Re: GWL groundhogs, rats and city slickers

**J* L* <h*@yahoo.com>**

This groundhog discussion is the most entertaining thread we've had in a long time! :-)

I was especially interested when the subject of rats came up. When I lived in Boston (Back  Bay area; a block from Symphony Hall), rats were a huge problem; they were about the size of squirrels. The first years we lived in our rowhouse, we had no problem with them being destructive to plants. (I grew everything from roses and shrubs to herbs and tomatoes in big containers.) But then a rat family (colony?) moved in next door where the young couple built a foot-high raised wooden platform behind their rowhouse (over 1870s brick yet), and the rats made a home underneath. The last two years we were in Boston, they ate everything from seedlings to clematis blooms. They were somewhat deterred by thorny rosebush prunings stuck thickly around the edge of the pots. 

But talking about rats in your garden was always a "yuck" to others, so I kept quiet about them (most of the time) and listened to suburbanites' deer tales.

As to the city residents moving to the country, I, too, get tickled that so often they destroy the very things that appealed to them about the country. When we lived in Tennessee, I disliked the dusk-to-dawn lights that were always installed by these folks when they moved to our vicinity. Made it hard to see the stars at night.

Judy Lowe

----- Original Message -----
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To: gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
Cc: 
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 6:12 PM
Subject: gardenwriters Digest, Vol 113, Issue 26

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Today's Topics:

   1. Love the descriptions of groundhogs (joanrrosenberg@aol.com)
   2. Re: Love the descriptions of groundhogs (Tom)
   3. George Washington quote (Duane Campbell)
   4. Re: George Washington quote (tanya)
   5. Re: Love the descriptions of groundhogs (AldieOaks@aol.com)
   6. Re: George Washington quote (Duane Campbell)
   7. Re: George Washington quote (Catriona Erler)
   8. Re: George Washington quote (tanya)
   9. Re: Holes in hoses (Nancy Szerlag)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:19:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: joanrrosenberg@aol.com
Subject: [GWL] Love the descriptions of groundhogs
To: gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
Message-ID: <8CF1C56C4D4A686-B50-1DAA7@webmail-d014.sysops.aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Actually I have indoor-outdoor cats, who eat side by side with the raccoons when I put out cat food.  I have never had a problem with anything eating my veggies.  Tthe deer leave my veggies alone and go for the flowers.  They used to eat the hostas, but now prefer something else. 
I let the back of the farm go wild, and they don't come up to the house any more.  Haven't had rats or mice since the cats moved in many years ago.  The moles and gophers moved out - because of the cats and raccoons and possums, they moved to the swamp bordering the development.  

I have a different problem.  I have city people moving to the country who clear cut everything to reinvent the city in areas zoned farmland.  All the animals run for cover, and usually end up at my farm.  I wish they would all go back to the city and leave the area alone.  I much prefer the wild animals to the humans that come out.  They are ruining the watershed. 

------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2012 10:45:52 -0700
From: "Tom" <tloallergyfree@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [GWL] Love the descriptions of groundhogs
To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum"
    <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <EE7A00454D71402B86B3FF42DD6B2025@YVONNE>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
    reply-type=original

Those miserable city people....far worse than groundhogs, for sure!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <joanrrosenberg@aol.com>
To: <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 10:19 AM
Subject: [GWL] Love the descriptions of groundhogs

>
> Actually I have indoor-outdoor cats, who eat side by side with the 
> raccoons when I put out cat food.  I have never had a problem with 
> anything eating my veggies.  Tthe deer leave my veggies alone and go for 
> the flowers.  They used to eat the hostas, but now prefer something else.
> I let the back of the farm go wild, and they don't come up to the house 
> any more.  Haven't had rats or mice since the cats moved in many years 
> ago.  The moles and gophers moved out - because of the cats and raccoons 
> and possums, they moved to the swamp bordering the development.
>
> I have a different problem.  I have city people moving to the country who 
> clear cut everything to reinvent the city in areas zoned farmland.  All 
> the animals run for cover, and usually end up at my farm.  I wish they 
> would all go back to the city and leave the area alone.  I much prefer the 
> wild animals to the humans that come out.  They are ruining the watershed.
> _______________________________________________
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> be viewed at  http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos 

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:06:02 -0400
From: "Duane Campbell" <dcamp911@gmail.com>
Subject: [GWL] George Washington quote
To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum"
    <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <BBA4FA16E4B149918D333A04CCE53542@DuanePC>
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    reply-type=original

There was a sign at Mount Vernon quoting Washington to the effect that a 
person who doesn't save his own seeds is not a real farmer. Something like 
that. Can't find it on the Web. (Lots of citations for his hemp enthusiasm 
and dislike of bad seed.) Any help?

Duane Campbell
Syndicated garden columnist
Author: Best of Green Space; 30 Years of Composted Columns 

------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:42:46 -0700
From: tanya <tanyagarden@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [GWL] George Washington quote
To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum
    <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID:
    <CAA-ju_fvTCO4OUm0gsroYFExWBedoGnR9J=rsv3k1EmVNdcSKQ@mail.gmail.com>
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http://www.homegrownandhandmadethebook.com/2011_12_01_archive.html

On Tue, Jun 19, 2012 at 11:06 AM, Duane Campbell <dcamp911@gmail.com> wrote:

> There was a sign at Mount Vernon quoting Washington to the effect that a
> person who doesn't save his own seeds is not a real farmer. Something like
> that. Can't find it on the Web. (Lots of citations for his hemp enthusiasm
> and dislike of bad seed.) Any help?
>
>

------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:44:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: AldieOaks@aol.com
Subject: Re: [GWL] Love the descriptions of groundhogs
To: gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
Message-ID: <168a9.750ef628.3d123ea1@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Amen!!!  And they mow the hedgerows, so we no longer have places for  the 
little animals to hide, and the bob-whites are all gone!  I miss the  bob 
whites.

Lina

In a message dated 6/19/2012 1:19:23 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
joanrrosenberg@aol.com writes:

I have a  different problem.  I have city people moving to the country who 
clear  cut everything to reinvent the city in areas zoned farmland.  All the 
animals run for cover, and usually end up at my farm.  I wish they would  
all go back to the city and leave the area alone.  I much prefer the wild  
animals to the humans that come out.  They are ruining the watershed.  

------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:51:01 -0400
From: "Duane Campbell" <dcamp911@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [GWL] George Washington quote
To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum"
    <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <4A1C44D360394A4880970AE1F8F77636@DuanePC>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
    reply-type=original

THANK YOU!

(Sorry about the caps, but it was intentional.)

Duane Campbell
Syndicated garden columnist
Author: Best of Green Space; 30 Years of Composted Columns

-----Original Message----- 
From: tanya
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 4:42 PM
To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum
Subject: Re: [GWL] George Washington quote

http://www.homegrownandhandmadethebook.com/2011_12_01_archive.html

On Tue, Jun 19, 2012 at 11:06 AM, Duane Campbell <dcamp911@gmail.com> wrote:

> There was a sign at Mount Vernon quoting Washington to the effect that a
> person who doesn't save his own seeds is not a real farmer. Something like
> that. Can't find it on the Web. (Lots of citations for his hemp enthusiasm
> and dislike of bad seed.) Any help?
>
>
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viewed at  http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos 

------------------------------

Message: 7
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:10:55 -0400
From: Catriona Erler <Catriona@CatrionaTudorErler.com>
Subject: Re: [GWL] George Washington quote
To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum
    <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID:
    <7EA699F7-5531-41C6-B2E6-245A7D1FBD61@CatrionaTudorErler.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;    charset=us-ascii

That's a great blog.  I really enjoyed reading some of the articles as well.  Thanks for letting us know about it.
Catriona
On Jun 19, 2012, at 4:51 PM, Duane Campbell wrote:

> http://www.homegrownandhandmadethebook.com/2011_12_01_archive.html

Catriona Tudor Erler
965 Pintail Lane
Charlottesville, VA 22903
434 953-6780
Catriona@CatrionaTudorErler.com
www.CatrionaTudorErler.com

------------------------------

Message: 8
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:41:32 -0700
From: tanya <tanyagarden@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [GWL] George Washington quote
To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum
    <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID:
    <CAA-ju_eW7NY3kHOH8C+RpVWZkdqTSYDaf2WU8KdygaTnC2FT7A@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I was curious about the quote, so I googled

quotes "george washington" saving seeds

scanned the results, and voila!

It did take a few tries to find the right search phrases, but since I have
a deadline today, I was looking for distractions. Or something.

Tanya  Kucak

On Tue, Jun 19, 2012 at 2:10 PM, Catriona Erler <
Catriona@catrionatudorerler.com> wrote:

> That's a great blog.  I really enjoyed reading some of the articles as
> well.  Thanks for letting us know about it.
> Catriona
> On Jun 19, 2012, at 4:51 PM, Duane Campbell wrote:
>
> > http://www.homegrownandhandmadethebook.com/2011_12_01_archive.html
>
>

------------------------------

Message: 9
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2012 18:12:03 -0400
From: Nancy Szerlag <szerlag@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [GWL] Holes in hoses
To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum
    <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>,     Donna Williamson
    <donnawilliamson2002@earthlink.net>
Cc: Nancy Szerlag <szerlag@earthlink.net>
Message-ID: <1B1A0D69-7794-465C-892C-F8DCACB94D41@earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes

Whatever it is, it's probably going after the salts used in  
manufacturing.  Racoons are my first guess.  We had a piece of old  
barn wood - four inches thick, that was obliterated by some animal. It  
was stored near a salt lick for many years.  Opossums are also on my  
hit list.  They do a good deal of digging and chewing. The best one  
was top of  the cap of the a bottle of super thrive that was chewed  
off and the animal drank
it all without spilling a drop on cardboard box that was under it. The  
metal caps on those bottles are thin as paper.  That had to have been  
a coon.

Nancy Szerlag

Nancy Szerlag
Columnist for Detroit News
szerlag@earthlink.net

------------------------------

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End of gardenwriters Digest, Vol 113, Issue 26
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