RAT RACE

 It seemed simple...a small plot of strawberries...just enough for cereal or the occasional shortcake extravaganza. But we soon found out that even the hint of ripe strawberries draws country rats! We have tried traps, as you know, with some success but the berries still keep disappearing. So we had to be "smarter than the average rat" and that meant construction!

We used some leftover 1/2" wire mesh and spent a couple of hours constructing this rat proof cage. A leftover wire cover from something is the top hatch that allows picking and fertilizing without removing the whole cage. Now when I come out in the morning to pick berries for cereal, I actually get some! Take that you pesky rat finks! 

GOOD AND NOT SO GOOD GARDEN FAUNA

 Big swan and froggie grace the deck, along with a vintage pot, all filled with succulents. A happy sight.

A nocturnal bit of fauna and marauder of ripe strawberries succumbs to the lure of peanut butter and lives no more. A dead rat is a good rat, in this gardener's opinion. One less interloper. This one is about 12" long (including tail) and looks like a pregnant female. When I went out to pick strawberries for our morning cereal yesterday, all the big juicy ones were missing so we knew what to do. This was the scene at the strawberry patch this morning. We had hoped that our much improved fence would discourage the buggers, but it's back to the traps. You'd think that our neighbors would clean up the brush piles in their yards...not only for the rats, but also for the fire danger!