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I haven’t ever in my life planted any bulb in the garden, preferring to them the easy-to-care perennial flowers. This year has been an exception, and I started to consider that my yard, although has a nice variety of flowers, doesn’t see any blooming before the end of May.
For this reason, in September I decided to buy some bulbs, plant them in pots and have them, protected from the winter in the greenhouse. The plan seemed to have no flaws. The bulbs would have the time to develop during the winter in a semi-protected climate and in an environment that wouldn’t have attracted any birds, wild cats, rabbits or so. At the end of October, I went to the greenhouse to clear the ground from the dead tomatoes and cucumber plants and check that the soil of the bulbs was still keeping moisture. You can certainly imagine my surprise when I noticed very neatly dug holes in the pots where the bulbs were planted. All the bulbs disappeared: “A thief!” I exclaimed, and I started to search for who could have been responsible. The suspects were:
What I couldn’t consider possible was the action of a mole. There wasn’t any hole in the ground, and it would have not been easy for them to reach the surface, climb the pots dig the holes, and take the bulbs. The third was the most accredited suspect: The squirrel. The way the holes were dug, would require a couple of little hands, a thing that only a squirrel had. I was more amused than angry, after all the wild animals needed those bulbs more than I could ever need. Nevertheless, the second batch of bulbs I planted had been protected by nets, a sprinkle of garlic, and chili pepper. So far, no thief has dared to trespass, but I also left some food for the winter to compensate for the fact that the squirrels won’t get access to my garden. I hope they’re satisfied with the arrangement. The story written by: © P.J. Mann
10 Comments
11/4/2021 07:06:06 am
Squirrels can be quite inventive when it comes to finding food :) My tulip bulb thief was my dog. She never touched any other flower bulb, but we didn't plant tulips again for fourteen years when we had Lucky.
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Lorraine A Carey
11/4/2021 08:06:37 am
How sweet of you to make an offering to our earth babies. Now you can have your garden and the squirrels can their share too. I wish I had a green thumb. That is a real gift!
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R. A. “Doc” Correa
11/4/2021 08:13:09 am
Funny story PJ, considering my squirrel/chipmunk problem I get how annoying the little boogers can be. My biggest problem with them is they eat the insulation on the wiring of my trucks.
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Paula Mann
11/5/2021 04:42:21 pm
yes, I know. They really might reach the point to get to the nerves, on the other hand, I think that htey don't have the idea of money value or property or any of the values we put on things. Their highest value is food and shelter.
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Lilian Roberts
11/4/2021 11:55:23 am
Very sweet story, I do like squirrels too... Very thoughtful of you to leave something for them to eat :) In the past I have driven my car practically to a ditch to avoid hurting them when they cross the road :)
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Alexandra Butcher
11/4/2021 02:17:08 pm
We live next to the woods and there are a lot of squirrels around. I've counted 7 or 8 at once before. they've destroyed or stolen several birdfeeders, including the 'squirrelproof' one. Yeah, that lasted maybe 2 days. I'm not surprised it was the squirrels - they are sneaky creatures. I love them, sadly my puppy goes into meltdown whenever there is one in the garden.
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Paula Mann
11/5/2021 04:38:28 pm
I have learned that there isn't anything really squirrelproof, besides a solid net. It's funny that they go hide the food for the winter, but when the snow start to fall, they might not find the place anymore.
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A.J. Park
11/5/2021 08:57:00 am
Tulip bulbs are candy to the animal kingdom. I think they're even edible for people, although I'd never tried! I planted bulbs years ago, and the tulips are nearly gone. In my neighborhood, the deer eat the tulips like humans eat chocolate! The daffodils and hyacinths remain and are flourishing.
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Paula Mann
11/5/2021 04:36:53 pm
I hope they will leave me at least something for the next spring. We'll see then.
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Paula Mann
11/5/2021 04:35:29 pm
It's a sort of use here to leave some food for the animals. Winter can be harsh, and for many of the birds or squirrels or forest mice might be quite hard to find anything to eat. The shops now start selling the bird's food, but we all know that there will be more than birds going to get the seeds LOL
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