"The Bag" It all started with my brother-in-law, Bruce, giving me a small bag of seed to build a OAT PATCH. That was the start of an adventure. He left it in my hands to hopefully help me kill a deer.
"The Muscle" As stated in earlier publications, James Henry Arnold was not much of hunter. As a father though, he loved me a lot and loved to see me happy. My siblings may say that he liked to see me happy too much of the time. Well, I approached him with the bag of seed and told him about my dreams of a deer field. He sat in his recliner and I watched as he wheels started to spin.
"The Spot" We lived in Pine Hill Alabama which is located in Wilcox county. We had recently had my brother , Kyle, do some timbering around our house place and there was a nice 1/8 to 1/4 acre clearing behind the house. My daddy and I looked over the spot and decided it was a nice place to build a deer plot.
"Plot Plus" We ventured over to Flave McGillberry's farm which was on the way over to our pasture in Moore's Valley Alabama. Daddy talked with Mr. Flave about building a plot and gave us some extra oats, wheat, and even a touch of rye. I can remember running my hands though the seeds in the bucket. I talked about killing a big buck. My dad laughed at me and gave me a grin. He had a twinkle in his eye that I can remember from no other and maybe it was just his love for me, but it was one thing I remember of him most. I can remember his cap pushed back on his head. He drove me in his pickup back toward the house and talked about building the plot. I can say that my father did alot for me. His old sayings, the principles he helped set in me, as well as just his honesty helped mold me to who I am today---but I got off the story.
"Tilling the land" That was an easy job. Daddy had a Ford 5000 and a set of discs. The tractor was back from the days they used them to skid logs into the deck on my dads logging crew. The strong,old tractor may have been overkill for such a plot but it tore up the ground and made a nice bed. I stood by and watched as he ran the tractor. The ground was rich and I believe is some of the best in the world. I can see the rich dirt and feel it in between the toes of my bare feet. Daddy however was no newbie to planting. He had managed a garden and was the son of a farmer. He told me stories of his father Henry and of his brothers along with their plantings and crops. Once The seed bed was prepared, we turned to the seeds and mixed them all up.
"Planting and covering the seed" This is where it got interesting. We put out the fertilizer and seed. We walked along with buckets and threw the fertilizer then the seeds out by hand. Daddy felt the seed needed to be covered. We rigged up some drag behind our Riding lawnmower. It was a riding mower with the motor behind the mower. It was a Snapper brand with a Briggs n stratton motor but again I digress. We took our time and rode the lawn mower to the spot. Daddy rode the lawn mower and I finished putting out the remainder of the seed. The mower got stuck in the uneven tilled ground and my dad for some reason reached behind to lift the mower. He grabbed the hot exhaust which branded his hand. I can remember the screams of my father. The sight of his hand still makes me cringe to this day. Well that ended the planting for the day, but luckily the job was done and all we needed was rain.
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