shot a squirrel, hate the baby rabbit May 27

We realized that the evil baby rabbit has been hiding out under the air conditioner, of all things.  He came out while we were out yesterday and ate a row of lettuce.  I was steaming.  We tried to shoot him but he got away. Tom wants to trap the rabbits but I think they are too smart. If we trap them, I can shoot them in the trap.

It's the light lime green, iceberg that is no longer. The kale is still there.

The Pipers just told me that Stan freezes the dead rabbit and then puts it out in the trash on trash day. Gag. I don't want a frozen dead rabbit in the freezer.  But it is getting warm...

I am trying the cayenne pepper sprinkled on the veggies to keep the rabbit away.  And whoever said marigolds deter rabbits!  Ha!  That stupid rabbit ate all the leaves off the marigold.  Tom has done a ton of blocking up of holes along the fence.

He does not want to shoot anymore. I am just getting started but do hope Alex would take out a few.

On a brighter note, a lily that got eaten by a rabbit last year, right down to the stem, is coming back.

Also, Tom bought me more petunias and I bought two impatiens for under the crab apple tree.   I needed more pink in the garden!  I transplanted the basil into a bigger pot but did not have enough potting soil so I need to give that plant some miracle grow or something. Put some petunias in with some of that green stuff that Tom put in pots and put it on the stove out there.

Garden report on May 24, 2018

The good news is that nothing has been eaten yet.  Last year one of my favorite lilies was eaten by something, a rabbit or squirrel?  Who knows?

Another one is coming up and I am going to put cayenne pepper on it to protect it.  That was an idea from Joan.

I have two hostas coming up. I've noticed that they do okay under pine trees.

The bad news is that a rabbit ate some of the sugar snap peas.  so angry.  I want no mercy.  Must take out the rabbits.  This afternoon I saw a big rabbit in the yard. There was a gaping hole behind the Bailey's fence and the junipers.  Tom has put chicken wire up but I am still steaming.

It was a rabbit that killed that poor lily last year. 

This lily is an old one but flourishes each year!

We were gone on Wednesday and I came back and this plant looked really bad.  But it perked up with water.

I've been giving the plants Miracle Gro on Thursdays or Fridays.

It's nice that these flowers have been doing well this year. The yellow and red one is a dahlia.  The purple is a delphinium that planted 2 years ago

Now to the vegetables!

 Cucumbers coming up. I am thinning a little

 Here are the 3 tomatoes and 1 pepper.  Paula has 9 tomato plants.

 Carrots showed up this week. I planted more carrot seeds because the dill did not come up at all

This is baby kale. I'll cut it next week.

No picture of the eaten peas

May 24, 2018 Squirrel, rabbit and hummer report

Lots happening.  Debbie loaned us their trap and we have relocated 8 squirrels.  Tom said, "If I'd known how well this would gone, I would have thought of another way of disposing them."

The only problem is that every time Tom takes one of the squirrels somewhere, he goes shopping!
It had rained all weekend so the squirrels were not to be seen.  On Monday morning, a beautiful day, I was working in my summer office and noticed the squirrels would be running over from Paula's house, mouth filled with a peanut.  Or they'd eat on on the fence, go get more then come into the garden and start burying the peanuts in the pots or wherever.  As I have told people, squirrels are not in their natural habitat being fed costco peanuts on someone's deck. They have eaten the sprinkler hose, chewed the planter boxes, dug up bulbs and dug around annuals, causing them to fall over!

On Wednesday (the 23th), Tom mentioned that he did not want to trap a squirrel while we'd be in C. Springs for the day.  However, it was in the garden Tuesday night. Tom went to get the trap to put it near the house and as he was walking back to the deck, I could see him smiling. We had another one. We put this one, in the trap, in the trunk of his car and drove it to Glen Eyrie.

We came home that afternoon and quickly trapped two more!  They seem to like peanut butter on saltine crackers.

Meanwhile, the rabbits are still a huge problem.  At dusk on Monday night, 3 of them were lounging in the Rowe's and our front yard.  I went for a walk and saw a baby rabbit. When we got home at 4pm on Wednesday, there was a baby rabbit in the yard. I chased him all over and he could not get out but then he found a place to squeeze through at the corner of the Doe's and Rowe's fences.  Scream.

We blocked that up.

Then for the fun part of the day.  So I really love the view on my deck each morning and sitting having breakfast, reading in the late afternoon. It's not too hot yet. 

Wednesday night I was sitting here on the deck and it was a perfect evening. 75 degrees. no bugs at all. I wish Tom I looked at my hummingbird feeder.  We've Never had a hummingbird in our garden. I looked at it and said, "Oh Lord, it would be just perfect if a hummingbird visited me."  I am not kidding.  10 minutes later the very first hummingbird arrived. I got a picture and stumbled a bit with video.  I sent the picture to Ron and Susan because Ron is a bird expert and he said it was a hummer, broad-tailed. 

So I was rejoicing in that. Then a BIG rabbit appeared. I thought, "How did he ever get in with all the chicken wire?"  I got up to chase it out and he went barreling to the back fence and I thought he is going to crash. But he got through a small crack. I mean, it was like he was rubber rabbit or something. Unbelievable.

Mother's Day 2018

Well, I have tried a new remedy to deter the squirrels. However, Alex did say that maybe he would get me a b-b gun for the squirrels and rabbits.  Maybe he'll get me one.

I read about this: Too much nitrogen in the soil can, at best, keep theplants from flowering or fruiting, and at worst, burn the plants and possibly kill them. Blood meal is also used as a deterrent for some animals, such as moles, squirrels and deer. It is thought the smell of blood meal is not appealing to these animals.

But also read about cayenne pepper

• Try sprinkling cayenne pepper, pepper flakes, and/or garlic pepper on and around your plants when they are ready to bloom. Squirrels won’t eat anything with cayenne—which you can often buy in bulk. Birds don’t mind the taste.
• One reader claims blood meal sprinkled around the garden soil works.

Anyway, there is some hope.

Planted more seeds today: butternut squash, zucchini and cucumbers.  Gag, seeds at KS are expensive.

I had bought 5 pinkish geraniums from Joan and needed a white one.  So I now have some pots.

Forgot to mention that I planted spaghetti squash near the air-con.

I sure wish Tom would get help with the sprinklers but he is will not hire anyone for anything. he won't put any money into the house. He really wants to move but nothing is clear so we don't move and i am fine with that.

Saturday May 12, 2018

I am putting some egg shells in two of the tomato plant soil mixtures and some powdered milk in the Roma.  An experiment to see if one is better for the calcium than the other.

I also planted pepper seeds with my one pepper plant

It's a cloudy day but no rain yet.

Putting seeds in today. Put in beans, summer squash, heirloom cucumbers and zucchini. only planted some of those heirloom cucumbers. saving  for next year

I decided I need more zucchini and cucumber seeds. 

I'll plant later I have space.

But cosmos seed behind hummingbird ornament on the right side of pine tree garden

Put baby's breath seed right near ranunculus bulbs

The big experiment is spaghetti squash at SE corner of garden and some green beans along Rowe fence.

I also did one hanging plant.  Idea from Debbie Rowe Ivy Geraniums.

keeping rabbits out

Deter Rabbits With Chili Powder or Blood Meal

You can sprinkle chili powder in a circle around plants to help deter rabbits away from your vegetable garden. The rabbits will get the chili powder on their whiskers and nose and usually stay well clear of your plants. You can also sprinkle blood meal around the perimeter of your garden. The rabbits will take offense to the smell and stay far away. Don’t worry – it doesn’t smell bad to humans. Both items will need to be reapplied after rain or heavy watering.

Use A Homemade Repellent To Deter Rabbits Away From The Garden

Mix 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons of garlic powder, and a squirt of dish detergent with 20 ounces of warm water. Shake the mixture well to incorporate. Let it sit outside in the sun for a day, then put into a sprayer and apply to plant leaves. This homemade rabbit repellent will have rabbits running the other way. The mixture will need to be reapplied after rain or heavy watering.

May 11, 2018

Spent 3.5 hours in the garden.  Tom was out there with me, putting up more chicken wire as a stupid rabbit got in from the Baileys and, no kidding, ran through chicken wire, leaving some fur and escaped. So I think he might have two layers of chicken wire in some places. Hate the rabbits. Heard there was a coyote and hope he gets a few rabbit dinners.

Something i've not done before is wash out my pots.  I think Laura Flanders encouraged me to do that. 

So today I planted almost all the annuals. I picked up a coleus and a delphium at Rite Aid near the dentist office yesterday after my crown.

I planted some purple petunias and there yellow marigolds.  Purple and yellow color scheme here.  

 More purple and yellow. I think the purple is a  lupine (A perennial)  No poppy this year but i heard they take years off

 Purple petunias and a new dusty  plant by this white one.  I need some kind of plant for the area behind

 Mostly pink in the front. I've noticed lots of cosmos just randomly coming up. Hope this continues

So there is my basil, parsley and then an idea from another year, a green annual pot.

 An experiment.  I planted a maroon dahlia bulb in the left pot and a red/orange dahlia bulb in the right pot. I also planted Ranunculus bulbs (weird little star bulbs) along the edge and...

More of the ranunculus bulbs where the popsicles sticks are

Then....went to Big Tool Box and bought some perennials,sedum and a few others. Put those in.  The back garden looks a little empty right now. 

Tomorrow I hope that I can plant veggie seeds. I also have marigold and cosmo seeds.

May 10, 2018

I got back last night and to my delight, all the annuals were still alive, thank you Joe the Neighbor Paluga. I did not see until this  morning that there were sprouts of lettuce and peas in the garden!

So I did some planting and then I stopped at King Soopers near the DCPL and they had some great plants.