Howle’s Hints

BY JOHN HOWLE

THE HERB FARMER

November

HOW’S YOUR GARDEN “If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” General George S. Patton

General George S. Patton was known as “Old Blood and Guts,” and he rose to great popularity while commanding the 7th Army during World War II. The quote offers a glimpse into his military planning and strategy. He was willing to hear other options when making decisions and was willing to listen to his subordinates. Sometimes his subordinates would notice when something might not work or offer a different perspective. Ultimately, the final decision was his but only after listening to opposing ideas.

Great leaders welcome debate and don’t surround themselves with “yes men,” but instead thrive on debate because that’s how you get to the best ideas. This November, be willing to listen to those who have ideas that may not always align with yours and make your final decisions after hearing all sides.

Make it a November to RememberSIMPLE TIMES November is the month that transitions us from fall to winter, and we begin to see much cooler days and colder nights. Squirrels, deer and turkey are busy scrambling around for the fruits of the forest to store up winter energy because the lowest temperatures of the season are on the way. Remember that November starts the second severe weather season for Alabama. According to the AlabamaWx weather blog, from 2001-2015, 21% of all documented tornadoes, 6% of tornado-related THE CO-OP PANTRY deaths, and 10% of all tornado-related injuries occurred during November and December. They recommend making sure your NOAA Weather Radio or any portable, battery-operated radio is working and flash-

November 2021 47

Deer Display Options

Gun season for deer begins this month, and if you’ve done a bit of preseason scouting, you should be able to harvest some healthy, high-protein meat from deer. If you harvest a mature buck and want to get it mounted, be ready for a surprise. It’s quite expensive to get a deer head mounted for display. A different, more cost-effective solution is to complete a European mount for the skull.

A European mount for an antlered animal is a cost-effective way to give a beautifully rustic look to the top entrance of a gate, barn or hunting cabin. The good news is, it costs nothing but a little time and some bleach. To complete a European mount, detach the head from the spinal column, skin it out removing the eyes and lower jaw. Boil the skull for a half hour to remove the insides.

Paint a mixture of half bleach and half water onto the skull to get a bright, white color. Once dried, the mount can be attached to the wall or top gate post by hooking the spinal column hole onto a large nail. Hydrogen peroxide can be used as a substitute for the bleach since some people feel the bleach makes the bone appear too chalky and white. However, I prefer the brighter white.

For under 40 bucks, you can mount your own antlers easily for display.

Another cost-effective way to display a buck harvest is with a simple antler mounting kit. For under 40 bucks, you can order an antler mount display that comes with wood panel, antler form, felt covering, gold rope, paper mache’, hardware and instructions. These can be ordered from www.mckenziesp.com and click on antler mounting kits. You can also call 1-800-2797985. Adding items such as date of harvest and the spent bullet casing can add final touches to your trophy display.

Scrape Savvy

A long, steady rain can wash away the scents left in a scrape by a buck. A productive time to visit scrapes is right after a rain. The buck will often come back to freshen his scrape. A scrape is a place on the ground under a low-hanging limb where a buck paws the leaves and debris from the ground underneath leaving the fresh dirt exposed. If you look at the debris pile carefully, you can see which direction the buck was traveling.

If you haven’t located any scrapes on your property, simply make a few mock scrapes. Bend over a sapling tree where the limbs are about chest high. Secure the

limb to an adjoining tree so the limb hangs over the ground. Rake out the debris and leaves under the limb and pour some deer urine in the bare spot. Keep an eye out for fresh deer tracks in the bare ground for passing bucks and does.

Dozer Deer Trails

November is a great time to clean out the firebreaks on your property. From a safety standpoint, these clean firebreaks make conducting prescribed burns more effective and better to control. There is also another advantage to clearing firebreaks in November. Once the firebreaks are clean and free of debris, you can walk down these trails silently without the leaf litter allowing you to slip up on a lot of wildlife without being noticed.

Clearing your firebreaks offers silent stalking for wildlife. Can your deer meat and save money.

Save Dough with Deer Meat

It can be expensive to get a deer processed. Instead, save money, do it yourself, and have meat ready for long-term storage. Once you’ve removed your tenderloin and inner tenderloins, the rest of the meat can be cut into one-inch chunks for high pressure canning. Simply add a teaspoonful of canning salt to each jar of venison, tighten the lids and rings down, and pressure can the deer meat at 11 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes.

The high-pressure cooking and intense heat tenderizes the meat and removes much of the gamey flavor. Once canned, the meat can be stored safely for a couple of years using no electricity.

Finally, November is also the month of Thanksgiving (Thursday, Nov. 25). Take this time to be thankful for family and friends and take time to get out and enjoy God’s great outdoors while the woods are cooler and full of fall beauty.