Woke up this morning, looked out at the garden – there was snow on the kale and collard greens! Still a few drips coming down, but clearly, the first snow of the season is over. Everyone out in the yard is taking it all in stride – the mourning doves, the downy woodpeckers, all the finches and chickadees, the nuthatches – relative newcomers to our neighborhood.
And of course the multitudinous squirrels. I’m about to outsmart them once again – though winning is always transitory. I’m going to tie the squirrel baffle into place with wire, so they cannot get onto the peanut feeder, which is for the blue jays, cardinals and lots of other birds.
And with the snow, the chipmunks will have gone to sleep – which means I can tackle the problem of the rat who has moved into the wall. Couldn’t use traps while the chippers were out running around. I’ve talked to the rat about moving, asked Hawk to come take care of the rat, to no avail. A small Cooper’s hawk showed up – not much bigger than the critter he needs to catch. So at that point, there’s a need for more typical techniques. The rat cannot stay in Eden.