Garden

[Lilysmom]

@AuntG, ahahaha.  I got a good laugh out of that.  At least the raccoon will have a good feed before he gets trapped and transported.🤓. LM

[mousiegirl]

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@Lilysmom wrote:

@Allegheny, @mousiegirl, isn’t that maddening?  I have a Labrador Retriever so she keeps the wildlife away up here at street level.  We have a road to our lake . The dog has been trained not to go down the road without us.  The deer know exactly where she goes and doesn’t go.  I had a gorgeous dapple willow loaded with gorgeous blooming leaves.  The next day I went to the lake, it was half the size a day before.  It was the deer.

The most destructive are the beavers though.  There are a number of them who marauder the lake shores.  I planted a gorgeous red maple at lakeside and the devils took 3/4’s of the tree in one visit.  When we come down in the Spring, there is usually a pile of sticks soaking in the lake completely denuded of their bark.  The teeth marks are so sharp and precise, it looks like the tree has been cut with a knife.

My Rhodos, evergreens and lilac bushes are left alone.  They come at night.  I have never seen them during the day

Never a dull moment in our part of suburbia😊.  LM

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@Lilysmom  Yes, when I saw the stripped hydrangea paniculatas I felt sick, then got mad, even though I know the doe was hungry and probably has fawns or will soon.

Glad I don't have a beaver, lol.  I guess the deer like the delicacies here.  I have a lot that they don't eat such as salvias, lavender, but so upset to see the lily buds gone, no flowers from them this year, though she did miss a few plants.  I wish the deer would eat weeds, lol, have tons of those I would like to see gone wituout any effort from me, lol.

[Lilysmom]

@mousiegirl, if they ate dandelions, I would have a herd this year.  Lord,

, no idea where they came from!  LM

[mousiegirl]

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@Lilysmom wrote:

@mousiegirl, if they ate dandelions, I would have a herd this year.  Lord,

, no idea where they came from!  LM

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@Lilysmom  We have lived here a long time, and in the last few years I have seen tons of weeds I have never seen before, must be the birdies delivering these, lol.

[JustJazzmom]

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@mousiegirl wrote:

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@Lilysmom wrote:

@mousiegirl, if they ate dandelions, I would have a herd this year.  Lord,

, no idea where they came from!  LM

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@Lilysmom  We have lived here a long time, and in the last few years I have seen tons of weeds I have never seen before, must be the birdies delivering these, lol.

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Interesting, re: weeds never seen before. I once asked an insect expert at the next county over’s Extension re: various weeds (he was giving a lecture on plants & insects) coming here possibly by superstorms or hurricanes. He said, yes that is a possibility for plants (seeds) to be blown in with the winds. 

I have seen this year in my own lawn — hairy bittercress which should be pulled before they makes seeds. Never had this problem years ago.

[JustJazzmom]

@Lilysmom Deer aren’t a big problem by us as the deer are to the east of us. My SIL every year gets deer visiting her backyard. She is along our south shore area in the next county. They are a tremendous problem here on LI & the people are divided between sensible control or do nothing st all. So there is a lot of deer wasting disease due to too many deer & not enough food to support them. 

[mousiegirl]

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@JustJazzmom wrote:

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@mousiegirl wrote:

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@Lilysmom wrote:

@mousiegirl, if they ate dandelions, I would have a herd this year.  Lord,

, no idea where they came from!  LM

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@Lilysmom  We have lived here a long time, and in the last few years I have seen tons of weeds I have never seen before, must be the birdies delivering these, lol.

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Interesting, re: weeds never seen before. I once asked an insect expert at the next county over’s Extension re: various weeds (he was giving a lecture on plants & insects) coming here possibly by superstorms or hurricanes. He said, yes that is a possibility for plants (seeds) to be blown in with the winds. 

I have seen this year in my own lawn — hairy bittercress which should be pulled before they makes seeds. Never had this problem years ago.

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@JustJazzmom  for the last two years, this weed has shown up only in one area, the fenced area where my dogs play during nice weather.  It is the best weed in that it practically grows in air, so easy to pull, lol.  Killing Dollar Weed

[mousiegirl]

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@JustJazzmom wrote:

@Lilysmom Deer aren’t a big problem by us as the deer are to the east of us. My SIL every year gets deer visiting her backyard. She is along our south shore area in the next county. They are a tremendous problem here on LI & the people are divided between sensible control or do nothing st all. So there is a lot of deer wasting disease due to too many deer & not enough food to support them. 

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@JustJazzmom  Never a deer on my property until the last year or so when the electric gate stopped working and I had to leave the gate open on package delivery days, and this year the fence area that bent over making it not so high that they can't jump it.

I do feel sorry for the does as they need more food during this season as they usually have two fawns, but, I would like to also have a garden.  There is so much area around, we are fenced, most aren't, but I guess I grow delicacies for them instead of lawn, which we don't have, draughts, moles and gophers took care of that decades ago.

I think cars take care of a fair amount of deer, sadly, but it isn't a mystery how this happens as they do jump right out in front of cars, in a panic, but then people drive too fast also.

[Lilysmom]

@mousiegirl@JustJazzmom, we spent a few weeks on Hilton Head Island a couple of years ago.  The house we rented was on a golf course.  There were so many deer, it was really awful.  They were all over the place.  I kept thinking ticks and Lyme disease must be an issue.  This is increasingly becoming a problem here as our winters become milder.

It is a miracle we never hit one before we got home.  We left at 3 am to drive home (a three day drive).  LM

[Spurt]

I live in the suburbs...but in the back of me is a wooded area and behind that a green belt with a walking trail....so we have critters meander around our neighborhood....

@Allegheny

Like you I was outside and I spotted an animal on my neighbor's roof, the animal was quite large, at first I thought it was one of the stray cats...but upon closer observation I saw it was a HUGE racoon!!!  All of sudden the racoon got down from the roof and headed in the direction of my patio...I ran into the house and flickered my porch light on and off and made a lot of noise and I saw the racoon head down the street....That was a month ago, never saw him since.....

I have a friend that lives in the country and deals with all kinds of critters .....I asked her about racoons, and she said to stay away from them....they can be mean and quite vicioious....

We also had a skunk....and you could tell whenever he visited--PHEW!!!  Happily the skunk went away.....

We have also had a buck and deer walk down the sidewalk like they owned the place....I think they were looking for water ......  in the summer they can be seen drinking out of the automatic sprinklers.....

We've had possums but haven't seen them lately.  Also driving to work early in the morning...saw a police car and a policeman had his flashlight on something....it was a coyote.....

I call it counry living in the city, but I feel sorry for the animals that have been trapped in city developments as humans invaded into every part of their territory........