"Fred!! Stay Out Of My Bed!!!

Fred - Photography by R. Palazola

 Just to be clear, I'm talking about my GARDEN beds!  As you remember from previous posts, my "pet" groundhog, Fred likes to take nibbles from my vegetable garden.  While I don't mind feeding the menagerie in my backyard some seeds and nuts, I draw the line at sharing my vegetables!!  Especially before I've had any, myself!

Raised Planting Beds

My wonderful husband has built me some raised beds for my vegetables.  The idea was to build the bed base and add pretty latticework later as a deterrent to my vegetarian varmints!

Ringleader of the Squirrel Squad - Photography by R. Palazola

Just to introduce you to a few....we have the Squirrel Squad - at least 3 or 4 gray squirrels that feed at the base of the bird feeder at any given moment.  They mostly mind their own business and just munch!

Alvin - Photography by R.Palazola

Then there are Alvin and his brothers...and cousins...and aunts and uncles...nephews twice removed....you get the picture...

King of the Hill - Photography by R. Palazola

One of my favorites....King of The Hill, a little red squirrel that will chase anyone and anything away from his food.  He's called King of the Hill because he will climb the birdfeeder, grab a mouth full of seeds, sit with his back to the feeder surveying his kingdom and makes sure no one interrupts his meal.


Once the raised bed bases were constructed,  I spent a weekend hauling dirt and planting vegetables and herbs.  The latticework would have to wait until the deck was finished (a honey-do project that was taking longer than expected).  So in my infinite wisdom, I stapled some plastic poultry fencing around the first tomato bed.  That should stop the little critters!  Two more beds to go....Ooops! I ran out of fencing.  I must have bought the 15' roll instead of the 25'.  No matter...the second bed had seeds and since nothing was growing yet, that would be safe.  The third bed contained some hot cayenne pepper plants.  That should be a good enough deterrent!  WRONG!!!

Raised Beds With Poultry Fencing - Photography by R.Palazola

 The next day when I checked on the plants, my pepper plant was seriously lacking in the leaf department!!!  FRED!!!  (I think I heard a burp from somewhere in the yard...)

Nibbled on pepper plant

 Time to put up the rest of the fencing.  HA!!  Try to get through that!!

Wait, what's that????  THE BUTT END OF A CHIPMUNK DIGGING IN MY TOMATO PLANTS!!!  What was I thinking???  Maybe Fred couldn't make it over the fencing, but for the chipmunks....piece of cake!! (Or should I say, "salad"!)  I looked at the chipmunk and he looked back at me as if to say, "Woman, you are interrupting my lunch."  He finally scampered up over the fencing and out of the bed.  Damn!  Not only do I need a wall protecting the plants, now I need a roof too!

Butt end of a chipmunk AFTER he left the tomato Plants - Photography by R. Palazola

Well, I was done for the day.  As I packed up my gardening tools, I heard a faint sound coming from the holes in my lawn.  Do chipmunks really laugh??


"Fill what's empty, empty what's full, and scratch where it itches." (The Squirrel of Windsor)