Willow tree beaver protection

For the past month, now that the river water level is low, I have spent time, a little time here-and-there, working on protecting the willow trees growing next to the river.  I was also moving irrigation pipes, doing the second hay cutting, and avoiding the heat.  An hour here, an hour there, several hours here and there.  I slowly got the work done and today I finished the work.  Now the trees should be protected from the beavers.

Here are the photos.

First three willow trees.  The beaver got to these trees before I started the protection work.

See the dark 'fencing'?  The fencing above that dark section was kind-of open or larger.  The beaver found it, reached through and nipped a few more branches.  I had to add some extra wiring to close the opening.

Here are the next two tree trees I protected.   Before and after.

Three weeks later you can see how the one willow tree is growing again and is filling the new fenced area.

Willow tree 3.  I had protected this tree from the beavers last year after the beavers got to this tree.  So this year I only had to trim some of the lower new branches.

Willow tree 4.   The old fencing wrapped the tree trunk. The beaver had climbed the wire and trunk and chewed off the top of the trunk and a number of the branches.  This new wire fence should prevent the beaver from reaching the trunk.

Willow trees 5 and 6.

Willow tree 7.  Another one I had protected last year.  I trimmed a few lower branches and enhanced the fencing.

Willow tree 8.  Another tree I had protected last year after the beaver got to it.   I trimmed it up removing new lower branches.  I also did a little fence work.  Last year I had added the 'cage' fencing around the wire fencing wrapping the tree.  This year I removed the wire fencing wrapping the tree as it was starting to constrict/cut into the trunk in a few spots.

Here are a few photos of some of the willow trees I had protected in the north pasture.  The cattle would love to eat the willow leaves.  I had previously put-up tall wire fencing to protect the trees from the cattle.  It works.  But the cattle eat the leaves that grow through the wire fence and push on the wire, as you can see some of the metal posts are leaning.

Then I noticed a few willow trees growing in the middle pasture.  They are so short due to the beavers that they were hidden in the tall grass.  Well, until a cow got into this area and ate some of the grass down.  Then I re-noticed the willow trees.  There are 4 willow trees.  Two pairs of them.  That is how they grew.

Before and after.  There is wire fencing in the after photo.  It just doesn't show up well in the photo.

Before and after.

Then I worked on this unknown tree / shrub in the middle pasture.  Many, many years ago I bought this tree / shrub at a tree sale.  Why I planted it here, I don't remember.  But then I learned the cattle would want to eat the leaves.  So I put a fence around it.  As the years went by the tree / shrub grew and filled the fencing.  It was on my to-do list for a few years now to re-fence the tree / shrub.  I finally did it yesterday and today.  Yesterday I got the main fence up.  But the fence was chest height and needed to be taller to protect the tree / shrub from the cattle.  It was getting dark so I put it off until this afternoon.  Yup, the cattle had found I had changed the fencing.  They pushed it down on one side and at some of the leaves.  Well, now the fencing is higher than me.