I'm not sure where Richard is these days.....lost in the fog? Speaking of which, the last two weeks have been cold and overcast here. My roses are white with mildew. Isn't that supposed to happen when it's WARM and damp? In spite of the cool there is no moisture in the soil so I have that worst of garden conditions: shady and dry.
Thank the goddess for marigolds. If it weren't for their shout-out-loud yellows and oranges the garden would be a complete downer. To complete the dreary picture of grey skies and damp winds a couple of crows have moved in and their ominous croaking and flapping overhead is even scaring the cat--usually salivating at the local birdlife.
And to this depressing scenario you can add thuggery and thieving by the local squirrel gang. After caging half the garden plants to prevent them digging up everything in a random search for peanuts (where do they get them?!), I discover they've been chewing the bark off the trees--magnolia, lemon, oak, and the wisteria.
And they're stealing. I found a ball of unwound twine hanging on the fence yesterday, the packaged spool stuck in a rose bush. I put it back in the shed thinking I'd forgotten it after tying up some droopy rose canes. This morning I walk out the back door and catch one of the squirrels clutching a huge wad of tangled twine to its chest while attempting to run up the fence. A hard thing to do on three legs. And the spool is rolling away down the hill.
I took pity on him. Even though I'm really pissed at the gang. I got my kitchen scissors and cut the string from the spool. The squirrel tore off when he saw me coming with the shears. But the wad-o-twine was gone by afternoon.
Now I'm thinking about what that squirrel is doing with the twine. Some evil plot the gang has dreamed up, I'm sure.
Posted by briggs at August 3, 2004 10:59 AM