Wow, that's neat that all of a sudden those apple trees came up. I've found some trees with bark out there that remind me of apple or cherry bark, but who knows, maybe it's even plum or pear. I've never seen any fruit out there yet, other than mulberry, but my grandpa had said there was a pear tree out there. I'm not sure if they multiply real easy, but I suppose once birds get a hold of them, it's real easy. Like you mentioned, the grove really needs a good thinning. The mulberry's are multiplying so quick, that my intention and priority is to cut them all down, so they don't overgrow the good ash and maple out there. I'm not sure if they're a bad firewood tree, but I bet the ash is bunch better. One neat thing that i've found is that the mulberry tree has a couple different leaf patterns. Really boggled me, one has a huge dark green leaf, the other has a leaf more along the size of a maple leaf, with a cut shape in the length on some leaves. Not sure what the deal is. I'd post pics, but i'm on a new computer, and I don't have image editing software to re-size my pictures. I'm downloading a trial program as we speak.
Yes we have whitetail deer in the area. We're a couple miles away from a river bottom that's filled with gravel pits. We seem to get two or three deer throughout the year, but when it comes to hunting season, they seem to all stay down at the river bottom. I suppose they need to drink too. Also I can't remember the last time that I saw a buck. We've also taken out 15 or so acres of set-aside grass acres last fall and put in soybeans on that hill, as well as have been getting the crop out earlier, so they are very scarce around winter time. There are, however, still pheasants in the area. I chopped all our set-aside buffers this summer, but maybe the grass will grow up enough so that I can still chase some pheasants up. It usually isn't a problem chasing deer and pheasants up in the combine, but that's usually before the season starts. I do enjoy shooting my firearms, but tend to let them sit lately, as the cost to shoot them has just skyrocketed. I get by. I'm waiting for the day when they legalize rifle hunting down here, but I doubt it will ever happen.
I would just like to be able to walk through there without having to have slacks on, and without worrying about tripping over something. Would make it a whole lot easier for hunting as well!
