Hedge Row project

This is the last weekend of our 8 week rifle season.  Hopefully everyone is hunted out. 

I don't bring out the saw if I think I will push a buck to a neighbor.

I'll work right around the house where it is possible to push a doe, but I stay out of the good areas during hunting season.

You're right.  I was thinking it was the same length as regular firearm season.

I started with the habitat stuff in 2012. Prior to that we had the field and that was it. Beyond that, 1000's of acres of continuous forest. This project started when I found a couple old apple trees all covered up. I started releasing them and when I was done I ended up with 22 mature apples spread out over a couple acres. Over the years I have eventually cleared everything around them and turned it into a 2 acre orchard plot. I always wanted a thick hedge row to separate the field and the plot. In the beginning it was wide open but everytime I had extra shrubs or spruce I stuck them in the hedge row. I also left a few large cherry trees to define the line but they should have come down a long time ago. They shaded a few of the apple trees for the first half of the day. With the row finally thick enough to screen the plot it was time for the cherries to go. I got them all down with only minimal damage to some crabapple shrubs. They now add to the screen. There also dozens of hawthorn saplings in the row. I have a love mostly hate relationship with these thorny bastards but this is the perfect spot for them.

Before

After.
This will directly effect a half dozen apple trees and should add a ton of browse. Silky dogwood, ninebark, Hawthorne, some native unknown dogwood, and midwest crab all will get a pop from the extra sun. Eventually the plan is to have the spruce get big enough to block all sight in. That is many years away at the rate they are growing.