You may remember my writing of the wildlife we have in our yard, even though we live in a city. Maybe I was even bragging, a tad.
Meanwhile, our garden was looking better than ever. Some of it was likely a consequence of all the seaweed we’re using for mulch, plus the compost. Some of it a matter that we got just about everything transplanted on time, and some a reflection that my being free from the office has allowed a little more help with the weeding and harvesting.
On top of everything, the weather has been uncommonly cooperative. There were no late frosts in May, though there were nights we had to bring plants under cover as they “hardened off” before transplanting. We largely avoided a wet June, which kept the garden slugs under control and meant the strawberries didn’t get waterlogged. (They’ve been very tasty. The berries, that is.) July has brought rainfall as needed and also stayed out of the tropical range of oppression.
And then, about a week ago, disaster struck. A groundhog (apparently dwelling under a shed three houses down the street).
We had some near misses in the past, but nothing like this. One year, in fact, a band of possums evicted the groundhogs from their burrow. My wife’s always like opossums.
Overnight, half of our Brussels sprouts and a half-dozen heads of lettuce were obliterated. The rest were wiped out a day or two later, despite our efforts to fight back. Without the possums coming to our rescue, my wife’s taking this personally. For that matter, so am I. What about all that teaching about peaceful coexistence, anyway? What if the other side just doesn’t care?
Living in the city, we can’t resort to the usual line of defense, either, the one many vegetarians no doubt practice. No, a .22 is not an option here. You can run down the list of other weapons and strike them off one by one. Children and pets, after all, live in the neighborhood.
So here we are, mopping up and hoping the cantaloupe slices in the Hav A Heart trap do the job. And wiping our tears.
Jnana's Red Barn 
I wish you luck for round two!
Thanks! We’ll need it!
not good – hope they have gone now
I’m so glad I didn’t see you going after them like Bill Murray in Caddyshack. good luck with the Havaheart!
Thanks for the tip. We’re putting the movie on our Netflix queue. (Just kidding.)
Or was it “Groundhog Day”?
Hahaha. I hope it doesn’t feel like Groundhog Day, over and over again!
Oh no! Hope the groundhog has had his/her fill and won’t be back. 🙂
Unfortunately not. Even came back to do further damage in the Brussels sprouts.
I have had luck surrounding my beds with borage as a barrier crop of sorts. The groundhog always ate her fill of the borage before she reached the veggies I was trying to protect. May not be much help this year, but might be worth trying in future.