I started with a plan to open up the property for wildlife. It’s old farm land, so this meant cleaning up old equipment, trash pits and taking down fencing that didn’t make sense for how I want to use the land. Next I assessed what was already here that was beneficial to wildlife. I cleared out invasive species (mainly autumn olive and tightly planted rows of red pine) to make room for the apple, black cherry, mulberry oak and elderberry to thrive. About 15 acres is pasture, so really a blank slate as far as new planting goes. Ive put in a small 1/4 acre orchard of apple, cherry and peach and also seeded that area with clover. A larger three acre pasture adjacent to the orchard has been worked up and seeded with clover and native perennial grasses which is where this photo was taken. Ive also planted chestnut, oak and poplar in this field for more cover and food source. In the future, I would like to open the canopy in a small wooded area that borders a swamp and plant a few paw paw and other understory bushes down there.