They are no longer quite so cute, these groundhog babies. They’re a pain in the tush. I’ve tried everything to block off the garden, which is quite large, and on a downward slope, and they outsmart me every time. They are intelligent little critters. So, they keep getting in the big garden. I was on high alert all afternoon yesterday, going in and out of the house (with a mask on) trying to find a way to keep them out. Wire fences don’t work. They can get through them. I even saw one of them trying to move a brick.
I finally jury-rigged a ‘wall’ of bin covers that we’re going to take to the dump. But since the ground is uneven, they can still sneak through tiny openings.
I saw one climb the tree to the right of the bin cover to get to the other side.
I don’t want them destroying my garden. We don’t have any money to invest in a more permanent barrier, so that’s out. I had to keep opening the door so they would run back to their den. They do come up to the area by the funky patio, which is fine. That’s usually where the rabbit eats. Mom still goes off to the grass near the shed and she disappeared for several hours yesterday. They aren’t quite brave enough to head over to the grass yet.
By the way, there are only five now. I think the little runt, who kept trying to latch on to mom, passed away. Very sad.
Here’s the other problem. The family stays together for about 2 – 3 months, which takes me right through the summer.
My plan, for what it’s worth, is to spend time on the funky patio, reading, etc. when I know they are inclined to come out in search of food. Don will do the same thing. There are other homes for the groundhogs, notably under the shed, and I’ve seen the mom disappear under the shed several times. Maybe if it gets too frustrating, she’ll move them over there. There are also tunnels between our property and my neighbor’s. Plenty of places to go. If they lived under the shed, they’d do what mom does and eat the grass over there.
Fingers crossed. Groundhogs are intelligent animals, so I have my work cut out for me.
Let’s see, what else happened yesterday?
The air quality has improved and is back to normal. That happened last night. Hurrah!
Oh, that’s right. Trump was indicted!
I always knew it would happen. It will most likely happen with election interference and inciting a coup, as well. I never had a doubt.
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
We live in a much more suburban setting than you seem to, and were delighted when something digging in our compost area turned out to be a ground hog rather than rats! They didn’t stay long, probably discouraged by our tendency to work in the garden close to their burrow. So your strategy of hanging out close by may indeed work. My sister had good luck with a cheap radio tuned to talk stations when she had a ground hog digging destructively near her well pump house, might not be feasible for you. Our air quality index is still twice as bad as what I remember as a previous high, but less than 1/2 what it was yesterday. So improvement.
Ceci
Thanks, Ceci.
Stay safe.
If only you could have an intellegent conversation with the groundhogs but no. They do their own thing. Disturbing their eating patterns seems to be the solution. Having a radio on, as Ceci suggested, might work, but who wants to listen to a radio all day? I googled to see if Trump could still run for president if he was in jail. Yes he could. I found that rather bizarre. The scary part is, he just might win. Stay safe. Stay sane. Maybe the little critters will move on. Hugs, Elaine
Thanks, Elaine.
Stay safe.
sad about the baby. hope the other groundhog babies do well and that your plan works (and doesn’t take all summer for them to figure it out), that they only go where you want them to be and leave the garden alone.
we have from the beginning tried to be super-conscientious when offering birdseed and peanuts for the birds, and especially ever since earl the squirrel was first seen on the deck (my parents have fed birds since as far back as i can remember, more than 60 years) … done some reading, use the right kind in limited amounts so he doesn’t lose his hunt-and-gather skills or become trusting of people because not all people would be kind to him, etc. … then the other day, my sister went to put out some birdseed in the tray feeder (which earl also likes), didn’t see him and all of a sudden earl came right up, put a tiny paw on the screen door and looked at her for a few seconds. he is adorable, but we don’t want him to get tamed or to think he could come inside (that is absolutely not happening), so we are changing things again to encourage earl to remain like other squirrels. kind of hard, to be honest, because he has such a sweet face and makes us laugh when he flops down on his belly overlooking the edge of the deck (like we did as kids watching tv in front of the sofa) … but it’s for his own good. ours, too. sigh …
glad the air quality has improved for you!
this country has had and still has its own internal troubles, of course, but i never would have thought there would come a day that we’d have a now-former *president* act in such horrible ways as to get indictments against him … and still be allowed to run for/become president again even if convicted. maybe these being federal indictments will be different …?
found out why the seat cushion is taking so long to be made (nearly two months so far) … covid, then covid again, mr. k broke his hand a couple weeks ago, then more covid. it’s a small family-run shop, they’re always busy (because they do great work) and they are understandably tired. mr. k is awaiting surgery on his hand so his grandson may do the work. and i will be patient.
happy friday to everyone. stay safe!
kathy
Thanks so much, Kathy.
Stay safe.
We have baby bunnies. I can’t decide if I like them or not. They are so darling when they choose the grass but not when they eat my plants They are like baby deer. They don’t get that repellent doesn’t taste good. They munch on anyway. Woody’s dad used to put out vegetable scraps away from his garden for his woodchuck but then again he used to feed the mice in his garage peanut butter for a treat so…….
Good luck,
Eileen
If only they could just stay on the grass!
I love these little stories about Gordon. What a kind heart he had.
Stay safe, Eileen.
Over here, we call groundhogs, woodchucks. We had a male dig tunnels between three houses.,,one of those being ours. As cute as the littles may be, they are rather destructive, so my neighbor called in the professionals, and had him live-trapped, and he was given a new home 50 miles away. We filled in the tunnels as best we could…they were right up to the foundation. Last evening we spotted two baby raccoons..,adorable. But, the mother was nowhere to be found. Sad…I hope they survived.
I think your idea to sit outside more is a good one. I hope they get the message, for your garden’s sake. I’m currently trying an ultrasonic device to discourage the chipmunks from digging up my containers. Pepper flakes, peppermint oil spray, nor a chemical deterrent worked. I want the animals to feel welcome…but I want my flowers, too. It is a delicate balance.
And when I heard the news about the indictment…I felt so much better. No one should be above the law. Period.
Good luck on groundhog watch! ;)
It is a delicate balance.
Thanks, Donnamae.
Stay safe.
It’s tricky trying to cohabitate with nature. It seems we’re always in a battle with deer in our neighborhood to keep them from destroying every plant in the garden and every flower in the pots around the garden.
That’s good news about your air quality. It’s bad enough we’re stuck indoors all winter and early spring. It’s frustrating not to be able to be outside for the few months of summer.
Take care,
Kay
Thanks, Kay.
Stay safe.
Oh, no! I hope your presence deters the critters from munching on your garden plants. I don’t have much experience with keeping wild creatures away. We had a squirrel who insisted on chewing on my house…wood beams and siding. I finally concocted a hot sauce with all the spicy ingredients I could find, and sprayed the area it was gnawing on. It finally moved on.
Good luck!
Thanks, Wendy.
Stay safe.
Those groundhogs are cute, but I can see where they have worn out their welcome. Hope they take your hints and move a bit. Sad to think our country has a former president who is now indicted, much less that could still be in the running to lead our country again. We’re having a very overcast morning…but no smoke! Hope the air quality by you is improving… happy Friday!
Thanks, Barrie.
Stay safe.
well…..the number one rodent is trump and he is caught. As to the little ones in your yard….I have no solutions. We have given up ….the rabbits won. I have a couple of hanging baskets on my porch but I think there is a birds nest in the nicest one. So…..after trying pepper flakes and spraying that awful repellent….I just decided to keep my plants on the porch. I have a small raised bed garden in the back that is fenced off but the critters get in anyway. The squirrels have been chomping on my husbands car cover and I think he is planning a showdown with him soom. I do not want to know. The air pollution has been awful….it affects my eyes and skin. I look awful…red swollen eyes and itchy skin. Not a pretty picture. Well, Claudia I will do some research on how to deal with rabbits and ground hogs….maybe the radio works….it didn’t for the moles that made tunnels accross our front yard and ruined the lawn. Great photos!
Thanks, Maria.
Stay safe.
dear Claudia/Don — glad your air has gotten better–was miserable here, even as far away as we are. cannot imagine how awful it is in Canada. Many years ago, we had ghogs trying to dig their way into our basement – not successful, of course, but not for lack of trying. finally, they decided it was a no go and moved on to our vegetable garden behind the house — they were destructive b/c eating newly sprouted beans, corn, potatoes were much tastier than grass — also took bites out of tomatoes, strawberries, not eating entirely anything just sampling all of it. very annoying for us — one day Mr had enough so he used a “pellet” gun which got their attention/scared them, so they moved to a neighbors barn where they then dug holes around support poles inside barn which caused partial collapse of sections of barn. somehow, that farmer got them to go elsewhere — I think her dogs may have helped make the decision for them!! can they possibly tunnel into your cellar?? sure hope not. glad for tRumps charges, but just unsure if it will “really” mean much — he is a despictable person among other things, I could say. where do you think I would be if I had done these things — he is a convicted sex offender — what do we do w/convicted sex offenders??? sorry, all of this really gets my “Irish” up. hope your discouragement of ghogs works, good luck. stay safe
Never a sign of them trying to tunnel into our cellar. This house is over 130 years old and there have been groundhogs around here all those years.
Stay safe, Linda.
Woodchucks/ ground hogs…they are my enemy even though they look cute!
A couple summers ago, I set up hav-a-heart traps so I could relocate them, did everything, camouflaged with branches, baited with cucumbers and watermelon which they supposedly love. Nope. Never caught one. Their burrows are miles long. They are not scared of people or dogs and will eat every gosh darn plant there is.
No problems the last couple year, fingers crossed. I think it’s because we have a large barn owl living in the woods and a bunch of red tailed hawks.
Good luck and prayers for your family to decide to reside somewhere else. Gardening in the woods is not for sissies!
In other news, I think Trump will drag his trial out until election day…the man has no shame.
Actually, I’ve never seen a groundhog that wasn’t afraid of people. They run and hide immediately!
Stay safe, Betsy.
Oh my gosh, I just want to squeeze them little ones. They are intelligent but also pretty destructive, as their tunnels have caused walls of our neighbors’ barn to start collapsing because of their digging. Hopefully if you keep going outside more often then will skeddaddle? We have the neighbors’ pesky peacocks and peahens now traipsing my gardens. They also leave enormous turds! Glad the smoke is decreasing. We having had rain in 2 months. Hopefully Sunday thru tuesday, then probably torrential. Take care.
Thanks, Penny.
Stay safe.
Oh dear! Groundhogs in the garden is bad news. One can be quite destructive and you’ve got a bunch of them.
We had one living under our deck and would get into our fenced garden. We had to use a live trap and relocate him.
In happier news…I’ve enjoyed the indictment coverage today. He’s one step closer to an orange jumpsuit.
Take care
Thanks, Marilyn.
Stay safe.
I was wondering how long until they became a nuisance! Lol. Last year, one chewed a hole through my stockade fence to get in and ate all my plants! I covered the hole with a big rock and he made another hole in my fence! Scaring him off did not work. As soon as I went in, he’d be back at it.
In years past, neighbors have had to do the relocation like others said. Haven’t seen any this year (yet!!)
Thanks, Jill!
Stay safe.
Oh my! They ARE clever, aren’t they! And those babies — they’re starting early! Yes, I think your porch idea is a good one!
Thanks, Jeanie.
Stay safe.