Re: Fwd: Squirrels and Other Wildlife

Cyndi, I can identify with your worry about the future of livestock and other wildlife in your area. Our county is one of the fastest growing in Tennessee because there is so much undeveloped land. People from cities have moved out here because they wanted to live in a rural area. The first thing that happened was complaints about the donkeys living in a pasture near their "McMansion." Then came the complaints about getting behind farm implements on the highway. Then they wanted more convenient shopping so here came Kroger, Walgreens and WalMart. Now part of our county looks just like the area the new residents left. Of course, all the wildlife that was there FIRST has been disenfranchised because these new homeowners do not want skunks, raccoons, possums or foxes anywhere near them because nobody wants to be inconvenienced. The next thing that is guaranteed to happen is some resident will be shot by a deer hunter who has "always hunted in these woods" although the woods now abut a housing development. People will never learn that we really are only a thread in the web. I try to educate the idiots who move near me as to the benefits of all the wildlife we have. It really does no good, however. People are so ignorant nowadays that I don't think they can be educated. I'm glad most everyone around here thinks I am a nut, and they leave me alone (unless, of course, their unspayed female cat has kittens). Do I sound cynical? :-)
zem
zone 7
West TN
----- Original Message ----- From: "Johnson Cyndi D Civ 95 CG/SCSRT" <cyndi.johnson@edwards.af.mil>
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 10:32 AM
Subject: RE: [CHAT] Fwd: Squirrels


That's the problem you know, I guess it's like the problem you easterners
have with deer. I do not want to harm these guys but I would rather have
them eating rabbits and ground squirrels out where there's still desert.
However if I supply a chicken buffet, of course they'll go where life is
easier. My recourse is to make it harder for them and hope they decide to
migrate out to the remaining open spaces...which probably already have an
existing population of critters; or maybe they'll patronize someone else.
I like my house and my neighborhood, and we've put a lot of work into it
all; but I find that as the area becomes more crowded that our neighborhood
is getting more and more upscale because of our 2 1/2 acre lots. Good for
property values but not many of the new move-ins are bringing along horses
or other livestock so I am a little worried we are going to have problems in
the future, what if Mr & Mrs Smith with their new 8000 sq ft house decides
they don't want to hear roosters crowing or sheep bellowing for their
breakfast.
Speaking of new neighbors someone bought a vacant lot down the street from
us and moved in a bunch of palm trees over the summer. No sign of home
building but there are enormous palms dotted all over. I am not conversant
on prices for this sort of thing but they had to bring in a crane to plant
them so I'm speculating 10 grand per tree. These are really huge trees, with
multiple trunks and all. Not to mention that these are palms I have never
seen growing locally so I'm interested to see if they'll live. One of them
has already died and been replaced. I can't figure it out.

Cyndi

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf
Of Chapel Ridge Wal Mart National Hearing Center
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 8:17 AM
To: gardenchat@hort.net
Subject: Re: [CHAT] Fwd: Squirrels

It's such a shame that wildlife keeps losing out to development, but you do
have to protect your animals Cyndi.

Kitty
----- Original Message ----- From: "Johnson Cyndi D Civ 95 CG/SCSRT" <cyndi.johnson@edwards.af.mil>
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 5:10 PM
Subject: RE: [CHAT] Fwd: Squirrels


We used to trap the ground squirrels around here, they do a good bit of
damage, but haven't seen any for some time. Just as well they are supposed
to be able to carry bubonic plague. Plenty of rabbits though. And while I
was at home last week, I happened to look out the window one day and saw
my

3 ewe sheep staring rather intently at something in the yard. Turned out

to

be a coyote, busily gulping down a luckless chicken. We had figured
something was nabbing the chickens but hadn't tracked it down at that

point.
In 12 years we've never seen a coyote in our yard before but with all the
building going on they are getting a little short on habitat. I blocked up
the holes it had dug to get under our fences but we'll have to do
something

more permanent to get the chickens out of harm's way.  I'm not so worried
about the sheep, last year my husband rebuilt their pens (because, you

see,
he bought a gas welder, and had to use it on something) and so they should
be proof against almost anything.

Cyndi


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On
Behalf

Of kmrsy@netzero.net
Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 1:12 PM
To: gardenchat@hort.net
Subject: Re: [CHAT] Fwd: Squirrels

I like wildlife as much as the next person and put up with the
shenanigans, but I do have one squirrel who screams and chatters at
Seamus incessantly while I eat breakfast in the morning in the Florida
room. I think he's probably the same one stripping the bark from my
Norway maple. Him I can do without. No foxes around here.


Did have a stray cat wander into the Florida room last night; put a dish

of

food out for him.

Kitty

-- james singer <islandjim1@verizon.net> wrote:
Thought some of you might enjoy this. It's from a British/French garden
chat.

"There's a piece in our local free paper about food writer & garden
lover Clarissa Dickson Wright. She practises lunar planting... which
she says works. She uses wild-life friendly methods except when it
comes to ----squirrels or ----foxes. Wise woman. She recommends
squirrels in a stew with prunes & tomatoes and if a fox wanders in to
the garden 'shoot it & make a nice hat.' But she warns that might bring
a visit from the police to city dwellers."

Island Jim
Southwest Florida
27.0 N, 82.4 W
Hardiness Zone 10
Heat Zone 10
Minimum 30 F [-1 C]
Maximum 100 F [38 C]

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index