Seeing Mr. Toad perched on my shoe just reminds me to shake out my "gardening shoes" before I put them on.
When we first moved here, our yard had nothing but grass and a few vines along a barbed wire fence. I yearned for shade and a wild-life preserve. I even planted my garden according to Wildlife Federation guide-lines. WHAT was I thinking?
OK, I love having Mr. Toad---he's a great addition to any garden. The birds and ducks are usually pretty entertaining, but the possum who slinks through the undergrowth grosses me out and the rabbits annoy me---stay away from my garden and just snack on the clover, why don't you.
We are surrounded by communities that have been struggling with the deer population. Town and County, less than a mile away has tried moving them, sterilizing them and now plan on "thinning the herd." click here.
I had been blaming the rabbits for all of the nibbling that has been going on---stuck some twigs in the ground to form a "rabbit barrier", but now I'm beginning to wonder. . .This week, I looked at my once lush potted plants.
How would a rabbit eat these plants down to nubs---jumping and nibbling, jumping and nibbling? I was talking to some friends this week and they suggested I look to see if there's any marks on my trees of a deer rubbing his antlers.
So, I talked to my neighbors who are deer hunters. Tim said, "Yeah, I saw a 6-point buck with a herd of does over on the common ground in Barcelona." I asked Tim if he thought a deer did all of this damage. He looked around for deer scat (didn't find any), but said, "Yeah, it could be."
So, I have new plants on the bench. . . .
and a cage around a new shrub that's been nibbled on. You don't suppose Town and Country are just herding their deer over into our fair city do you?
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