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This is the "side
grove" back in August, 2005. It turned out to be,
hopefully, THE last return to reality and a serious
lesson.
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A
year and a half since I first started experimenting with this method and the
end is in sight.
The
side grove, which was almost nothing when this trial began, is now some
thirty trees. The key is that now there is a way protect them.
Rick
Steves, the PBS travel host, often says that his programs are intended to
help viewers learn from his mistakes. I have made lots of them and
have learned plenty. The objective here is to share everything
possible about this very successful method.
My
overall goal is to grow trees
This
was written in August, 2005. Since that time this pretty scene
was pretty much destoyed (see "Almost
Impossible"). Now, at the end of March, 2006 they're
finally coming back.
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It
was tough, there is no doubt about that. I began with the notion
that you ought to be able to grow a tree your yard. From there I
found that, at least at elevations as in Colorado, aspen are the best
alternative. They're the fastest growing, they reproduce asexually
and form an entire grove, and they are resilient in terms of weather and
animals (and they grow back after being destroyed). And oh yeah,
they are beautiful.
Then
I learned more and more about what is really the problem behind changing
foliage in fairly specific areas such as Evergreen. Deer and elk--in
other areas it may be just deer--are uncontrolled in many parts of the
U.S. Governments, the only entities that can restrain them and they
are, just like the animals, imposing but not unbeatable foes. I had
to find a way to beat the beasts, but I had to do it in a fenceless,
hunterless, and suburban environment.
After
two years, and many more years before that, I am confident that I now have
products and a strategy that work. I have found things that work but
I have made many mistakes. Here is my best effort to share them.
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It
helps to understand the enemy, or specifically, the deer and elk
that ravage my yard. In my particular area, I break them into
wandering males and families or herds. The huge, confident
males seem to strut around at all hours and pretty much throughout
the year. The climate where it is sunny is moderate most of
the year and they don't really migrate. The suburban residents
try to keep their yards green and ornamental as much as and
as long as they can and the beasts have learned that there is food
there.
Whether
in herds or groups or when they are on their own, the beasts are
instinctive and operate differently than humans. Smell is
certainly a major driver. I have been told that learning from
parents, particularly mothers, is another one. Seemingly they
follow each other around and go in historical paths and follow the
scent of their peers. There may be a capacity to learn, which
seems logical--at the very least they go where the food is.
The outdoors is their home and they are familiar with the terrain,
the obstacles, the almost nonexistent predators, and all the
environmental characteristics that probably humans are not
tuned-into.
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