Squirrel, you say?
Think Feb 2nd...Phil....roadkill...
You guessed it! A groundhog INSIDE my garden!!!
About 30 minutes before we had to leave for the hospital, I decided to check my garden since I hadn't watered it the night before. I heard a rustle, but thought it was a bird in the cucumber vines, picking insects. You can't imagine my surprise and instant infuriation when I saw the groundhog pop his head up from behind the strawberry pots! If you've read my post on Mrs. McGregor, then you know I've been going to many lengths to keep my veggies safe and healthy. To this point, no rodent had breached the garden fence, or so I thought.
I had actually seen the groundhog a week before and my petunias had taken a beating, but I hadn't seen any sign of him getting into the garden. There were no holes dug under the fence at any point, so I assumed he had been eating to his heart's content OUTSIDE the fence. I was wrong. He somehow (and I'm still not sure how) got himself OVER the fence and was doing a number on the squash blossoms and broccoli.
Well, Mrs. McGregor took over my normally calm, problem-solving approach to such incidents. Here's what happened next:
*I grabbed a nearby shovel and began banging on the fence to try and scare him out. He hid behind the pots.
*I yelled for Bob to come help me (remember, we had to leave for the hospital in 30 mins) but I could hear that he was still in the shower. So I yelled at the groundhog instead. He ran into the cucumber vines.
*I dug up some dirt with the shovel and threw it on him. He ran back to the pots.
*I grabbed the water hose and decided to spray him out. He ran into the tomate cages, nearly knocking them over...grrrrr! DON'T TOUCH THE TOMATOES!
*I took the tender-heart trap that our friends had loaned up and set it inside the fence, then continued to spray him with the hose in hopes that he'd run into the trap. No such luck. He ran back behind the pots and began to dig furiously. Obviously, he hadn't considered how to get out of the garden and was ad-libbing his escape.
*At this point, Bob heard the commotion and wanted to know what the heck was going on. I yelled for him to bring me my camera (always thinking of the next blog post!) and continued spraying the now sopping wet, feverishly clawing groundhog.
*Bob brought my camera to me and reminded me (gently?) that we have 15 minutes til we need to leave. I informed him that I was not leaving while there was still a rodent in my garden and continued spraying the very desperate and sorry-I-ever-came-into-this-crazy-woman's-yard groundhog.
* While hosing him down (on the jet mode, mind you!), I managed to snap this photo. Yes, I was less than a foot away from him but neither of us cared. He was digging for his life and I was too angry to care whether desperate groundhogs can jump.
Long story short, while I continued spraying the garden thief, he continued digging until he finally got a big enough hole to squeeze through. He took off toward the neighbor's shed which is where I suspect he (or she?) is burrowing. Lord, I pray it's a single male! No sign of him since then, although we did put in some extra fencing and a rodent-repellant ground cover, just to fortify our defenses. If he's smart, he'll tell all the groundhogs in the neighborhood about his unbelievable journey into the wild wet, I mean, west. And yes, we made it to the doctor's office on time. By then, though, swallowing 3 pills was the least exciting part of the day.
OK, gotta get to bed. Thanks for your continued prayers...they're working their wonders!
Love,
1 comment:
Oh Jen (or should I say Mrs. McGregor?) you crack me up! As I've mentioned before, you really need to publish your writing!!! Good luck with your new little buddy.
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