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Varmints, 4; Olga, 0

I admit defeat.  I give up.  It's back to growing flowers for me.  The neighborhood woodchuck has struck once again.  That darn critter is under the mistaken notion that I am running an all-you-can-eat salad buffet.  My first planting of lettuce and beans were sheared to the ground.  I was spraying the second planting with a substance that is supposed to be unpalatable to woodchucks, but with all the rain, I guess I should have been more diligent about getting out there every single evening.  Any evidence of the second crop is now gone as well.
Then there is the raccoon that discovered the bird feeders.  Mike started bringing in the feeders at night, but that has only served to piss off the raccoon.  He left a large pile or two on the deck to communicate his irritation.  When that didn't have the desired pay-off, he ravaged my deck planters and broke some pottery.
Meanwhile, Mike is being plagued by a mole in the side yard.  He thinks woodchucks and raccoons are cute, but a mole digging in the lawn pushes him right over the edge.  He will go into Elmer Fudd mode over a mole.
*********
My grand daughter's visit has come to an end.  We went shopping (shopping for a new outfit was her birthday present from me), went bike riding and swimming, visited with my friend's puppy, and made a trip to the science museum.  I also got her started on learning to knit--although I notice she didn't take that home with her.  We made some Sculpy clay figures.  She claimed not to miss her little brother the least little bit.

I did my thing at the library today and now I have to get ready for weekend guests.  Mike's sister and her husband will be here so that will be a good time.  I know we are going to hit an antique mall and eat, drink and be merry.  That's easy.

I did not get to see Michele Obama on her trip to Vermont but I thought it was nice that she came.  Vermont doesn't get a whole lot of attention from the political ins and wannabes...which is not necessarily an altogether bad thing...just sometimes it's nice to be noticed.

A HAPPY and SAFE FOURTH of JULY!
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Comments

  1. Meryl BaerJuly 1, 2011 at 5:58 PM

    No squirrels messing with the bird feeder?...You are probably exhausted after your granddaughter's visit, so relax and have a great holiday weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  2. MargaretJuly 1, 2011 at 8:11 PM

    Sorry about your varmints. I myself am wondering why ants are taking over my artichoke plant? I think my dog keeps a lot of the larger critters away. I don't think we have woodchucks here.

    ReplyDelete
  3. BarbJuly 1, 2011 at 11:22 PM

    Olga - try Critter Ridder. We are having a problem,too - some creature (raccoon? porcupine? mole?) is chomping the drip lines to our trees and creating a geyser at the hole while no water gets to other parts of the yard. We called our "expert" (neighborhood) wildlife person, and he suggested Critter Ridder granules (Ace Hardware). He said it's abetter than the spray. I'll let you know if it works (6 holes and counting...)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sally WesselyJuly 2, 2011 at 12:19 AM

    Wow, if the Critter Ridder that Barb suggests works, I'd like to know that. Now that I don't have a dog, a few critters like my house also.

    It sounds like you and your granddaughter had a wonderful time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Linda MyersJuly 2, 2011 at 1:57 AM

    What kind of creature de-fruited our cherry tree? Small green cherries disappeared overnight, including the stems. Crows? Kids? Grrrrr!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Arkansas PattiJuly 2, 2011 at 1:29 PM

    Had to laugh at the coon's vengence. Spiteful little fellow isn't he?
    I do have a mole dog I rent out but his air fare wouldn't be worth it. I had an onion eatin bunny but nothing else---yet.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Heidrun Khokhar, KleinsteMotteJuly 2, 2011 at 3:53 PM

    Yes the critters are just too eager to find an easy meal. They know how to fool us alot of the time.
    Have a great weekend. And thanks for stopping by to my posts.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Susan AdcoxJuly 3, 2011 at 10:05 AM

    We have problems with the raccoons and squirrels attacking our bird feeders as well. Eventually they send them crashing to the ground. The last time this happened, I hung a basket up and filled it with seed. The basket has a big, slick handle that the squirrels haven't yet been able to negotiate, and the birds love it. The only problem is that it has no rain protection, but we've had so little rain lately that it hasn't been a problem!

    ReplyDelete
  9. marciamayoJuly 3, 2011 at 11:20 AM

    I think it's nice that you are feeding the wildlife around you.

    ReplyDelete

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