He came in the dark of the night. Motive unknown. To find something to eat? To satisfy curiosity? Or just because he was mean?
Last week I planted 25 store-bought strawberry plants in my
specially designed, son-in-law-built, raised garden. As I carefully dug little holes for each
plant, and spaced them properly and at just the right depth, my head was filled
with images of strawberries, lush red, delicious strawberries.
The next morning I walked out to inspect my little strawberry
patch and saw the carnage. Six
strawberry plants dug up and scattered about.
Four strawberry plants missing.
My strawberry patch had been viciously attacked by an unknown critter,
but I had a suspect in mind. I had seen
this gray squirrel with a short brown tail sneaking about—but I didn't think
Brown Tail had the nerve to attack my new strawberry bed. I had caught him
digging up pansy plants, digging up tulip bulbs—and Ruth even caught him
red-pawed in broad daylight digging into my tomato plants that I was growing
out before transplanting into my garden at the farm.
So Brown Tail became my prime suspect. I developed a plan. Off to the hardware stove I went to find some
netting—the kind used to keep birds off fruit trees. I carefully spread the netting over the
strawberry plants. Problem solved. Brown Tail thwarted.
Nope. Brown Tail too
smart for this old farmer. In the dark
of the night, he crawled under the netting and dug up three more strawberry
plants. Now I have rocks holding down the
netting and I am hoping the last few strawberry plants—that must be living in
sheer terror, will survive the onslaught of this monster in their midst.
I will keep you posted.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Never underestimate the intelligence of
supposedly dumb animals.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Interested in learning how to write your own
stories? Sign up for one of my upcoming
one-day workshops that I am teaching at The Clearing in Door County.
Saturday,
June 22, 9-4
Saturday,
November 3, 9-4
(There
will be a book signing at The Clearing on each of these Saturdays from 4-6:00
p.m.)
UPCOMING EVENTS:
May 14, Trempealeau Library, 1:00 p.m. Trempealeau Fourth
Graders and 7:00 p.m. for the community. Jerry Apps: A Farm Story. TV Show.
May 15, 7:00 p.m. Magers and Quinn Bookstore, Minneapolis. Presentation and book signing. Limping
Through Life and Letters from Hillside Farm.
May 16, 11-1:30 Chapter Two Bookstore, Hudson, WI. Limping Through Life and Letters from
Hillside Farm.
May 18, Dregne’s Scandanavian Gifts, Westby. 10:30-2:00, Book
signing.
May 19, Books and Company, Oconomowoc. 2:00 p.m. Book signing.
May 23, Richfield Historical Society, 7:00 p.m. Stories from the
land.
May 24-31, Colorado
June 4, Noon. Milwaukee Rotary Club. War Memorial Building.
Limping Through Life.
June 6, 7:00 p.m. Dane County Genealogy. One Room Country
Schools.
June 7, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Launch
of LETTERS FROM HILLSIDE FARM and LIMPING THROUGH LIFE.
June 8, 11:00 -3:00 Book signing, Tri-County Thresheree,
Plainfield
SPECIAL
ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING “JERRY APPS: A FARM STORY” DVD
DVD Jerry Apps: A Farm Story List $16.95 The Patterson’s price only $15.00 ($20.00 shipped)
Special Bundle Offer exclusively by the Patterson:
Tamarack River Ghost & Jerry Apps: A Farm Story – List $43.90
The Patterson’s Price Only $35.00 ($43.00 shipped)
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St. PO Box 305
Wild Rose, WI 54984
(All items are sold by the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library. They will accept checks or cash, they’re sorry but they don’t have any way to accept credit or debit cards, checks should be made out to the Friends of Patterson Memorial Library.
1 comment:
Jerry,
I enjoy your books. I wouldn't think your culprit would be a tree squirrel. They are diurnal except for the flying squirrels. My strawberries are bothered by voles, raccoons, and slugs. Birds feed on them during the day. Good luck and keep up the good work.
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