OlJim With Hog Down!

Reed Family Ranch Hunting Club Git-Together Scheduled for Saturday, April 25th, 2009!

Reed Family Ranch - Focus on Hunter Safety!

Multi-Year Analyses - Reed Family Ranch Harvest Report Results and Deer Census Surveys!

Game Harvest Page for 2009 - Hog and Varmint Hunting!

After Heavy Rainfall, Trinity River Peaks at 29.44' at Ranch - Almost Flowing Out-of-Bank!

Ranch Tribute on DVD and Internet: Reed Family Ranch Celebrates 10 Years of OlJim - MsJudy Management!

Be On the Lookout! Reed Ranch Critter, You've Been Spotted!

Reed Family Fund - Striving for the Best in You!

More Ranch Photos and Such!

Reed Family Ranch Accepts Credit Card Payments!

Trinity Basin' Ranching - At Its Finest!

Map of Reed Ranch Wildlife Habitat Areas!

And..........
If You Must How To Unsubscribe To This Newsletter!

Ranch Hill View of Shark Lake!

Reed Ranch Field Day!

DVD Production OlJim Talking About Re-Birth of Trinity River Basin!

Travis' Big 2009 Buck!

The annual meeting of the Reed Ranch Hunting Club will be held on Saturday, April 25th, 2009. Sure am looking forward to it! These meetings give all our club members a great opportunity to talk about the 2008-09 hunting year - and also talk about plans for the 2009-10 year!

Some of the items on the agenda to be talked about at this meeting are:

Club Member Travis and his Melanistic White-Tailed Buck - Full Body Mount!

- introductions of new club members
- club member guidelines
- club member fund
- hog and varmint hunting
- annual deer counts
- focus on safety
- guests and others coming out
- aging buck on the hoof
- layout for hunting spots
- 2008-09 game harvest and plans for 2009-10 game harvest
- and, other such stuff!

Club member Terry Ratliff is doing the meal planning - so, we're pretty sure that none of us will go hungry. Yummy!

More information about the hunting club can be found by clicking on the Reed Family Ranch Hunting Club web page. Questions about club membership are invited and can be sent to OlJim at oljim@reedfamilyranch.com . Spots are filled annually in January of each year.

Some things to think about when you're out and about on a hunting ranch. Check 'em out and take 'em seriously. You'll be glad you did!

wearing blaze orange apparel won't necessarily keep you safe at all times, but it'll surely decrease the liklihood that someone will mistake you as a target
one of the leading causes of injury is improper gun handling, so be sure take all safety precautions seriously and learn all the basics of gun safety for hunters
never assume a gun is unloaded; treat a gun as if it's always loaded and always err on the side of caution
if a firearm fails to fire when the trigger is pulled, handle with care
always hold a gun in both hands and always store a gun unloaded
when in the field, always keep the fingers in a folded position and away from the trigger until you are ready to fire
keep your face away from the gun barrel at all times
don't ever mix alcohol and drugs with firearms
don't rely on your gun's safety mechanism to keep you safe
be sure of your target and what's beyond it
learn the mechanical and handling characteristics of the firearm you are using
be sure others are aware of where you are hunting; and be aware of others that are hunting around you
a gun should never be waved around or pointed at another person; make sure a gun is never dropped

And remember, a successful hunt is always a safe hunt! Now, there are a whole host of other things that can help you be safe - but some common-sense, outdoors -savy thinking will help bunches!

Be careful out there, ya hear!

Multi-Year Analyses - Reed Family Ranch Harvest Report Results and Deer Census Surveys!

Deer harvest and census records began on the Reed Family Ranch about 15 years ago - in the mid-1990's. The first recorded deer census reported approximately 5-6 acres per deer and a buck-doe ratio of 1:6. Over the past 15 years (as a result of our summer deer census surveys), these numbers have been moved to approximately 9-10 acres per deer and a 1:2 buck-doe ratio.

It's our feeling that this has been accomplished through (1) selective harvesting and a high-quality hunting club decisions (2) following the recommendations of deer management advisors, and (3) making good resource management decisions with wildlife habitat being a major factor in determining the direction in which the ranch is being taken.

Here's a table showing the most recent 10 years of harvest records.

Over this period, it's important to note that the weights of the deer harvested has increased. Back in early 2000's and late 1990's, the doe we harvested had an average weight of around 65-66 lbs (dressed weight). For the most 3 recent years, the doe that we've harvested have averaged 76 lbs. The average weight of our bucks - over the most recent 3 years - is 128 lbs (dressed weight).

Pretty good stuff, huh?

Here's a graph showing the most recent 10 years of doe harvesting at the Reed Family Ranch!

100 Year Ranch Tribute on DVD and Internet: Reed Family Ranch Celebrates 10 Years of OlJim - MsJudy Management!

This year marks the 10th year of OlJim's and MsJudy's management of the Reed Family Ranch. In consideration of OlJim's third generation Reed Family ownership, a photo story DVD's have been completed!

The longer version of this DVD includes lots of ranch history and generational photos, hunting and ranching fun, and views of some of the most significant happenings in and around the ranch. The shorter version includes history and photographs have been selected to give a broad overview of the ranch..

Although both the shorter version (13 minutes playing time) and the longer version (28 minutes playing time) have been configured to be viewed over the internet, be aware that the longer version will take approximately 5 minutes to download (on cable and DSL connections) - so it can be played within the Windows Media Viewer on a PC. The shorter version takes about 2 1/2minutes to download.

Check 'em out at the below links.

Sit back - turn your speakers on and enjoy!

100 Year Reed Family Ranch Tribute - 13 minute version
(Allow 2 1/2 Minutes (At Least!) Download Time - DSL and Cable!

100 Year Reed Family Ranch Tribute - 28 minute version
(Allow 5 Minutes (At Least!) Download Time - DSL and Cable!

1st Generation Landoweners - OlJim's Grandfather Jimmy and Grandmother Lottie Reed!	2nd Generation Landowners- Mother and Father, Ora Anna and Tillman Reed!	3rd Generation Landowners OlJim and MsJudy With Lone Star Land Stewardship Award!

So far this year - as of the writing of this newsletter - 10 hogs have been killed by hunting club members and guests. Here's some of the photos that have been taken so far this year!

Charles' Hog a'Hangin'!	Hogs Galore! - at Ranch Hunting Club Member Feeder!	Gilbert Takes Three Hogs!

The complete game harvest page for 2009 can be viewed by clicking HERE!

It was touch-and-go for the March 14th weekend - with the Trinity River rising quickly to almost overflowing into the Reed Family Ranch wetlands. But, it was not to be - as the 29' peak is not sufficient to overflow the banks of the river. The Trinity River stayed within its banks over the weekend - despite heavy rainfall in the Navarro County area and also in those areas up-river from the ranch.

Here's the photo that's most commonly used to communciate the status of the river at the ranch when it's near its overflow condition. This point in the photo represents one of the lowest points in the ranch wetlands acreage and is a pretty good indicator of the condition of the remainder of the bottomlands!

The ROSEATE SPOONBILL can grow to a height of 32 inches - with a wingspan of 50 inches!

Roseate spoonbills eat primarly small fish and crustaceans.

Unlike most birds, roseate spoonbills are silent and often solitary when they feed. They swish their spoon-shaped bills back and forth in the water to find food. During breeding season, the male uses gifts of nesting material to attract the female. Once mated, the pair remains monogamous. Both male and female take turns on the eggs and feeding the young.

Flamingos are close relatives of the roseate spoonbill. They both have pink feathers, but the flamingos are much larger, with a longer neck.

Be on the lookout for a sighting of a ROSEATE SPOONBILL down in the Reed Family Ranch wetlands!

Have you ever wondered why some achieve prosperity and some do not? Here's some keys to making prosperty a habit! Remember these things and it could put you on the path to some of the best years yet!

Take control of your spending and don't spend more than you earn!

Locate a money "mentor", who can offer advice and honest feedback!

Save like crazy!

Face up to your finances even if they're ugly!

Each day - for 3 days - make a note of 5 good things that are happening in your world. If this is practiced enough, you'll likely find out that optimism can become a prosperity-magnet!

Remember, people who think positively are much better at the type of flexible problem-solving associated with prosperity!

And also, remember, people who express gratitude for what they have - and are appreciative of others - tend to lead happier, successful, and more prosperous lives!

Water is VERY Important Stuff to a Ranch!

The month of February recorded a total of 2.9"of rainfall. This gives us 3.7" for the year, which is about 1.9" on the dry-side for the year (as of the end of February '09). Here's the table where we keep our running totals for 2009 - with some historical overall averages, too!

Check it out!

Here are the totals for the most recent 10 years of ranch area rainfall. Our annual average is for all the recorded years in the same geographic area as the ranch (til way back when) is about 39.5 inches. For the most recent 10 years, our annual average has been about 37.1"

1999 - 26.7"
2000 - 46.0"
2001 - 42.7"
2002 - 38.0"
2003 - 27.4"
2004 - 54.2"
2005 - 24.6"
2006 - 29.0"
2007 - 51.3"
2008 - 30.6"

More Ranch Photos and Such!

MsJudy Swinging Underneath the Reed Ranch Treehouse!	MsJudy Trimming the Choctaw Pecan Grafting!

There's lots of opportunities for outdoors photography at the Ranch and we enjoy seeing all the photos of all the happenin's at the ranch. You're welcomed to stop by ALL of the Reed Family Photo Albums!

Reed Family Ranch Accepts Credit Card Payments!

Payments by VISA and MasterCard credit cards can now be processed by the Reed Family Ranch.

Faxes with credit card information can be sent toll-free to the Reed Family Ranch at 866-566-1283. Send email to OlJim Reed oljim@reedfamilyranch.com for more information!

Trinity Basin Ranchin' - At Its Finest!

Bottoms-Land Water Trough Filled From Shark Lake - Ranch Gravity F low Water Distribution System!

We're proud to have a ranch managed within Texas' great Trinity River Basin that operates under a holistic goal. The Reed Family Ranch's holistic goal focuses on:

diversity and shared vision
learning, personal growth, and economic sustainability
enjoyment of a beautiful, peaceful setting with clean air, water, and healthy land
contribution to society and environment
and, sharing the great outdoors with others

Map of Reed Family Ranch - Wildlife Habitat Areas!

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