I typically bushhog my pasture in stages throughout the year for the exact reason you pointed out except it’s for the black angus steers rather than the “locals” although they indulge every night.

Refer to my post dated Sept 09, 2023 on Page 7 of this thread for the details on the two new unwanted vehicular access roads accessing the right-of-way/easement.
What's done is done, but my real concern was the two new roads provided easy access onto the property for ATV/Side by Side trespassers.
The wheels of "justice" roll VERY slowly and with fall and early winter hunting seasons approaching soon, I wanted those new roads closed off.
You can never keep determined trespassers off your property, especially those on foot. But reasonably, if you can keep the 99% out, that's the best you can do other than having prison walls/razor wire.

I had some free time several days ago and hauled the Kubota up to the rural property. Just over 5 hours of seat time on the little mighty Kubota.

This is what the 1st vehicular access road looked like when I arrived.

IMG_20230920_120734012_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

This is what the road looks like now.

IMG_20230920_164302002_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

On either side of the freshly piled rocks there is old existing stone fence from the 1800's, it's just hidden from view due to vegetation.
This road blockage is a work in progress. Any big rocks found when doing tractor work on the property will be dumped and stacked here. I ran out of material, but it will do for now.

The 2nd vehicular access road looked like this when I arrived.

IMG_20230920_120837345_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

This is what it looked like when I went home.

IMG_20230920_164410155_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

I used the waste material left behind by the tree trimming company. I started with two logs about 25 feet long and about 10" diameter on the big ends.
I interlaced the long logs with existing trees and then piled trees stumps, shorter logs, root balls, and up on top, some brush.
The long logs on the bottom, being interlaced with other trees, can't be easily rolled or pushed.

Every time I'm at the property with the Kubota and have some free time, I will add more rocks and timber waste.

While there and doing tractor jobs, I also cleaned out the leftover tree trimming debris on the ATV/foot path in the easement under the power lines that we use for accessing some of the deer stands and for ATV deer retrieval.

IMG_20230920_164721045_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

The Kubota BX may be a small 4wd diesel tractor, but with a determined operator willing to tackle jobs with smaller bites, it has proved to be invaluable!

IMG_20230920_164800040_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

The "tooth bar" allows you to push tree trimming debris off the cleared ground and into the woods where it is out of the way without doing it by hand or getting on and off the Kubota constantly.

IMG_20190718_091636837 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

The entire day's work cash money expenditures? A gallon of diesel for the tractor and several gallons of tow vehicle/Jeep gas. The five+ hours on the machine? Just relaxing out in the woods!
I did get my exercise that day getting some of the larger boulders into the front loader bucket.

The local Environmental Conservation Police Officer (fish cop) REALLY didn't want the assignment he was given by dispatch.
He made that plain as day during my phone call with him.

Since the fish cop phone call on/about September 8th, the fish cop has been a ghost. He won't answer his phone. I leave messages, he doesn't call back.
Now he will like the assignment he was given, and me, even less. I just seriously jacked up his Supervising Lieutenant.
I told the LT I was NOT going away quietly and I wanted to pursue any/all criminal charges possible.

I'm not going away quietly and have zero interest in dropping the investigation and/or potential prosecution.

I received a very nice lengthy phone call from the local Environmental Conservation Police Officer yesterday evening.
It was well after the time of day I would have considered normal and/or usual for following up on non-emergency DEC concerns.
Conversational, professional, informative, and courteous. No offended or pissed off tone of voice for this phone call. (unlike the original call)
Just the facts.
The investigation is progressing.
It's amazing when you get phone calls returned and are presented information pertaining to the investigation.

cee_camp

What is the name of the front bucket attachment for cutting. In your pictures?

Thanks for your progress reports.

That is called a tooth bar.
Many companies sell/make/market them.
The one pictured is from: https://www.bxpanded.com/

That photo above is when the tooth bar was brand new, it isn't as pretty now and the cutting edges are still quite sharp.
When the tooth bar is attached and the machine is parked, make sure the cutting edge is firmly planted on the ground and not left up in the air.

Bxpanded.com are nice people, reasonably quick on shipping. USA made in Tennessee, Knoxville area.
It will totally revise the usage and what you can do with your front loader bucket.
Easy install, drill two holes.
I've also bought from the same company other accessory items, like a backhoe cart so you can move the backhoe around by hand with one person after the backhoe is removed from the tractor. (on concrete)
And a ROPS mounted toolbox.

Other Kubota BX items such as skid plates for protecting the vulnerable underbelly of the machine, and a protection system for the front mounted hydraulic power steering cylinder, I found I preferred the offerings from a different company in Canada.
Even coming from Canada and potential problems going through Customs, they are also a top notch sub-compact tractor accessory maker/seller. https://bro-tek.com/

It's my understanding that the Canadian Company bro-tek was founded and run by two brothers. One brother passed away, the other is still running the company.
If you have a compact or sub-compact tractor, there is a plethora of small companies making spectacular aftermarket tractor accessories.
The two companies mentioned above I have dealt with personally, and would highly recommend both.

Do your research online for what you think you want to do with your machine. Someone somewhere makes it!

In winter, I use the Kubota for snow removal. I take the tooth bar off the front bucket, and add a pair of Edge Tamers on the original bucket front edge.
Now the blacktop driveway isn't torn up, and the lawn edge going up to the blacktop isn't getting scalped and shredded.
Edge Tamers also are pretty damn good at preserving lawn when you are pushing dirt/stones/fill off of the lawn.
https://r2manufacturing.com/products/edge-tamer

This is next for my small machine: https://www.boltonhooks.com/

No signage for Private Property or No Access?

Yes, the property was/is posted per applicable state law. I actually had/have significantly less posted sign separation than required by state law.
However, a posted sign on each and every tree is expensive, unsightly, and no more effective than reasonable posted sign separation.
When the tree cutting - road making fuckers cut the two new vehicular roads, they tore down one posted sign at each new road location and threw the signs on the ground.
Is it still posted within what state law requires even with two signs missing? Yes it is.
Will I put up more posted signs? Absolutely!
Will that make a difference with future trespassers, road cutting, timber stealing scumbags? Unlikely.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cee_Kamp,

I was at the recreational property today.
I hadn't cut the grass there in just over a month.
I had been there for other tasks and it just hadn't grown enough.
While doing laps around the field on the JD mower, I noticed the same company labeled pickup truck driving by several times.
It eventually stopped at the gate and the driver got out. He asked if I was the landowner, I told him yes, I am.
Yup, the boss from the company that cut the unauthorized vehicular access roads in my woods.
He asked if he could walk on the property and inspect the damage. I told him sure, go ahead.
I did a few more laps on the mower and eventually he returned by the gate.
He asked me what I wanted. I told him other than criminal convictions for his employees that damaged my woods, I would have to think about it and that I would be in contact when I did decide.
The boss departed.
I had been getting the feeling that the DEC Police were just doing nothing and waiting for the issue to dry up and go away.
The DEC Police guy apparently has been doing his job, he just needs to ratchet up his communication skills a few notches.
He doesn't answer his published phone (answering machine) and seldom/almost to never returns calls.
I will admit publicly, it appears I was incorrect.

I am fairly protective of what hearing I have remaining. I generally wear over the ear hearing protectors when running powered equipment. Diesel tractors are very good at destroying hearing.
Several years ago I received a pair of over the ear Skull Candy bluetooth headphones. Lithium Ion rechargeable battery. Paired with a Apple iPod in your pants pocket, you can run a mower for
days and never hear the same song twice. Much better than hearing the motor and deck. Hearing protection and music all combined in one!

I went to the recreational property today with one of my motorcycle riding/hunting friends.
We took the Honda Pioneer and three Stihl chainsaws along with a variety of woods equipment.
The goal today, which we completed, was drive the Pioneer around in the woods and any branches or trees that had fallen on the woods roads and trails got cut up and moved.
While there, we checked out the interior field where we bush hogged. The grass is growing steadily there.
We also changed out the SD card in the trail camera. In roughly three weeks we got just over 85 photos.

09170017 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

10040081 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

09270063 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

09260055 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

10040082 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

Are those wolverines? Very cool!

The daylight photo two pictures up is a Fisher. If I recall correctly, Weasel is smallest, then Pine Martin, and the Fisher being the largest in that animal "tribe".
All three are fierce predators, with the Fisher being the only animal on the planet that will willingly attack a Porcupine for a meal, and not get a face full of quills.
I will randomly find the remains of a Porky, usually under a pine tree, and there isn't very much remaining, other than quills.
I have had a Fisher larger than the one pictured above run past a ground blind I was sitting in. About four feet long, nose to the tip of the tail.
Likely the local breeding Male. The one in the photo is smaller, likely a Female.
If you have ever seen a Ferret close up, they move/run in a similar manner. Very flexible spine, they undulate when moving.
Here in my location, there is a Fisher trapping season, but no lawful hunting season. We leave them alone as it truly shows the land is wilderness.
They are commonly & erroneously called a Fisher Cat, but have no cat genes in them.
We will see Fishers occasionally, but this photo is my first trail camera shot.

Wiki Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_(animal)

The night photo immediately above is Raccoons. Striped tail is visible on the left most critter.

I had a meeting at the recreational property earlier today.
In attendance were the State DEC Police, the State DEC Forester, the utility/power company forester, and the local foreman of the tree trimming company.
The foreman admitted in front of sworn law enforcement personnel that they should not have trespassed and cut down my trees to reach the power line easement.
Their "rules of engagement" require the tree trimming company people to notify prior, and call landowners before going onto property that is posted and gated.
I received no written notice or any communication.
Now all I need to do is come up with a mutually agreeable dollar number for compensation.
The tree trimming company foreman had previously offered to install "tonka blocks" (pre-cast concrete retaining wall blocks) to block off the two access roads that they cut in the woods.
I discussed that offer with the better half, and we declined the offer. We prefer a tractor trailer "rock truck" loaded with 500 +/- pound boulders.
It is more in keeping with the rural scenery/landscape, and the dollar difference between tonka blocks and boulders is relatively insignificant.

Tomorrow we have a meeting with our State Assemblyman. We have some ideas to present to him on how to prevent future occurrences.

The power company and the tree trimming company kept stalling. I ended up filing a claim with the power company claims department.
They delay/deny/procrastinate as a means of discouraging claims. That won't work with me.
They do make it very difficult for filing a claim. It's my belief they do it for minimizing claims.
All of the easement legal documents state if any property damage takes place outside the easement boundaries, the power company is on the hook.

I will give an example: The claims to the power company are done online. You fill out a claim description on a web page. They ask for detailed information about the claim/damage.
I filled out the web page submission form and when I clicked the "submit" button, I got a popup message that said the web page had timed out.
Another button popped up and asked if you wanted to resubmit. When that button was clicked, all typed information disappeared and you had to start over.
I wrote it all again in a "Notepad" text document and saved it on my PC desktop.
The next day, I went back to the claims web page and used auto-fill for all the personal/contact information, and copied/pasted the text from my saved document and
had the entire form filled out and completed and submitted in a few minutes. I did a screen shot of the web page saying that the claim had been successfully uploaded.
About 45 days later I got an email stating they were reviewing the claim.

I did successfully harvest a large doe during the black powder/muzzleloader season.
We processed the tenderloins and sirloins as thinly sliced steaks, everything else went through the meat grinder for making venison jerky.

The second black powder/muzzleloader late season starts December 26th and runs through January 1st.
I will likely make it out into the woods again before January 1st with my son and grandson.

Do you have a 3rd function on your tractor and a grapple for it?

No sir.
Front loader, backhoe, 4 foot bush hog, and a rear ballast barrel.
The cabin only uses a face cord or so of wood per year at best.
We use pellets at the house so firewood collection isn't a priority.

I did neglect to mention where on the rural recreational property my doe was harvested.
From the 20' ladder stand overlooking the newly bushhogged field.
I got out in the woods during the regular firearms season, but it just didn't pan out.

I went several times during black powder/muzzleloader and one afternoon headed up to the cabin mid afternoon.
I arrived about 3PM, got changed and walked the ~300 yards to the ladder stand.
At 4PM, two does walked into the bushhogged field and the big doe was down by 04:03PM.

I had sat in the stand about 35 minutes.

quote:

Do you have a 3rd function on your tractor and a grapple for it?

quote:

No sir.
Front loader, backhoe, 4 foot bush hog, and a rear ballast barrel.

OK I was just asking because grapple's are awful handy for moving brush, limbs, trunks, large rocks, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by cee_Kamp:

IMG_20230920_164410155_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

I used the waste material left behind by the tree trimming company......

....I did get my exercise that day getting some of the larger boulders into the front loader bucket.

Yeah,

I get it. A grapple could be handy. I just can't justify the expense for the anticipated amount of usage.

We are having stacked & split firewood rot in the firewood pile. (it's ash)

We are having deadfall logs rot in the woods where they fell instead of cutting, splitting and stacking them in the firewood pile.

We just don't burn that much firewood at the cabin.

The stacking of heavy stone and building log & brush roadblocks is somewhat of a one time situation.

If I thought I could make routine use of a grapple, I would buy one and add the 3rd function hydraulics on my tractor.

It's a wrap for the 2023 deer hunting season.
The weather was decent for the end of December so we went to the cabin, and got the ATV out of the shipping container.
I rode around and retrieved all the ass pads from the stands and blinds, along with the camping chairs inside the pop-up fabric blinds.
The 20 pound propane tanks got brought home for refilling, and the buddy heaters/hoses went into the shipping container till next season.
The better half and I retrieved the fabric pop-up blinds and they got broken down and stored in the shipping container.
Then the ATV got brought home and put to sleep in the barn.
It's a long haul now until November 2024.