How much wood?

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? I don't know, but he sure does love to eat my corn.

Yesterday, the pups were going crazy at the window. I assumed they were fretting because of the deer. They come around in the early evening to munch on the goodies I have left them. Well, the pups didn't calm down after several minutes so I took a peek out the window. Hmmmm, it was no deer sitting there nibbling on the cracked corn I set out for the deer. At first, I thought maybe it was a rabbit since we have those, too. It's ears were way too small to be a rabbit. So, I went outside.

It turned and looked at me for a second then darted off for a wood pile. Definitely a woodchuck/ground hog. They are the same thing, aren't they? Anyway, I have seen some big ones munching in other people's yards around town. This one must be a baby guy. He was much smaller than the ones I have seen.

Personally, I think he is just as cute as a button and I'll continue to put out special treats for my backyard wildlife. Okay, except for the mole. Unfortunately, there were new tracks in the yard this morning, so I think the trap is not working. We set it again. Tomorrow is another day for trapping/spearing moles.

A few days ago, my neighbor commented that we have the assorted wildlife; deer, raccoon, birds, chipmunks, moles, rabbits, squirrels and then she mentioned the worst creature of all----OPOSSUM. I really, really, really don't like the possum. It's a long story. Okay, it goes like this...

When I was a child of 11 years of age, my family lived in Panama. As I was adventuresome and was not usually frightened by insects or other unusual creatures, I found that it was a fascinating place to live. Some animal of some sort or another crept into our lives and sometimes into our house nearly everyday. I remember one afternoon when my mother asked me to take the garbage outside. This was a typical request and I did as I was instructed. I tied up the ends of the Hefty bag and took it outside to the big metal tragicomic. I set the big green plastic trash bag on the ground next to the trash bins so I could use both hands to open the lid of one of the cans. As I did so, a hideous beast feasting inside the can protested my intrusion. It spun around and stared at me. Its glistening black eyes were wide open and it hissed at me showing its shiny white teeth. Its rat-tail curled around its black body. I screamed! I slammed the metal lid back down on the can and ran inside the house. I was still screaming. My mother rushed into the kitchen asking me what was wrong. I told her there was an animal in the trash. She laughed. I guess she thought I must have been hurt or something. Afterall, I was screaming as if my arm had been severed from my body. Clearly, my mother thought I had overreacted to a simple animal, probably a mouse, inside the trash can.

Imagine her surprise when she went to investigate my outlandish claim. I knew what was in the trash can and wanted nothing to do with it. I stayed in the doorway to the kitchen watching. When she lifted up the grey metal lid, that creature inside hissed at her. I could hear it from where I was.

My mother closed the lid, now a believer. She simply stated that it was a possum and that it was probably much more afraid of me than I was of it. Well, that meant it was scared out of its mind because I was terrified.

And you know what? That wasn't my ONLY run in with a possum. To this day, I get the heeby geebies whenever I think about those nasty creatures. So, heaven help the possum who decides to get a snack in MY yard. Oh no no. That would not be a good thing. No way. No how.

I put the bird feeders on the other side of the fence. That way when the spilled seeds sprout, it won't mess up my flower bed. The can grow all they want in the wooded area outside my fence. We left that area alone for the most part.

In the dirt patch behind me, I have planted lots of tulips. They will be so pretty in the spring, provided that the mole doesn't eat the roots and the deer don't eat the stems.

My amazing husband and our patio/deck.

Check out this mess that I get to clean up. She had a good time and that's for sure.

Look Mom! Look what I did. This is so EXCITING!

Sydney just discovered where the mole might live.

Another shot of the hole.

This in the hole.

Directly at the bottom center of this picture, you might see a speck of orange just to the right of the base of the tree. That is a salt lick. Yep. I put it there.

The deer get even closer than this.

Yes, I have deer in my back yard. I also have headstones.

You might think Annabelle is looking at my fish, but my fish are all hiding. They know they are "feeder" fish.

terrier \ literally earth dog,

Terrier \ literally earth dog. From Latin terra. Small dogs originally used by hunters to dig for small furred game and engage the quarry underground or drive it out.

I have three of them. Jake, my Westie, prefers letting the others get dirty. He's more of a lover than a fighter. Annabelle, my Scottie, is more inclined to KILL her squeaky toys. However, Sydney, my Schnauzer (originally bred to hunt and kill rats), is a true terrier. She is a digger.

When we first moved into our house, we noticed long skinny bulges in our yard. Absently, I assumed they were surface roots from the many trees. Even when we began our extensive landscaping, we would pull up long surface roots and continue. Then I began to notice these long skinny bulges in circles and no where near trees. And...I might add, all the grass along those long skinny bulges was dead. I suspected a mole.

Turns out, I was correct. I stamped down those bulgy trails and cursed the rodents. I encouraged them to move out of my yard into my neighbors yard. Of course, my neighbor adamantly protested. My other neighbor allowed my to borrow the Killer Mole Trap. Basically it works similar to a mouse trap, but instead of a snapping wire, it has six vicious looking spikes. The trap is set along the mole trail and when the mole digs under it, SNAP, the spikes sink into the ground and impale the little beasties.

A few days with nothing, then yesterday I noticed the spikes were down. Part of my was happy and part of my was sad. I didn't want to kill it, but I didn't want it tearing up my yard. I really didn't want to poison it for fear that my pups would be poisoned or eat one that had been poisoned. Anyway, I decided to check to see if I indeed had a dead mole.

When I pulled up the trap, a big chunk of dirt/clay came up revealing the hole. No mole, but definitely mole smell. Suddenly, I had a helper. Sydney was....let's say...very curious. Okay, she was really SUPER EXCITED!! Into the hole she went. There was no stopping her. Naturally, since I spoil her rotten I just encouraged the assault. In a high squeaky voice I told her to "Get it!" and to "Kill it!"

Lots and lots of digging. Eventually, her head disappeared. Her bum was up in the air and a little tiny tail was wiggling like it had been turn onto vibrate. She was having the big time Super Fun Time. All her effort was to no avail. No mole.

When it was all said and done, I had a worn out, filthy dog and a big hole in my yard. So much for a long skinny bulge. It's more like a giant pot hole.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it.....

Having accepted the mission, I set out on my quest.

Store closed. Sorry! Come again!

Later...store open. Sign in window proclaims "All fish 10% off!" Excellent. That is until I noticed the fine print, "except feeder fish."

"I need some feeder fish."
"How many would you like?"
"Hmmm, I think 5 would be plenty."
"We only sell by the dozen."
"Well then, I'll take 12."

Two hours later....all the fish are dead.

I anticipated them being eaten by the local wildlife, but they didn't last that long. The first clue was seeing them suck air at the surface of the water. The next clue was me being able to scoop them up by hand with no resistance.

In order to make sure I collected all the bodies, I counted the dead. One by one. Guess what. Even the bonus fish, #13, died. Unlucky for him.

Two days and two aquarium prep anti-chlorine tablets, I set off to accomplish my mission.

In go the next batch of feeder fish. Good thing they are only 15 cents each. No way am I spending $5.oo on a fish that will ultimately be eaten or flushed.

An hour later.....I still have living fish.

Another hour later.....still swimming.

The next day.....still swimming.

The next morning.....hmmmm for some reason, there are lots more rocks in my pond than there were the night before. Also, no fish. I picked out the rocks that had been resting on the edge of the pond and discover fish. They are still alive!! Rejoice!

My pond has goldfish. Mission accomplished.

The deck is still missing lattice, railing and steps. That's tomorrow's project. Lucky for me, that's not my job. I get to work inside tomorrow.

A few more plants and presto, the pond is finished. Of course, I still have plenty of boxes in my basement waiting for me to unpack, but my pond is finished. Notice the big fat frog. Once the section of fence to the left is replaced, I can finish up with the mulch and really begin to enjoy all the hard work.

Clear out the trash and things are really looking good.

A stroll down the walkway, past the pond, and finally to a shady spot to relax.

Phew! Break time.

Lots done, but more to go.

My husband and father-in-law putting together the giant puzzle.

Still digging the trench.

My wonderful pond begins to take shape. If you use your imagination, you might be able to picture the finished product.

Maybe some more sand would help.

And the flagstone begins.

The trench.

Here I am digging a trench for the electical wiring for the pond. Don't I look "purty"?

Believe it or not, we are still speaking to each other at this point.

Work in progress.

Big changes ahead for this space.

More of the "before". Just wait for the "after".

Although we trimmed out all the underbrush, there is still plenty more work ahead.

We had to dig out three to five inches of dirt and move it someplace else. My husband, the most patient man in the world, was thankful that we had a nice tree line where we could dumb the 50+ wheel barrel loads full.

This is where the pond will go.