Lee Roy

I just think that it's unfair for everyone else that you automatically assume everyone who you don't know has ill intentions. It's one thing to start assuming if they are close to your house, vehicles, or storage building. Maybe I'm a different situation then a "drunk hunter" because I travel very far from my home to fish in the locations that I do. I may go several counties out of my own. The fact is I don't always know who owns the land so asking permission is out of the question. To be honest, if I was told in person that I may not use their land; I just drove two hours out, I'm not packing up my things and going home, I'm going fishin'.

I'm not a hunter (though I plan on starting soon) I do shoot though. I never attended safety shooting classes or anything but my Dad always told me that if you ever point a gun at someone your intentions better be to kill, and to follow up with several other shots. I'm not sure if this is common among other people but I completely understand why. Running someone off at gunpoint would be totally irresponsible, even if they had unconcealed weapons. That's a recipe to start a disaster.

I totally understand the bull issue however. I have a friend who actually escaped a bull encounter picking mushrooms. He was lucky. Where I live we don't have big ranch style pasture's, just smaller pastures that are normally enclosed in barb wire. I most certainly don't go around hoping fences. I don't see how someone getting trampled, torn up, and tossed like a beach ball to be your problem though?

Bradley, there is good news and bad news. Good news is your dad taught you the number one rule when handling a gun which is don't point at anything or anyone you don't want a hole in. The bad news is that he failed to teach respect for other peoples property. It's pretty simple...if you don't know who owns the land don't go trouncing around on it. The fact that you drove a couple hours is irrelevant. There are areas where land owners have major issues with thieves, poachers, etc, and rightly have a first instinct to protect their family. Not to even mention that you have no idea if someone is hunting or just shooting in your direction. Bottom line is, if not out of respect, you should value your life enough not to put it in danger or catch a stray bullet.

Oskar, I checked out some of Will Hooker's stuff and he looks like the man I have been looking for. I am finding that while there are many people that are interested in the permaculture there a few that have actually done it ( that are known at least). I am also surprised that this concept has not taken hold among more charitable organizations with these types of systems being set up in areas of need. I wil make sure that I document and follow up with my progress so that others can learn from my experience.

Graham, that looks like a good read, its on the list

Saybian, I have seen that DVD pop up in my research and it looks interesting.

I own 6 acres (I do not live on site) that is allready in forest but is thick 20 year cutover that was not managed properly. It is in a rather depressed area and my idea is to create a food forest with a focus on mostly native species (central North Carolina) that are edible for people in the neighborhood. The good news is that it naturally reseeded with good diversity as nature does but I want to introduce some fruit trees and bushes, herbs etc. The property is a pyramid shape with the tip pointing north and flat then gently sloping down to a creek/ wetlands at the base. The slope faces south. I have read and watched much on permaculture but have yet to find specifics on how to plan an actual planting or take a poorly managed forest and turn it into a food forest. People tend to talk in generalities and concepts but rarely show an example other than rainforests in other countries or someone planting a garden and calling it a food forest here in the states. Advice and opinions on the subject would be appreciated.