A couple of articles in the Tribune today caught my attention. The big one, of course, is the P&L for the big Lewis and Clark party, which the city finally released. More on that later, after I have finished munging the data with my spreadsheet.Another blurb that caught my attention was a city effort to control the feral cat population in Great Falls. There are a lot of cats in Great Falls. However, with my tongue not-firmly in cheek, I would like to suggest that having a small feral predator population is not the worst thing in the world, considering that our city is infested with these bloody squirrels.
OK, I admit it. I am biased here. I live near Gibson Park. These "cute" and "fuzzy" rats with bushy tails have made a mockery of my attempts at growing a vegetable garden this year.
I planted about a dozen tomato plants. They ate all the tomatoes as they began to ripen. I planted squash and pumpkins. Every time those plants bore fruit, Chip and Dale grabbed the morsel, took three or four bites, and dropped it in my lawn.
The things are incorrigible, and not afraid of anything. I have a large dog. The dog is lazy, and couldn't care less. They practically walk over the dogs nose.
I tried plastic owls. As you can see from the picture above, that worked out well. Dale over there is practically perched on the plastic owls head to get at my strawberry pot. I tried plastic snakes in the garden. No such luck.
More cats might be just what this city needs. That is an issue I would like to see the city commission candidates discuss; what are their stances on our squirrel infestation?
OK, enough whimsy (although I really do hate these garden thieves; they are not a native population, and they are generally a nuisance). More on what may be a more weighty issue later.
3 comments:
Hee hee! I know that lots of folks find squirrels annoying, but I can't get over how CUTE they are!
And Aaron -- the items that the fake owl is perched on -- that looks like some sort of robot-type contraption!u
Aaron, I know how annoying they are - but they ARE cute. I have been able to keep them out of my garden by designating a feeding place for them and filling it with peanuts every morning. The bonus is that it's cheap entertainment for my dogs to watch them through the picture window. We call it "squirrel tv."
Cute but evil. I still say they are rats with bushy tails. Did I mention that they also eat my roses as soon as they bloom?
And David, you have figured it out. My backyard is a laboratory where I design world-crushing robots. I confess.
Or, it could be a backyard wood stove covered by a cement block. You decide!
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