The darn garden squirrels are at it again, beating us to the fruits! Aaargh. Last week, when we were away, several figs were ripening on one fig plant. But we couldn’t get to harvest them on time upon our return.
The four-legged furries were faster than us and helped themselves to not one or two but four figs on the plant. Four figs! They must be hungry or very daring. Unfortunately, hubby did not cover the fruits with netting bags, so the fruits were exposed.
Evidence of the raid. Hrmph
But even the netting bags cannot deter these darn fig raiders, for we have seen fig fruits disappear inside a bag, still intact in its place! We have even tied old CDs as light reflectors to scare the raiders, but this method is not working too. Sigh.
We need new methods to prevent the fig-raiding squirrels from eating the fresh figs off the plants. Any ideas?
Every morning, when I look out my kitchen window, I see the pineapple in the garden growing beautifully. It crosses my mind daily, will we get to savor the fruit this time? The garden squirrel got to the last ripened fruit before us, eating it until the core.
Well, horrors of all horrors, history has repeated itself! The heavy pineapple somehow fell to the ground despite being propped up with a stick. And the garden squirrel started on it as the wire mesh fell off, devouring about a third of the fruit before being discovered. Hrmph.
The mesh, the fruit and the fruitless plant
We have decided not to plant pineapples anymore after this latest mishap. They take too long even though we don’t have to care for the growth constantly. And when it comes time to harvest, the garden squirrels are a tad too fast for us. Sigh.
Weeks have passed, and sadly, Itsy the Golden Orb Silk Weaver spider is gone! Recently, the gardeners spruced up the perimeter greenery area, and Itsy’s branches were affected.
Initially, when we relocated her there, we felt that area would be a haven for her with lots of insects for food. It never crossed our mind that the gardeners would trim the branches. So now, it is a clearing with lesser branches and foliage. Fewer insects and pests for humans, I suppose.
With her web destroyed, I presume her demise as well. How unfortunate.
Three weeks ago, we decided to relocate Itsy from our garden. The initial thought that a Golden Silk Orb Weaver spider would be of good luck has not been accurate at all.
I had medical issues right after discovering Itsy in our garden. The girls said it was Itsy’s fault! Her spider powers were too much for me, sucking my energy as I took some time to recover after my medical procedures. Whether you choose to believe it or not, well, it was such a coincidence.
So, for me to get well faster, Itsy had to go. But killing it was not an option, and we decided to relocate her to the trees at the perimeters of our housing area. Thankfully, hubby managed to move her without issues using the long garden rake.
Several days ago, I went to check on her. And my goodness! I was shocked at its size, for she is now humongous!
A plump Itsy compared to her looking skinny in our garden
The new environment seems to be well-suited for her as insects are abundant. With the web being so big now, she can trap easily and eat to her fill. And with so much foliage and greens to camouflage, she is in a safe place from danger.
Good for her, looking healthy and plump. As for me, I am getting healthier too (thankfully not plump!), and good for me too! A win-win situation.
So my new routine is now checking up on Itsy every morning. This morning, I was aghast because it’s a mess out there. What is going on?
I think the weather has a part in this mess. Perhaps the rain and wind have compromised the web, and Itsy decided to expand upwards. And debris has stuck on the web, thus making it look itsy bitsy messy. Sigh.
It’s hard to take a picture of the scenario because the iPhone XR can’t capture the web well, especially with the busy foliage background.
I hope Itsy can clean up the debris and make its home nice and clean again. With the situation as such, I have to check on it more than once daily!
Since discovering our new spider resident, I have had a new morning routine when I come downstairs. I’d open the front door every morning to look for Itsy. Yes, I’ve decided to name our Golden Silk Orb Weaver spider as such. And it’s not easy to see it because of the busy background foliage.
Finally coming in handy!
So I use a set of binoculars instead! It’s funny because I’m a mere few feet away, yet I have to use the Bushnell binoculars. I hope the neighbors on the opposite end do not think I am spying on them. I am simply spying on our spider in the front garden. Hahahaha.
The long-legged spider is one fascinating critter. Every morning, I check on it, and its intricate web has grown. It is certainly making a home in our front garden.
The golden silk orb-weaver spider
We managed to take better-angle photos of it, and hubby and I decided to google more on it to be sure of its species. And sure enough, photo evidence on the internet supports our initial assumption that it is a golden silk orb-weaver spider.
Commonly found in warm regions, we are lucky to have one in front of the house because some cultures believe such spiders bring good luck. Wow. They symbolize prosperity, abundance, and happiness in many parts of the world. However, it is up to one to believe the significance.
In reality, it is simply beneficial to have them around. I hope the female spider will continue to spin its complex web and nab pesky flies and bugs in the garden. It’s a win-win situation. Less pesky insects for us to deal with, more food for it to survive.
There is a new resident living with us! And it’s a creepy crawly long-legged spider. Yikes. While it looks like a Daddy Long Leg species, I suspect it may not be. I tried googling what species, and so far, it’s not easy to narrow down.
Ain’t no Itsy Bitsy spider
I dare not approach the spider any closer to take a better picture for fear it may jump at me. Then again, if it did, would I be empowered with superhero spider power? Hehehe.
One thing is for sure the critter is not an itsy bitsy spider because the legs are darn long, and it looks scary. Shudder.
Last week, I had this brilliant idea to DIY a bird feeder instead of buying one from the pet store. I had this sudden urge to train the freeloaders that come daily for their bird seeds to eat from a feeder. With my being in and out most time these days, it’s hard to feed them at the expected time.
There are days when the birds would come into the garden porch, looking in through the glass door for me, and expect me to serve them! Well, sometimes I do so but not always.
I googled up ideas and found the easiest contraption, using recycled things that I found in the kitchen. And voila! I have a bird feeder that I thought was brilliant. But the birds do not think so.
Several days have gone by, and they are still wary of the thing, thinking it’s some weird new garden ornament. But I have stopped feeding the birds to train them on this new arrangement, and the feeder remains in the garden under rain and shine. However, being the rainy season, when it rains, the bird feeder gets drenched by rainwater. Sigh.
The only animal not cautious of it is the garden squirrel! I have spotted it a few times, running toward the feeder and having a quick bite. Well, when choices are limited, hunger precedes caution.
After several days of rain, one part of the feeder came out, but I did not fix it. My bad, for the next thing I knew, the wet seeds started sprouting! Hahahaha. My goodness. This DIY bird feeder does not quite work during the rainy season, so I have to go back to the drawing board on it.
The rainy season has begun, causing headaches, not just for humans but for four-legged furries too. It has been raining daily, and we suspect the rain has flooded some underground homes of the furry pests within our housing estate.
In a spate of one week, we encountered four rats! First, it was the mama rat, a rather plump but angry one. I think it was upset for getting trapped. Then, two days later, a baby appeared. And the next day, another baby appeared.
If we didn’t look properly, both the babies could be mistaken for being Roborovski Dwarf hamsters! Don’t be fooled by their cuteness and size. They escaped the water and ended up in our kitchen. We found them snuggled comfortably in the warmth of two separate kitchen rugs on both days. Ugh.
The fourth rat was not so cute and found itself inside the trap set out by hubby. I don’t feel sorry for it, though, as these critters can be a nuisance. I shall not elaborate on how we got rid of all of them. And yes, I threw away both the rugs as well. I hope this is the last of the furry lot.
Although these are not pleasant encounters, I find it funny that the idiom of raining cats and dogs during this rainy season is raining rats for us instead! Hahahahaha.
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