01 August 2010
Intruder Alert
01/08/10 07:22
This week we had an intruder. MARSHA and I didn't know it for a while. In the evening I went into the back yard to water. The first part went Ok. Then when I went to the LEFT hand side of the yard where I surprised a full grown deer. Somehow it had gotten in. We really don't have any clue how he got in. However it happened, he slipped in and hid behind THE deck. As soon as I saw him my first reaction was to sneak by and open the north GATE. However it quickly became obvious that he was terrified and my approach was not going to make things any better. I then backtracked, ran through the house, and around to OPEN it from the front. However this scared him and he ran to the south gate. When I went to open the south gate he assumed that both gates had people in front of them and ran to the back of the lot. Things were going from bad to worse. After much crashing and damage to the foliage he managed to squeeze through between the back fence and our neighbours shed. This however left him in our neighbours yard which was also fully fenced. After more broken shrubbery he managed to force open her gate and escape. This was the best possible outcome. I wasn't hurt. The house wasn't hurt. Most importantly the deer wasn't hurt.
As far as damage was concerned Marsha and did notice some smashed shrubbery, hoof prints in the mulch, and most importantly, my tomato's were decapitated. Last spring I picked up a flat of 6 little tomato plants. I've been nursing them along. Watering them every other day. (We have a watering restriction so I can only water on even days.) Marsha was fertilizing them. By June we were rewarded. The plants were nice and big and were covered with flowers. It looked like a we were going to have a great crop. Maybe even enough for a batch of chili. However the flowers came and went, and came and went, and came and went. But none of them produced a tomato. Finally last weekend Marsha noticed that we had two. Out of the many dozens of flowers we finally had two small kind of mangy looking deep green tomatoes. All was not lost. I would get at least some of my investment back.
Then the deer ate them. The only bloody thing in the whole back yard that he nibbled on was my tomatoes.
To digress a bit, at the same time as the tomatoes I also got a flat of bell pepper plants. They are growing well but have not had one flower. Not one bud. Nothing. Just nice green leafy pepper plants. GRR!. We did ask about what might have caused the problem with the peppers and tomatoes and the answer we got from one source was 'Too much nitrogen. Your soil is too good, eh." OK I've been around plants for along time. In college I raised a fair number of them (My gardening friends used to call me Agent Orange which I was told was quite a compliment). But I've not heard of soil being too good. Weird.
Anyway we had another intruder this week as well. OK not really an intruder but it was very disconcerting. You see I got a haircut. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal. This time, though, I was about a month overdue. I looked positively shaggy. So because of that and the summer heat, I told her to go a bit shorter than normal. It's tapered at the back and sides, clipped above the ears. Thinned on the sides. It was a serious haircut. Shorter than I've had it in years. So I got home. Marsha said I looked good and all was well. Then that night I went in to get ready for bed, turned on the light, and jumped when I saw Dad staring at me out of the mirror. OK Dad didn't have a beard and I'm a little thinner from the cheekbones down, but eyes, forehead ears and haircut was the image of my dad. Now that is creepy. I told Marsha if I start wearing a Col Blake fishing hat and complaining about the 'hippies downtown' to just shoot me on the spot.
Let's hope for a week with fewer surprises.
I confess, I left the gate open (mga). Here we are in the process of laying down rock. One of the big projects we worked on this holiday weekend. (HAPPY BC DAY!)
As far as damage was concerned Marsha and did notice some smashed shrubbery, hoof prints in the mulch, and most importantly, my tomato's were decapitated. Last spring I picked up a flat of 6 little tomato plants. I've been nursing them along. Watering them every other day. (We have a watering restriction so I can only water on even days.) Marsha was fertilizing them. By June we were rewarded. The plants were nice and big and were covered with flowers. It looked like a we were going to have a great crop. Maybe even enough for a batch of chili. However the flowers came and went, and came and went, and came and went. But none of them produced a tomato. Finally last weekend Marsha noticed that we had two. Out of the many dozens of flowers we finally had two small kind of mangy looking deep green tomatoes. All was not lost. I would get at least some of my investment back.
Then the deer ate them. The only bloody thing in the whole back yard that he nibbled on was my tomatoes.
To digress a bit, at the same time as the tomatoes I also got a flat of bell pepper plants. They are growing well but have not had one flower. Not one bud. Nothing. Just nice green leafy pepper plants. GRR!. We did ask about what might have caused the problem with the peppers and tomatoes and the answer we got from one source was 'Too much nitrogen. Your soil is too good, eh." OK I've been around plants for along time. In college I raised a fair number of them (My gardening friends used to call me Agent Orange which I was told was quite a compliment). But I've not heard of soil being too good. Weird.
Anyway we had another intruder this week as well. OK not really an intruder but it was very disconcerting. You see I got a haircut. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal. This time, though, I was about a month overdue. I looked positively shaggy. So because of that and the summer heat, I told her to go a bit shorter than normal. It's tapered at the back and sides, clipped above the ears. Thinned on the sides. It was a serious haircut. Shorter than I've had it in years. So I got home. Marsha said I looked good and all was well. Then that night I went in to get ready for bed, turned on the light, and jumped when I saw Dad staring at me out of the mirror. OK Dad didn't have a beard and I'm a little thinner from the cheekbones down, but eyes, forehead ears and haircut was the image of my dad. Now that is creepy. I told Marsha if I start wearing a Col Blake fishing hat and complaining about the 'hippies downtown' to just shoot me on the spot.
Let's hope for a week with fewer surprises.
I confess, I left the gate open (mga). Here we are in the process of laying down rock. One of the big projects we worked on this holiday weekend. (HAPPY BC DAY!)