponsored by Galleria Chevrolet — Daniel Ramsey & Derek Rogers 17.27 pounds • Second Place sponsored by Triple Play Sports $2,000.00 — Cebo & Colten Smith 16.44 pounds • Third Place sponsored by East Texas Door Company $1,000.00 Clayton Pass & Jacob Dowd 16.28 pounds • Smallest Stringer (5 fish limit) sponsored by Floor Plans and More $250.00 Tommy Climer & LaNette Luce Childers 9.36 pounds • Lucky 13 sponsored by Cayla Andrews $200.00 Todd Loggains & Dave Weston

November 2020