Posts Tagged ‘moles’
Mole Caught
Yesterday, Cyndie reported that they had crossed the Arctic Circle. It looks like they are having a fabulous time. Life at home is much less spectacular, but I’ve no complaint with that.
Asher appears to understand that I am being much stricter about keeping him in my line of sight. This has reduced the amount of work I can accomplish in a day, but it has given me more time to catch World Cup matches. They have reached the third and final game in each group, so now the four teams in each group play their two games at the same time. That splits my attention across two screens at once.
It beats working hard out in the hot sun.
For having had three vaccination shots all at once on Tuesday, the horses showed no signs of discomfort yesterday. Our log guy, Matthew, brought his young son to work, so I had fun showing off things I thought would entertain him. He was particularly fascinated with the labyrinth. After walking it with him, he was determined to have his dad come walk it, too. Matthew was power washing the siding of the shop/garage, so he couldn’t do it at the time.
His son asked if he could walk Asher down to the labyrinth to wait. That was fine with me, but then I decided to tag along at a distance in case Asher looked like he was going to run off. By the time I arrived, Asher had pounced on one of those many critter tunnels and come up with a mole in his mouth. Matthew’s son and I then ran to keep up with Asher as he sought the perfect spot to bury his catch.
At least he didn’t do any digging in the compost staging area this time. He ended up picking a location beside the driveway, very near the shop/garage. It’s a trick to monitor this because it seems like he gets hesitant if we get too close, so we tried to hang back as much as possible without letting him get too far away from us.
Thank goodness there will be one less mole making a mess of the labyrinth. Good dog, Asher!
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Rain Came
Excitement started bright and early yesterday with a farrier appointment at 8:30 a.m. sharp. The horses had barely finished eating their morning rations. There were two more people in attendance than usual, and one of them brought vaccines. The horses each received three shots.
All four horses queued up calmly and showed no need to mess with each other. That doesn’t mean they didn’t make the farrier work up a sweat. She used a lot of muscle to hold their feet in position against the horses’ frequent decisions to pull them away from her.
It seemed to me that their hooves were a mess, but the farrier, Jamie, said they hadn’t grown a lot since her last visit, but they had chipped, cracked, and “pancaked” out a bit. She did a lot of filing, but didn’t need to do anything particularly drastic for any of the horses.
After tending to the horses, I turned my attention to mowing the labyrinth, which hasn’t been trimmed in a long time. I soon found that I couldn’t leave the mower at my usual low setting because it kept bottoming out over the shocking amount of mole activity.
It’s either one or two very busy critters, or a large population has decided our soil has the best grub worms ever. Getting the center of the lanes mowed was good, but it made the tall growth amid the rocks even more ridiculous-looking. We should probably spend more time walking the path to pack down those tunnels and annoy the moles.
Meanwhile, Matthew, our log guy, has made progress replacing rotted boards on the shop wall.
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Then the rain came, and all activity ceased. Well, not all. I still succumbed to a little nap before feeding the horses. They didn’t show any reaction to the shower. Asher shortened his walk to get out of the wetness, which was just fine by me.
Although I’m grateful that the rain meant I didn’t have to water Cyndie’s flowers and gardens.
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Different World
In the middle of rambunctious wrestling play in the backyard, Asher suddenly dropped the large JollyBall and cocked his head as if someone had called to him. Something had grabbed his attention from the direction of an aging pile of woodchips.
An aroma. One to which I was entirely oblivious. It was beyond the level of perception that my olfactory system could detect. I am well aware that dogs have a better sense of smell than people, but in that moment it struck me how different his world is from mine.
A couple of days ago on a walk around our property, Asher suddenly grabbed something in his jaws and I could immediately tell it was a dead something. It was a prize. The surprisingly large fur blob had broad, clawed feet that I identified as one of the biggest burrowing moles I’ve seen.
I decided to play coy and not battle with Asher to drop the critter against his wishes, even though that is precisely what I wanted. Watching his behavior, I sensed right away that he wanted to bury it somewhere of his choosing. He picked the pile of woodchips.
Just like that, he dropped his precious find and I didn’t need to get involved. I would come back later to collect the carcass and dispose of it surreptitiously. Indeed, I tried to do just that, but when I checked the pile yesterday morning, there was nothing but woodchips. I wasn’t sure, but it’s possible the top of the pile showed evidence of recent traffic.
When Asher sprinted for the pile, it was the top of the pile that grabbed his attention, not the spot of his prior burial exercise. From probably 50 yards away he picked up the scent of activity on the spot where he had buried that dead mole.
His perception of the world is so different from mine.
A few days ago I granted him full freedom to dig away on the path around the horse fence where new mole activity recently appeared. He dug with impressive fervor for the longest time which I assumed reflected he was smelling a scent that indicated prey was close at hand, or paw, as it was.
He didn’t come up with anything. Each time we’ve walked that same path in the days since, he has shown no interest at all. Must not smell like a mole anymore.
I’m guessing the rat activity in the barn has ended for the season because he no longer digs passionately in there.
He laid down and waited patiently while I braided scraps of polypropylene twine as we waited for horses to finish emptying their feed pans in the afternoon.
Okay, maybe our worlds aren’t that different.
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Dramatic Improvement
Yesterday’s snowfall was a dramatic improvement over the first two plowable events we’ve experienced so far this season. Just ten days ago I posted about how yucky it was after receiving rain for a few hours before the storm changed to snow. Trying to plow that mess was a miserable experience.
I’d almost forgotten how good it is to clear dry snow. Last night the Grizzly ATV worked like magic again, plowing away the snow with ease. The snow conditions make a world of difference when it comes to clearing all our driving lanes and selected walking paths.
By the time I was done, instead of coming back into the house tired and frustrated, I was feeling a little giddy with excitement over the perfect conditions. I almost wanted to find something else to clear, but dinner proved to be a more enticing option.
In the middle of yesterday’s falling flakes, Cyndie captured a new shot of the snow slide on the hay shed. I was surprised to see how much of it was still holding together, even though the left side had started coming apart.
Cyndie and Delilah made me jealous after I heard Cyndie’s description of their coming upon an owl while they were walking one of the trails in our woods.
She wasn’t sure about it at first, as the large bird swooped away from them and settled upon a branch overhead. Cyndie guessed it might be a hawk. Then, that telltale rotation of the head gave it away as the owl twisted to look in their direction.
Delilah hadn’t followed the flight with her eyes so was oblivious when the noble hunter chose to perch above them, but Cyndie’s posturing to take the picture was enough to clue her in.
The owl must not be all that wise because Delilah’s rushing toward the tree scared it off, even though the threat was meaningless from down on the ground.
In the low light of dusk, all that showed up in the image was a dark blob up in the branches.
I don’t remember where I read that the presence of owls is an indication of a healthy forest environment, but the idea stuck with me. Many symbolisms about owl sightings align with either good fortune or a bad omen, so we could go either way with that.
I’m choosing to focus on the probability that it is our vibrant, healthy forest that attracted the owl to visit.
With luck, that predator is helping to control our mouse and mole populations.
Having fewer moles ravaging our yard spaces would be a dramatic improvement in the summer season. It always amazes me to find tracks in the snow from mice and moles when the temperatures are cold and the ground frozen solid.
Now I’ll watch for owl-wing feather streaks in the snow, too.
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First Green
It feels like our growing plants are kicking into high gear now that snow has melted away. The first bushes to develop a green crown are the raspberries.
The grass is showing signs it will need to be mowed before too long. That is, if it doesn’t all get killed by the army of tunneling vermin whose population appears to have mushroomed exponentially around here. The footing is treacherous at every turn.
It sure would be nice if a natural predator would materialize to control their numbers so we wouldn’t have to do something about it ourselves. We’ve tried ignoring them, but that has proved to be a futile strategy.
I read that stinky castor oil will rid our yard of moles and voles. It said not to apply before it rains. Yeah, like we know when that is going to happen. The most predictable thing about our weather is that it is very unpredictable.
One thing I am confident predicting is, it is going to get very green around here in the near future.
Tree leaves are coming soon. Yahoo!
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Monday Ponderings
We opened our home to guests this weekend and were richly rewarded. Once again, we enjoyed evidence of how Wintervale comes alive with the addition of visitors. I, in particular, enjoyed the chance to talk with new acquaintances.
The weather was spectacular. Warm as a summer day, but with the lower angle of sunshine that late September offers. Our maple trees are peaking their color change to fluorescent orange. This time of year, days like this offer a chance to absorb every last possible feature to our core, in hopes it might somehow provide extra ballast for enduring the winter months when they arrive.
On Saturday, I met some folks (and their families) that Cyndie now works with at her (relatively) new job. Sunday, our precious friend, Melissa and her daughters came to spend some time. During their visit, our daughter, Elysa, and her friend, Anne, walked in the door, to our great joy and surprise. Later, I spotted the text message from Elysa, informing us of her plan.
The two days served to re-energize us and provided inspiration to keep after our dream of making Wintervale always be a place that will inspire others. With all the leftover food treats that remain from Cyndie’s bountiful spread, I could use a lot more visitors right now to help keep me from ultimately consuming it all myself.
Today, I get back to work trying to make appreciable progress on at least one of the 4-or-5-various projects I have started that deserve timely attention. If I am lucky enough to have landscapers or fence installers show up, that will be a bonus that determines the immediate priority. If I can’t decide, there is always watering to be done for the new grass seed I put down. That’s an easy way to consume a couple of hours.
I’ve turned over mole-control to Delilah. She seems to enjoy digging up the spots where they have created tunnels in the lawn. It’s not actually effective, in terms of controlling the population of moles, but it does serve to keep her out of other trouble for a reasonable span of time.
Happy Monday, one and all!
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Critter Controllers
Back in October of last year, when we arrived as new owners of this property and home, we immediately discovered that mice and moles appeared to be all too comfortable here. The mice inspired our energies toward getting a couple of cats as house mates. Mozyr was to be our big mouser, based on his incredibly intelligent and athletic showing-off performance during our visit to the feline rescue shelter.
Pequenita is just a wee little thing, but proved to be quite the go-getter and primary instigator for affection and initiator of conflict.
Neither one of them has left a gift carcass for us, during the time since we brought them home, but we have not seen any evidence of a mouse indoors during that period, either.
They are doing something right for us.
Last fall, the grounds here had an unnerving amount of dirt mounds and trail scars to indicate we had quite an infestation of moles and/or gophers. There are oodles of suggested ways to trap them, poison them, or chase them off. One brilliant method involves eliminating the insects and grub worms under the lawn that the varmints find so appealing. I’m just not up for all of that.
We got a dog.
Up to this point of the summer, we haven’t been seeing any new mounds of dirt, but something is slowly, but surely, tunneling under the grass, leaving a maze of scars in the lawn. I have no idea if Delilah will turn out to be the solution for driving off the moles, but last night, she displayed a fair amount of interest in chasing a scent she picked up when I directed her attention to one of the soft spots trailing across the turf.
Relative Something 