Plan B

In the orchard, Tim recently found this

where his cherry tree had been

 along with a drag path all the way down the hill to the water.

 George Washington and his trusty little hatchet 

came briefly to mind.

But no.  

The trail to the water makes us suspect the beavers

which live in the pond just down the seasonal waterway from us.

Deer attempting to munch our fruit trees we anticipated

hence the deer netting.

Didn't see the beavers coming.

Between the beaver and the extreme winter,

Tim's lost all his apple and pear and most of his cherry trees.

We did replant two new cherry trees which we promptly enclosed in short metal fences,

hoping to at least make the beaver work for his lunch, 

thereby increasing his skill level and problem-solving experience, creating a super-herbivore, 

like those antibiotic-resistant super germs.

The fenced trees are still there so far

but a Nanking cherry bush went missing last week.

So we're planning on fencing all remaining trees and bushes individually with metal fence, seeing if it works 'til next spring, and if it does replanting more stuff.

I'm embarrassed to have been outwitted by an herbivore.

I'm very determined to win.

 And I'm really, really grateful that 

unlike the pioneers 150 years ago, 

I can definitely replace these trees 

and my family won't suffer hunger 

while I get my act together for

Plan B for Beaver.