Here it is

This is what I was talking about in yesterday's post. The strip behind our north-side fence that we "hacked out" back in 2012 when the growth got out of hand. I've been pretty good at keeping it clear since then. But it's got to be done regularly, or those brazen brambles, saplings, and other opportunist growing things will fill in quickly.

Tasha runs along the freshly cleared strip outside our fence. I've seen deer move through there many times.

The worst invaders are the blackberries. They grow fast and reach out to colonize any empty spot. They're covered in sharp thorns that can pierce clothes and gardening gloves like a stapler through paper. Ouch. And they really can't be eradicated, short of a total clearing of the woods' undergrowth and probably a good dousing of nasty herbicide. I've seen a patch of them burned to the ground out near the vineyard, but they always come back. Then there are the saplings that grow in the woods beyond the strip. As they grow taller, they lean toward the fence reaching for light. I have to cut them back before they start hanging over our yard. Of course, I can't do much about the older established trees. I won't mention the grasses and other plants that actually grow on the fence line itself. You can see in the photo that I still have some work to do.

The land north of our fence doesn't belong to us. We've been led to believe that we have the right to clear a meter beyond our property line (and we're not exactly sure where that is), but nobody would take issue with what we've done.