~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL
I had a very busy week in the garden this week and posted the details here.
Today, I finally got the chocolate flower into the ground. Hopefully, I won’t drown this one…it’s tricky with desert plants because they need some moisture to get established when first planted. BUT…it’s sometimes hard to tell what is too much.
The big event of the week actually occurred yesterday. The SQUIRREL WARS have begun in earnest!
After the carnage in the garden a week or so ago, when all my baby swiss chard and mesculin was munched on by bugs, I bought on the spur of the moment a 9-pack of buttercrunch lettuce. To be safe, I planted them in the patio pots, in with the tomatoes and peppers. Perfect, right?
Wrong! Yesterday afternoon I caught not one, but TWO squirrels brazenly eating the lettuce!
Last spring they also ventured far into the yard. It may be that they are raising a family and need a lot of food. Since the dogs are out for most of the morning, they stay away. But their past behavior has to start coming over the wall from about 1 or 2 pm until about 4.
In the morning, the white-tailed doves eat most of the cracked corn I set out in this old plastic fountain that I found in the trash, so this afternoon I put more out and guess what?
The two buggers munched happily on the corn and didn’t wander onto the patio. Of course, I had put up some gerry-built chicken wire to deter them…but…
Here is a shot of how they peek over the wall…
Surveying the food situation...
Enjoying the free grub…
Wallowing in the food dish...
Frankly, I do have a soft spot in my heart for any animal that sits in its food dish. I had gerbils that did the same thing…the enthusiasm of the act is rather endearing.
I don’t know if I can keep them from my peaches for much longer. I’ve developed a new strategy. Instead of picking up the dog poop and putting it in the garbage, I’ve been tossing it along the other side of the wall near the burrow entrance that is hidden by big rabbitbrush bushes. Why I think any squirrels would be deterred by this, I don’t know…but I figure it’s worth a try! This year I have the most peaches ever and they are already HUGE!
Peaches waiting for squirrel visitors...
I still haven’t finished the new trellises for the new grapes and I have to start training the Flame grape which is already full of little bunches.
And, if I had time, I would be bagging those peaches now…my luck can’t hold out!!
Filed under: Life | Tagged: buttercrunch lettuce, chocolate flower, cracked corn, desert plants, dogs, Flame grape, gerbils, high desert gardening, mesculin, New Mexico gardening, peaches, peppers, rabbitbrush bush, rock squirrels, Southwest gardening, swiss chard, tomatoes, white-tailed doves |
InsightAnalytical -- Watching Our World 
Well, I can tell you that New Mexico squirrels look and act just like New York squirrels! Brazen little cuties, aren’t they? Even though they can be aggravating, it’s so hard to get mad at them when they sit there and look at you with that “what?” look on their faces.
I am happy to report that the weather is finally nice here (68 F as I type this, going up to 80 F later) and Spring is all around. You may get it earlier than we do, but boy when it comes it’s an explosion of color! Yellows, pinks, purples – the magnolias are blooming and even the lilacs leaves are budding out!
I took some pictures at my favorite park for you (which I will e-mail if I can ever figure out how to get them off my cell phone). I just may have to go back with a regular camera (it’s a dirty job, but someone needs to do it…)
Can’t wait to see and post those pics, GG!
What a cute picture of a squirrel! You know what a sucker I am for the darn little fluffy tailed rodents!
We have one coming up to the dishes we put on our back porch who was hurt somehow and was having a very hard time getting around. For instance when he would try to sit up to eat a peanut or a sunflower seed he usually tipped over. We put water and lots of food, including apple, which he/she loves and other goodies down on the ground where he/she can reach them. He/she is doing much better and can even climb the steps to the back porch now.
We acknowledge that they are real little pains in the butt at times and do our best to try and outsmart them to minimize the damage. Not easy which puts us on our mettle. If we can’t outsmart a damn squirrel what does that say about us?
[…] Saturday Sanity: The Antidote to the Madness (April 25, 2009) The Squirrels Invade Jump to Comments Originally Posted at InsightAnalytical […]
You’ll never outwit those squirrels, IA, so just continue feeding them and enjoying their antics. But just the same, good luck with the peaches.
ah.i love the squirrels.they come up on the picnic table and shake their little fist at me if there is no food for them lol.
Aha, I knew there were a bunch of squirrely people coming here. My kind of folks! 😀
I just built 40 feet of trellis’s for my grapes thanks to seeing pics of your trellis and it looks great. I have about 10 grape vines that were growing on the ground of all things. They were here when I bought the place 3 years ago. Now I can keep tham pruned just right. They ‘bleed’ too..if cut they drip a watery substance.
For the peach tree: there is netting that you can drape over the tree to keep birds and other animals out. It’s super light poly and can be bought in the garden section of Big Box stores (sometimes used for garden fencing)…Then put out some nuts for the squirrel to keep them occupied…funny, I didn’t know squirrels eat peaches. (my favorite fruit)
Well, we have bionic squirrels here…the netting didn’t work out!!!