Embattled

Our garden started out pretty well. I've been keeping up on the watering, not doing too shabby on the weeding, and even harvested two little jalapeños for my dad when he was here.

But the carrots have not germinated well. I thought the cucumbers weren't, either, then realized that they were germinating – and then disappearing. Then my one watermelon plant shriveled and died overnight. Little tiny bugs are eating my kale, and my green beans look like they've been beset by a swarm of locusts – only I haven't seen a single grasshopper.

Something we ARE seeing at Boulderneigh for the first time are California ground squirrels, or gray digger squirrels as they are known around here. My first sightings were on our deck, and I thought, "Awww; cute little things." Not the flamboyant beauties that the Western Gray Squirrels are, but still pretty to look at. WELL. Pretty is as pretty does, and these rodents are not doing pretty things! They have taken over our woodpile, destroying the tarp covering it in the process, digging burrows all over the yard, and maybe even eating my garden plants! According to University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources:

Ground squirrels damage many food-bearing and ornamental plants. Particularly vulnerable are grains as well as nut and fruit trees such as almond, apple, apricot, orange, peach, pistachio, prune, and walnut. Ground squirrels will enter gardens and devour vegetables in the seedling stage. They can damage young shrubs, vines, and trees by gnawing bark, girdling trunks (the process of completely removing a strip of bark from a tree's outer circumference), eating twigs and leaves, and burrowing around roots.

Ground squirrels will gnaw on plastic sprinkler heads and irrigation lines. They also eat the eggs of ground-nesting birds and can limit attempts to attract quail to the yard. Burrowing can be quite destructive. Burrows and mounds make it difficult to mow, and they present hazards to machinery, pedestrians, and livestock. Burrows around trees and shrubs can damage and desiccate, or dry out, roots; it sometimes can topple trees. Burrowing beneath buildings and other structures sometimes produces damage that necessitates costly repair.

Ground squirrels can harbor diseases harmful to humans, particularly when squirrel populations are numerous. A major concern is bubonic plague transmitted to humans by fleas that the squirrels carry. Ground squirrels are susceptible to plague, which has wiped out entire colonies. If you find unusual numbers of squirrels or other rodents dead for no apparent reason, notify public health officials. Do not handle dead squirrels under these circumstances.

Oh dear. Death and suffering are anathema to me, but even I can see we may not have a choice here. Rick has given Brian carte blanche to hunt them with the BB gun. I'd probably have better luck with our .22, but just can't pull the trigger on one yet. Maybe if they start killing our fruit trees....

From the reluctant warrior at . . .