Mr. Editor:
This spring is turning into a “yard and garden” wake up call. This winter is the first one I can remember in 29 years of owning this property where there was so much snow that the ground has been completely covered since the beginning of December until now [(early April)]. I still have shady spots with 18 to 24″ today. It is melting but it going to take a while. The piles by my driveway will be there until June. But [as the snow has receded] the thing we are finding is that the rabbits, mice and other rodents have trashed our yard and gardens like never before.
The rabbits–[the ones] that the dog did not catch–ate darn near anything above the snow. They have made a mess of my raspberries, blueberries and grapes to the point where I don’t know if the plants will survive or will have to be replaced. Thank goodness I have 48″ fencing around my cherry and apple trees. Oh, and as far as the dog is concerned, we have a Bernese Mountain Dog. The snow was too deep for her to run and to catch many rabbits anyway.
The mice had an “under the snow tunnel system ” made and they ate all my wife’s tulip bulbs, and all her other ornamental bulbs. They are my chives, parsley, basil, sage etc.They have holes all over the yard. They even ate the phlox. We didn’t see the damage until now, and the hawks didn’t see the mice, because they were under the snow.
My point here is that as our climate changes, we need to be expecting nature to adjust and not always for human benefit. If the Schumer Hits the Fan (SHTF) perhaps some of our best laid plans will be destroyed by the other living things on the planet that need to eat in the winter. – Carl R.