GroundHAWWWG!!

Top 59. May 14, 2000 8:33 AM

» bindweed - Fast forward

Barbara you are so right on!

Not only as you wrote: "But seriously, folks.....our very BEING here upsets the BALANCE, so best we become a very conscious part of the collage." Not only are we as a species on a Fast Forward, sometimes I worry that there are no brakes at all. We gardeners, as a whole also tend to be oblivious or uninvolved when it comes to protecting the 'garden' outside of our own.

I should have added the "Self-Absorbed" gardener to Carol's discussion about what kind of gardener are you? Many garden as an escape from trauma, abuse, loss or as an escape from a world they now no longer understand.

Back to 'varmint' four footed or otherwise.** I would also add to Barbara's beautiful thoughts. Pay attention to the good these animals do as well as the bad. Even slugs -- without them you wouldn't be eating those wild mushrooms. Slugs and ants could be said to be much more active gardeners than we humans. They (the slugs) also tend to prefer to eat or dispose of damaged or injured plants -- so technically they are pruning out the "ugly" in your garden.

If they happen to go after those Hostas of your's perhaps they are just trying to tell you something:-)

"Be careful here! ---says Barbara" NOPE
On varmints: A good case in point. WE introduced Mt. Goats into our Olympic Mts. They thrived and multiplied and have no controlling natural predator! Guess what -- those beautiful beasts are now varmints. They are destroying entire endemic alpine communities, alpine pastures etc. We need to CONTROL them! In come the helicopters and we net them (or attempt too) to release them somewhere else. Cost 600-1000 dollars per animal.

Next we hire sharpshooters to Norplant the females. 300 dollars per animal. All the time we ignore the hordes of two footed varmints that daily trample the same meadows. The hordes of lederhosened Elderhostel's ascending like a scourge upon these mountains, or the cross country runs we host to see who could scurry from one ridge to the other the fastest. I had always wanted to get one of those Norplant guns and wait for the "tourist season" to open. Never could get a permit. DAMN!

More recently -- we have encouraged an Elk herd to roam around Sequim. Protected, they have no fear of man or cars. They have multiplied. Solution, we cut them in half and gift the people of Brinnon??? with our tame ELK. They are ever so grateful! $-) Over and out, I'm off to work, building those ten foot fences!!!

Herbert Senft
Visit the friendly Pacific Northwest

-- posted by bindweed

Top 60. May 16, 2000 3:03 PM

» LadyB - We GOT one.....

Set the ole Hav-a-Hart trap with slices of apple and *poink* caught one of the youngsters. I called in on the radio to see if my assistant had caught anything, she said she had and asked what we do now. I told her that LAST year, my OTHER assistant would take the varmint for a little ride to 'summer camp' in a nearby state park. She assured me that he risked a $1200.00 fine and 5 years in jail doing that. I told her that our farmer usually tossed the trap in the lake and drowned them, but I couldn't think about (or condone) that. She said she'd take care of it. Hey. She did very well when she caught the racoon, rigging up a remote/spring rope so she could let the thing out without it coming after HER.

Well. It turns out she took the practical approach and took the trap down to the lake. With great trepidation and asking forgiveness, she was JUST about to toss it into the water when the ONE creature on the entire planet that scares her worse than just about ANYTHING slithered up to her and basically said "I don't THINK so". She abandoned the entire idea and suffering incredible "Snake Scheeves" turned around to see my OTHER assistant, a conscientious hunter and fisherman, driving in at that moment. He took it to a place he knew where it could be happy and cause little harm. Happy ending.

The trap is re-set with another apple, and everyone has their orders. First thing on the list for the morning is MARMOT DISPOSAL. We're STILL toying with the Juicy Fruit Gum approach for the mom. We caught three of the babies last year, but never caught the parent. (Which has got to be why we have a whole new crowd THIS year.)

I was weeding in the cutting garden (aka salad bar) and it's rather surprising what they choose to eat and not. They don't TOUCH the monarda, or the ground ivy OR the chickweed! I can understand the monarda and ground ivy, they're very highly scented, but chickweed is pure FOOD! They demolish just the leaves of the violets and hollyhocks and they're NAILING the fleabane daisies and campions, so I'm leaving them for GroundHog chow. (*sigh*) I'll keep you posted....

And Herb, unless you want clods of DIRT thrown at you, I wouldn't lump ALL gardeners in to a heap of folks who don't care about the gardens beyond their own gates. Many of us truly do. (tho I've met a good many who don't).

I've also heard that slugs pollinate European and Canadia Ginger, some of the most elegant of the shade garden plants, (but I wouldn't want to MARRY one......)

-- posted by LadyB

Top 61. May 16, 2000 6:58 PM

» bindweed - Clod away at me!

Barbara I do agree with you!

I wrote: "We gardeners, as a whole also tend to be oblivious or uninvolved when it comes to protecting the 'garden' outside of our own.

I should never have put it into quite those words. That said, be it in Santa Cruz or up here in Sequim WA, I have generally found gardeners to be very apathetic when it comes to getting involved in political/environmental frays. I fear however, that this non-involvement extends to a great many people.

A few years ago I wrote a scathing rebuttal that became the front page feature for the Port Angeles Paper, it attacked the homophobic articles posted in another local rag. The responses were interesting, including one date offer (I am not Gay) and a wonderful one from a young man who described in painful detail what it was like growing up here. His phone call made my day.

Less so, another. This Gay businessman phoned me up and congratulated my brave and honest letter. He then admitted that "he could never have written that, as his business would suffer". HUH! Like I don't have problems enough attracting customers to my own business.

This happened recently when another Nursery persons nixed a very important letter to our City Council. Should she sign that petition, it might come back to bite her. Guess that is how most of us are. I should not have singled out gardeners.

I will also hasten to add that the largest proportion of activists are Seniors! "I am Aged and Dangerous", might be a great T-shirt. Sometimes these grandparents put their children (and my sixties generation) to shame for their involvement to protect the environment.

As for the gardeners who seek refuge in gardening to escape abuse ... I withdraw nothing. I bitterly came to view myself as pimping to some of these victims, when the Good Daddy brought the "little lady" to the nursery and let her buy some plants. He would then bring out the checkbook. No communication, no sharing -- just let her range in my nursery for a bit.

Far more common than you would imagine. Same for women who have lost their children. The garden does become their safety net. "The Therapy Gardener". Nothing wrong with that -- I have been there myself. The garden delivers, you have expectations, surprises and even unexpected adversities -- but in this one thing, the gardener usually has control. A control that he or she may have lost in many other dealings with life.

Last thought, are you sure that 'hunter' didn't put your young racoon into his casserol! YUM

Herbert Senft
Visit the friendly Pacific Northwest

-- posted by bindweed

Top 62. May 19, 2000 12:17 PM

» LadyB - Well, now we're two for two...

(sort of...) we've gotten two hogs and two racoons (although we suspect it might have been the SAME racoon) This time it was released farther than a mile and a half away and the second hog was whisked away to the other side of town (and released on wide open land, not someone's yard)

If this keeps up, we may have to start building an ark!

Have to say, though, the second hog and I had a nice little chat. I went around to where the trap was and began talking to it, whereupon it clicked its teeth at me, whereupon I clicked right back at him, whereupon we kept up QUITE the exchange, much to my assistant's amusement.

Just watch, this hole is going to be a 'loaves and fishes' of hogdom.......

-- posted by LadyB

Top 63. May 19, 2000 9:13 PM

» bindweed - GOT HIM -- drumroll please

Finally the Mt. Beaver problem is halved!, and the method of dispatch was not kindly. This Mt. Beaver will be waiting for me at the Pearly Gates!

And remember folks, sometimes releasing these trapped creatures into the woods (read State Lands) or other can be against the law! BIG fines if you are caught. Dispatching that varmint on your own grounds may be a much smarter thing to do.

Knowing a local woman who catches all of her slugs, then releases them elsewhere, does not want me to be her neighbor.

MOST wild things are to be encouraged. I use no pesticides or chemicals on these six acres. I have toads by the square feet. However, when an animal species becomes a burdening problem -- it needs an answer. Life traps did not work!

Herbert Senft
Visit the friendly Pacific Northwest

-- posted by bindweed

Top 64. May 22, 2000 7:35 PM

» LadyB - We're getting down to the SMART ones.....

The two baby hogs were easy enough to catch, but we must be into parent material now.....last trap-setting I set out sliced oranges. This morning every slice was eaten RIGHT down to the rind and the trap remained UNSPRUNG.

We put in a nice, fragrant honeydew melon rind today. Let's see who we get tomorrow.

Maybe it's a WART HOG, who knows......

-- posted by LadyB

Top 65. May 22, 2000 7:49 PM

» Cottage_Garden - Wart Hogs

Wart Hogs leave no traps -- let alone rinds! smile

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

Top 66. May 24, 2000 5:35 PM

» LadyB - Smart....and FAT

WEll! We set our trap with a honeydew melon rind and WHOEVER decided to investigate was ROTUND enough to pull the rind ALMOST out of the trap without springing it! This means it was BIG enough to NOT go all the way IN!!!

My assistant and I got a good laugh as BOTH of us showed up with Juicy Fruit gum this morning!! We're going to start by baiting the trap with just ONE piece and see what happens.....

-- posted by LadyB

Top 67. May 25, 2000 5:53 AM

» Cottage_Garden - Maybe

Maybe you need a bigger trap? The one we use for groundhog is huge.

-- posted by Cottage_Garden