Hi Scott,

I'm in Michigan too down here in the St.Joe/Benton Harbor area in Berrien County.

I've dug around some trees too where there are wicked roots that wreak havoc with the recovery process. I recently posted my experience (in White's Forum titled "Axe and ye shall recieve") with a big root in my uncle's yard.

Anyway, I have a Lesche Digging tool which does a great job when cutting through the smaller pesky roots...I just cut out the ones in the digging hole and either rebury them after recovery or just remove them completely. The trouble I seem to have is that the grass above these roots and under these trees all seem to be very thin and sparse (makes sense..the tree saps most of the nutrients of the soil and any moisture). Cutting a good plug that you can still use after you've explored the hole is tricky indeed.

Good idea to just dig good signals. Though who knows what you may be passing up in the process!

HH

El