Hinge-cut update

Yellow stars are trees to be saved.  7-of-the-11 trees are Black Walnut, 12"-to-14" DBH and at least two logs of clear trunk on each tree.  Two are oak.  One is a Sugar Maple.   As you can see, the trees that need to be saved are bunched on the east end of the hinge-cut area.

Looking west from the stone cairn.  The second tree from the left is the Sugar Maple.  This is the only one with any size that is on this property.  As always, you can click on the photos to embiggen.

Looking north from the edge of the field in line with the stone cairn.  There are four marked trees in this photo.  The one on the left is one of the oak trees. You can see the pink surveyors flags along the right side of the photo.  Swamp in background.

The proposed hinge-cut area is bounded on the west by a shooting lane, on the south by the tilled field, on the north it parallels a major deer trail (known by the owner as "The Ho Chi Min trail).  The east boundary was a bit arbitrary but goes over a stone pile and down a gully.  It is about twenty feet east of the stone cairn.

Approximate dimensions 200 feet East-West and 100 feet North-South, which is very close to half an acre. 

It will be impossible to provide "side cover" to the north and east due to the north facing slope and the gully. That might be OK.

The prevailing wind is from the west-southwest.  The old-timers tell me that deer often bed with  cover or elevation upwind of them, relying on their sense of smell to identify threats coming from that direction.  They will be looking downwind relying on sight and sound in the directions their noses cannot smell.

Bonus picture:  Sucks to be a possum in the winter.

Second bonus picture:  This Swamp White Oak is a prolific producer of acorns.  It is a chance "orchard" type tree in a forest.  As you can see, it is being shaded by her sisters which are not "wasting" energy producing acorns.  This tree also has a quirky form with the heavy, horizontal limbs.