Wednesday, June 10th, Chipmunk wars

Chip and Dale be damned....I hate chipmunks!! This is a bone of contention between Chuck and I. I have threatened to poison them, drown them and a number of tortuous killings, but Chuck adores them. He even has named them.
They do all sorts of terrible things in the garden. For example, they dig in my pots, scattering dirt everywhere, dig up bulbs and eat them or plant them in the middle of the yard. The most recent evidence of destruction has been the sign that they plant things in unwanted areas. I usually save my "potting" dirt from year to year. I sift through it and refertilize it.
I planted trailing nasturtium seeds in this pot with a climbing trellis and when they sprouted, I noticed some spiky plants coming up also. When dad was here last weekend, he told me that it was corn. I decorate the front porch with field shocks from the farm in the fall and then throw the corn cobs in the yard for the squirrels. The chippies save it and got into the garage to hide their treasures in my saved dirt.
This year the thing that has me the most frustrated is the destruction of my new finch feeder. Somehow, these demonic creatures have figured out how to climb the shepherd's crook, tear a hole in the bottom of the sleeve and dump all of the expensive seed on the ground. See that guy hanging there??? HATE HIM!!!