well they weren't dong a very good job of grazing (deer, rabbits, bear,

) I don't have farm animals at my home ..with my husband's head injury i have no ability to care for them myself..he is enough.
in order to have access to the backside of the pond I decided to d r trim it and use the mulch (weeds that hadn't gone to seed yet but were trimmed down..mostly goldenrod, daisy and buttercup)..to mulch my berry plants i just had put in this spring and hadn't fully gotten mulched..just a little
compost and wood bark and pineneedles..
however..the rain has kept me from raking up the mulch..to put on the garden.
will do as soon as it dries up out there ..4 days solid rain now.
the wild field will grow back..we will continue to mow a path..son is attempting to level out the high and low spots with the tractor before it grows back..so that we don't break our necks (both of us have disabilities)..and we will be removing some of the alder and willow that are completely taking over the area..leaving some farther out..but not in this particular area ..hundreds and hundreds of them ..
sure you have a right to ask..but honestly..i'm just thrilled to have some access to the backside of the pond..
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this is at the south end of the area I trimmed..i found 3 small white ash trees when I was d r trimming..which I will choose some of to allow to grow tall..also found a large hole and 3 large clumpy areas that are dangerous.the hole will be filled and the dangerously high clumps will be levelled..there is an old ditch with high spots running along the east (right ) side..and Joel has since these photos were taken filled that in with dirt from the pond dig and levelled it to preven someone from falling and to be able to easily access this area.
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this photo was just past the first one..there is a lovely olive growing here and a baby weeping willow..there is a lilac that was moved when our house burned and it needs to be pruned down and refurbished..there are other holes here and high spots that could use some levelling..dangerous to walk if you are partially disabled..this is mostly golden rod growing here and alder trees.
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this is the apple tree that I told you I found this spring..wouldn't have known it was growing in the center of this alder shrub had I NOT seen it in full glorious bloom this spring..we will be removing the alder around the apple and trying to get it cleaned out so the apple has a chance to grow well..this is right on the edge of our pond now..after Joel dug the new part of the pond..previously it was out in the field..field is now pond.
the photos shows the water down about a foot from the drought..but levels are back up nearly to full since the rain we have had for 4 days.
we will basically leave most of this area wild..with just some levelling and grading around the pond for access not only for us but for the wildlife to be able to use it..right now it is a dead on 5' drop off into the water where this last photo was taken..which isn't safe for man or beast.