Wife looked out at noon to see a groundhog messing with flowers on our deck.

Highly unusual as our deck is 10 ft. off the ground and he had to climb
stairs.

He was a youngster and I checked the area for signs of burrowing and
found none so will not bring out the Hav-a-hart.

On Tue, 13 Jul 2021 12:08:13 -0400, Frank <"frank "@frank.net> wrote:

>Wife looked out at noon to see a groundhog messing with flowers on our deck.
>
>Highly unusual as our deck is 10 ft. off the ground and he had to climb
>stairs.
>
>He was a youngster and I checked the area for signs of burrowing and
>found none so will not bring out the Hav-a-hart.

I have a double flight of stairs leading to my deck where I grow
pretty much everything. Groundhogs are not daunted and neither are the
raccoons.

On 7/13/2021 12:59 PM, Boron Elgar wrote:
> On Tue, 13 Jul 2021 12:08:13 -0400, Frank <"frank "@frank.net> wrote:
>
>> Wife looked out at noon to see a groundhog messing with flowers on our deck.
>>
>> Highly unusual as our deck is 10 ft. off the ground and he had to climb
>> stairs.
>>
>> He was a youngster and I checked the area for signs of burrowing and
>> found none so will not bring out the Hav-a-hart.
>
>
> I have a double flight of stairs leading to my deck where I grow
> pretty much everything. Groundhogs are not daunted and neither are the
> raccoons.
>

We have had problems with raccoons but never groundhogs. None of our
plantings are edible.

In article <sckdpf$dmj$1@dont-email.me>, "frank "@frank.net says...
>
> Wife looked out at noon to see a groundhog messing with flowers on our deck.
>
> Highly unusual as our deck is 10 ft. off the ground and he had to climb
> stairs.
>
> He was a youngster and I checked the area for signs of burrowing and
> found none so will not bring out the Hav-a-hart.
>
>

Being out in the country I usually bring out a 12 gauge or 22. I have
trapped a few criters like a skunk a few weeks ago.
Usually if one critter is around,there are more like it somewhere close
by.

On 7/13/2021 1:22 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
> In article <sckdpf$dmj$1@dont-email.me>, "frank "@frank.net says...
>>
>> Wife looked out at noon to see a groundhog messing with flowers on our deck.
>>
>> Highly unusual as our deck is 10 ft. off the ground and he had to climb
>> stairs.
>>
>> He was a youngster and I checked the area for signs of burrowing and
>> found none so will not bring out the Hav-a-hart.
>>
>>
>
> Being out in the country I usually bring out a 12 gauge or 22. I have
> trapped a few criters like a skunk a few weeks ago.
> Usually if one critter is around,there are more like it somewhere close
> by.
>
>

Other than my pellet gun, I cannot shoot in the back yard as too many
neighbors. I have trapped practically everything in the past. Can be
annoying like last time I was after a squirrel getting into the garage I
ended up catching a raccoon and then the time I was after a raccoon and
ended up with a skunk. They say skunks don't spray when confined but did
not want to trust my luck and was able to open the trap from the top of
the deck. Besides she had 3 kids running around the trap and they did
not leave. Once I must have caught 4 squirrels before I got the
groundhog I was after. Now I trap only when they become a problem.

Boron Elgar wrote:
....
> I have a double flight of stairs leading to my deck where I grow
> pretty much everything. Groundhogs are not daunted and neither are the
> raccoons.

for raccoons that's like setting out a plate of sardines. i
often see them climbing.

songbird

Frank wrote:

> Wife looked out at noon to see a groundhog messing with flowers on our deck.
>
> Highly unusual as our deck is 10 ft. off the ground and he had to climb
> stairs.
>
> He was a youngster and I checked the area for signs of burrowing and
> found none so will not bring out the Hav-a-hart.

they will climb and the young are usually easily trapped or
hunted.

even the adults are not that bright. alas they can do a lot
of damage (not as bad as some other animals though).

songbird

On Tuesday, July 13, 2021 at 10:46:08 PM UTC-4, songbird wrote:
> Frank wrote:
>
> > Wife looked out at noon to see a groundhog messing with flowers on our deck.
> >
> > Highly unusual as our deck is 10 ft. off the ground and he had to climb
> > stairs.
> >
> > He was a youngster and I checked the area for signs of burrowing and
> > found none so will not bring out the Hav-a-hart.
> they will climb and the young are usually easily trapped or
> hunted.
>
> even the adults are not that bright. alas they can do a lot
> of damage (not as bad as some other animals though).
>
>
> songbird

This is the time of year moms are weaning their little ones and the little go searching for their own territory.
So, the young ones may decide to settle near you if they are comfortable there.

On 7/13/2021 10:45 PM, songbird wrote:
> Boron Elgar wrote:
> ...
>> I have a double flight of stairs leading to my deck where I grow
>> pretty much everything. Groundhogs are not daunted and neither are the
>> raccoons.
>
> for raccoons that's like setting out a plate of sardines. i
> often see them climbing.
>
>
> songbird
>

I was in a deer stand before sunrise and heard something walking in,
knew it was not a deer, took out my camera and got a picture of two eyes
in the flash. Raccoon climbed the tree next to me to rest in a hallow
maybe 30 ft up. I got a picture of him peaking out but cannot find it.

On 7/13/2021 10:43 PM, songbird wrote:
> Frank wrote:
>
>> Wife looked out at noon to see a groundhog messing with flowers on our deck.
>>
>> Highly unusual as our deck is 10 ft. off the ground and he had to climb
>> stairs.
>>
>> He was a youngster and I checked the area for signs of burrowing and
>> found none so will not bring out the Hav-a-hart.
>
> they will climb and the young are usually easily trapped or
> hunted.
>
> even the adults are not that bright. alas they can do a lot
> of damage (not as bad as some other animals though).
>
>
> songbird
>

I shot a couple of groundhogs while out bow hunting. The smallest I
took back to camp and had for lunch the next day.

Stephen Peek wrote:
....
> This is the time of year moms are weaning their little ones and the little go searching for their own territory.
> So, the young ones may decide to settle near you if they are comfortable there.

we have a large drainage ditch that runs through the property
so they dig burrows in the banks. once established they won't
leave easily. i end up having to hunt them and their little
ones.

i have a fence up which keeps them mostly away but the fence
isn't totally enclosing the gardens so they come visit at times
and i scare them off or hunt them. if they come back enough
times they'll get buried someplace in a garden. :(

trapping and relocating just doesn't accomplish anything as
there are always plenty more. the fences help the most but i
have to check them once in a while to make sure they've not
dug new tunnels underneath.

songbird

On 7/14/2021 8:24 AM, songbird wrote:
> Stephen Peek wrote:
> ...
>> This is the time of year moms are weaning their little ones and the little go searching for their own territory.
>> So, the young ones may decide to settle near you if they are comfortable there.
>
> we have a large drainage ditch that runs through the property
> so they dig burrows in the banks. once established they won't
> leave easily. i end up having to hunt them and their little
> ones.
>
> i have a fence up which keeps them mostly away but the fence
> isn't totally enclosing the gardens so they come visit at times
> and i scare them off or hunt them. if they come back enough
> times they'll get buried someplace in a garden. :(
>
> trapping and relocating just doesn't accomplish anything as
> there are always plenty more. the fences help the most but i
> have to check them once in a while to make sure they've not
> dug new tunnels underneath.
>
>
> songbird
>

I relocate in parkland areas. Laws vary and here you can trap and kill
but not relocate. One day I released a squirrel in the park next to a
county cop who I told that I was releasing a prisoner and he said
nothing so enforcement is lax.

On Tue, 13 Jul 2021 22:45:13 -0400, songbird <songbird@anthive.com>
wrote:

>Boron Elgar wrote:
>...
>> I have a double flight of stairs leading to my deck where I grow
>> pretty much everything. Groundhogs are not daunted and neither are the
>> raccoons.
>
> for raccoons that's like setting out a plate of sardines. i
>often see them climbing.
>
>
> songbird

Spot on. I put up a fence on the stairs at one point and just wound up
with claw marks on the edges of the deck and it devised a way around.

Boron Elgar wrote:
....
> Spot on. I put up a fence on the stairs at one point and just wound up
> with claw marks on the edges of the deck and it devised a way around.

they are always around here.

i have put out some ant bait stations to keep some little
brown ant and carpenter ants from coming back and the
raccoon decided it wanted to eat the bait (which smells
like peanut butter) so it chewed one of them open to get
at the bait. it was pretty thick plastic and it did get
in but it didn't repeat the effort for another trap that
was nearby but there was a bite mark in it.

always some new adventure... :)

songbird

On Wed, 14 Jul 2021 18:58:55 -0400, songbird <songbird@anthive.com>
wrote:

>Boron Elgar wrote:
>...
>> Spot on. I put up a fence on the stairs at one point and just wound up
>> with claw marks on the edges of the deck and it devised a way around.
>
> they are always around here.
>
> i have put out some ant bait stations to keep some little
>brown ant and carpenter ants from coming back and the
>raccoon decided it wanted to eat the bait (which smells
>like peanut butter) so it chewed one of them open to get
>at the bait. it was pretty thick plastic and it did get
>in but it didn't repeat the effort for another trap that
>was nearby but there was a bite mark in it.
>
> always some new adventure... :)
>
>
I consider your last statement as something that should be printed on
every gardener's t-shirt.

On 7/14/2021 1:20 PM, Boron Elgar wrote:
> On Tue, 13 Jul 2021 22:45:13 -0400, songbird <songbird@anthive.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Boron Elgar wrote:
>> ...
>>> I have a double flight of stairs leading to my deck where I grow
>>> pretty much everything. Groundhogs are not daunted and neither are the
>>> raccoons.
>>
>> for raccoons that's like setting out a plate of sardines. i
>> often see them climbing.
>>
>>
>> songbird
>
> Spot on. I put up a fence on the stairs at one point and just wound up
> with claw marks on the edges of the deck and it devised a way around.
>

Wife wanted me to block stairs but I told her it was rare to see a
groundhog climbing them and I know you cannot deter raccoons. I will
tell her that another good reason is we may get scratches on the deck
which is Trex.

Frank wrote:
> On 7/14/2021 1:20 PM, Boron Elgar wrote:
>> On Tue, 13 Jul 2021 22:45:13 -0400, songbird <songbird@anthive.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Boron Elgar wrote:
>>> ...
>>>> I have a double flight of stairs leading to my deck where I grow
>>>> pretty much everything. Groundhogs are not daunted and neither are the
>>>> raccoons.
>>>
>>> for raccoons that's like setting out a plate of sardines. i
>>> often see them climbing.
>>>
>>>
>>> songbird
>>
>> Spot on. I put up a fence on the stairs at one point and just wound up
>> with claw marks on the edges of the deck and it devised a way around.
>>
>
> Wife wanted me to block stairs but I told her it was rare to see a
> groundhog climbing them and I know you cannot deter raccoons. I will
> tell her that another good reason is we may get scratches on the deck
> which is Trex.

once in a while they break things trying to get at a wasp or
hornet nest. just yesterday Mom had to pick up one of her things
that had gotten knocked over and torn apart because it had a
nest in it.

songbird

Boron Elgar wrote:
> songbird wrote:
....
>> always some new adventure... :)
>>
>>
> I consider your last statement as something that should be printed on
> every gardener's t-shirt.

one reason i really enjoy gardening is that it puts you
in close contact with the world and if you're observant you
can really have a lot of fun figuring out how to get a crop
from various plants.

my own biggest things to enjoy planting and growing are
strawberries, beans, tomatoes, onions, garlic, squash,
melons and peas. add in some greens and you've got a
pretty good chance of getting something to work out and
you can often pick varieties that will survive bug damage
and diseases and other things that happen.

i've been gardening most of my life and as of yet while
some issues are a challenge we've not had complete failures
because we do grow a variety of things and also because we
have fences. if we didn't have fences the deer would do a
lot more damage to the vegetable crops.

i work mostly with growing and cross-breeding beans. i
have a lot of different gardens and different soil conditions
so that makes me able to evaluate a lot of different varieties
and to try things out. this past spring someone from Poland
adopted two of my cross-breeds so this has been fun to see
my babies blooming on another continent. :)

songbird

On 7/15/2021 9:23 PM, songbird wrote:
> Frank wrote:
>> On 7/14/2021 1:20 PM, Boron Elgar wrote:
>>> On Tue, 13 Jul 2021 22:45:13 -0400, songbird <songbird@anthive.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Boron Elgar wrote:
>>>> ...
>>>>> I have a double flight of stairs leading to my deck where I grow
>>>>> pretty much everything. Groundhogs are not daunted and neither are the
>>>>> raccoons.
>>>>
>>>> for raccoons that's like setting out a plate of sardines. i
>>>> often see them climbing.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> songbird
>>>
>>> Spot on. I put up a fence on the stairs at one point and just wound up
>>> with claw marks on the edges of the deck and it devised a way around.
>>>
>>
>> Wife wanted me to block stairs but I told her it was rare to see a
>> groundhog climbing them and I know you cannot deter raccoons. I will
>> tell her that another good reason is we may get scratches on the deck
>> which is Trex.
>
> once in a while they break things trying to get at a wasp or
> hornet nest. just yesterday Mom had to pick up one of her things
> that had gotten knocked over and torn apart because it had a
> nest in it.
>
>
> songbird
>
Years ago before we had large garbage cans supplied by the garbage
company raccoons would get into the garbage. Neighbor said one chased
her into the house. Rabies is endemic and people within a mile of our
house have been bitten by rabid raccoons.

On Thu, 15 Jul 2021 21:21:59 -0400, songbird <songbird@anthive.com>
wrote:

>Boron Elgar wrote:
>> songbird wrote:
>...
>>> always some new adventure... :)
>>>
>>>
>> I consider your last statement as something that should be printed on
>> every gardener's t-shirt.
>
> one reason i really enjoy gardening is that it puts you
>in close contact with the world and if you're observant you
>can really have a lot of fun figuring out how to get a crop
>from various plants.

I do not always grow, intending to get large returns, as there is only
the two of us and I probably have enough jam to last a lifetime. I am
not fond of canned tomatoes and do not even bother with pickles these
days. I do vac pack and freeze.

By goals focus on growing weird things. I have some of the strangest
tomatoes ever growing this year, because I seeded a bunch of
"heirloom" cherries in the early spring and planted those seeds to see
what I got.

I'll plant anything from seed or that I think I can grow.. Right now
I have some rambutan pits that have started to come up with shoots,,
two date palms starting from packaged dates I got at Trader Joe's, a
chunk of galangal that is coming up, so that I have some fresh all
winter.

> my own biggest things to enjoy planting and growing are
>strawberries, beans, tomatoes, onions, garlic, squash,
>melons and peas. add in some greens and you've got a
>pretty good chance of getting something to work out and
>you can often pick varieties that will survive bug damage
>and diseases and other things that happen.
>
Squash and melons are all in the past. The critters get them, even
when a rise them in bets onto frames. Too much effort and too much
disappointment. Breaks my heart, but I have learned to live with it.

> i've been gardening most of my life and as of yet while
>some issues are a challenge we've not had complete failures
>because we do grow a variety of things and also because we
>have fences. if we didn't have fences the deer would do a
>lot more damage to the vegetable crops.

I have had failures due to critters- like the just-before-a-frost
Brussels sprout stalks stripped clean by the groundhogs. I now do
almost all my growing in tubs up on the deck. It cuts down on some
predation, but not all. Mouse and rat traps placed around likely
targets scare off some critters.

One of the most wicked diseases, though, is the wilt that I get on
cukes and tomatoes. I am diligent about keeping leaves off the soil
and watering, but I cannot control the heat, humidity and rain. I
experiment with varieties each summer and save seed from plants that I
think do best.

> i work mostly with growing and cross-breeding beans. i
>have a lot of different gardens and different soil conditions
>so that makes me able to evaluate a lot of different varieties
>and to try things out. this past spring someone from Poland
>adopted two of my cross-breeds so this has been fun to see
>my babies blooming on another continent. :)
>
>
> songbird

I have seen your many posts about the beans you grow. They are always
interesting reads.

Boron Elgar wrote:
....
> I'll plant anything from seed or that I think I can grow.. Right now
> I have some rambutan pits that have started to come up with shoots,,
> two date palms starting from packaged dates I got at Trader Joe's, a
> chunk of galangal that is coming up, so that I have some fresh all
> winter.

unfortunately i live with someone with a very bland
set of preferences and requirements so growing odd things
like that just doesn't work. also i don't have space or
light enough inside for winter tender anything. if i can't
grow it outside during a normal season it just doesn't
work here. :(

> Squash and melons are all in the past. The critters get them, even
> when a rise them in bets onto frames. Too much effort and too much
> disappointment. Breaks my heart, but I have learned to live with it.

i tried melons for the first time many years ago and did
not get very good results and then a friend sent me some
melon seeds last year and those were fantastic. so i've
planted them again this season. being inside a fence i
had no issues from animals getting them, but a few bees
and ants did find them good enough once they started to
split. we ate melons for weeks and even the ones that
weren't fully ripe at the end of the season were still
good enough to eat if i put a little honey on them. one
day alone i had to give away 7 melons because we could not
keep up with them.

> I have had failures due to critters- like the just-before-a-frost
> Brussels sprout stalks stripped clean by the groundhogs. I now do
> almost all my growing in tubs up on the deck. It cuts down on some
> predation, but not all. Mouse and rat traps placed around likely
> targets scare off some critters.

we tried to grow some broccoli and cauliflower last year
but the groundhogs kept eating it. wasted space for the
most part. i tried to talk Mom out of growing it because
of past experience with the groundhogs getting into those
sorts of vegetables, but she wanted to do it anyways. ah
well, at least she didn't want to repeat that again this
year. if i put out rat traps they tend to get lost as
the critters get snapped and then take the trap away until
they manage to get it off. years later i might find it
rotting in a hedge or under some trees. once i found out
where the mice were getting into the walls and sealed that
up i haven't had to put any more mice traps out. it's
otherwise a continual thing i'd have to do there are so
many hiding places around here outside for mice. we don't
have a rat problem at all. there's a fairly regular group
of kitties that hunt here. no idea if they are pets or
feral or semi-feral kitties, but they're usually able to
catch something when they come through.

> One of the most wicked diseases, though, is the wilt that I get on
> cukes and tomatoes. I am diligent about keeping leaves off the soil
> and watering, but I cannot control the heat, humidity and rain. I
> experiment with varieties each summer and save seed from plants that I
> think do best.

the worst disease we get is also on the tomatoes but i
don't do anything to treat it or prevent it because it
doesn't keep us from getting a crop. by the time the
plants are badly effected most of the crop is ripe enough
and we can that and then keep going until the season is
done. the plants can look terrible but it doesn't matter.
i'm sure resistant tomatoes would be nice to find but so
far the best have been the ones we used to grow that we
can't get any longer so we just try new ones each year
and see what happens. we really like beefsteak varieties
for juice and chunks. the amount of umami flavor (in the
juice around the seeds) and acidity is what we're after.
some of the newer varieties aren't acidic enough for
canning.

>> i work mostly with growing and cross-breeding beans. i
>>have a lot of different gardens and different soil conditions
>>so that makes me able to evaluate a lot of different varieties
>>and to try things out. this past spring someone from Poland
>>adopted two of my cross-breeds so this has been fun to see
>>my babies blooming on another continent. :)
>
> I have seen your many posts about the beans you grow. They are always
> interesting reads.

it's a lot of fun. :) i need to get out in the gardens
tomorrow and check for some beans to pick. i hope some are
ready.

songbird