On 04/22/2011 12:28 PM, Judith in France wrote:
Can't help you with any advice about the Toona but I share your
anxiety about the deer. The hunters are out in force here, there
seems to be a huge amount of culling of the boar going on and oddly
enough rabbits! They gather on the edge of our land, all white vans,
about 20 to each shoot, I see the lookouts on the walkie talkies
getting edgy as the boar is on the move. They entered our land, once,
without asking permission, I sent them off with an Irish flea in their
ear despite their pleas that the boar was in the coppice and they
would share the meat with me. I don't like the meat, too strong for
my taste but I make a mean stew with deer meat.

Hi Judith,

I like boar and deer both (on my plate) but prefer deer. The boar do a
fair bit of damage in the fields but not in the garden, although they
visit and eat fallen fruit.

We are surrounded by the largest forest in Normandie at about 15,000
hectares, of which the immediate part is a privately held hunt. In
exchange for being "good neighbors" (which means not reporting
violations) we are given 4 or 5 choice cuts during the year along with
unlimited access for mushrooming etc. Thank goodness the hunting season
ends in April (except for fox hunting) so it's peaceful now.

cheers,

-E