There is something else other than the garden squirrels in our garden. The fruits on the papaya tree, while still on the tree, were eaten, and we were mildly irked by this discovery. So, we decided to do something about it. As there are quite a few fruits on the tree, we had to protect them.
Hubby said it could be a civet cat as the bite and claw marks on the recently eaten papaya were too big to be that of a squirrel. Further evidence is some orange-colored poop left on the retaining wall. How dare this uninvited intruder? Hrmph.
And so, I used some leftover wire mesh and covered the fruits from being a buffet offering. I think I did a good job.
It has been raining a lot, unusual for this time of the year, and it’s creating a lot of havoc for our garden. It gets flooded when the rain comes down fast and hard and does not drain away fast enough.
The two attempts to plant vegetables, feeble as it is, have failed partly because of the rain. The moist habitat has been attracting mealybugs and is detrimental to the overall garden space.
The eggplants have not seen further yield since the last puny harvest. As for the lady’s fingers, hubby got rid of them because he did not want the mealybugs to contaminate the other plants. So he planted some shrubs to utilize the area while figuring out what to grow next.
On a brighter note, the papaya tree next to our frangipani tree has been in abundance! So much that sometimes, the garden squirrels help themselves to the fruits. We’re not complaining as there’s plenty for everyone, but we wouldn’t want to encourage the squirrels to keep eating the fruits on the tree.
It looks like the negative vibes coming into the New Year have continued. Boo hoo hoo. When will I shed this?
On New Year’s day, we caught a rat, only for it to escape the next day! How did the rat manage to open the cage door? What stumped us was the unexplained fact that the cage was across the garden and on its side, and not at the original spot where we left it? Did the rat have assistance from the garden squirrels or otherwise? Creepy.
Lucky rat, it survived this round, but we will get it next time.
My first golf game for the New Year was a disastrous outing. Strange, considering just a week ago, I played one of my best games. And as if this was not demoralizing enough, I slipped and fell on the second hole. Although I was not injured, the mishap was enough to wreck the mental approach to the game. It was a downhill performance for the rest of the 16 holes. Sigh.
And last night, the aquarium pump started acting up with strange noises! It’s a brand new unit, hardly a year old, and this happened. I can cry with all these unfortunate happenings.
To top off the terrible start, my golf game this morning was even worse than Sunday’s game! I hope this is now rock bottom because when you’re right at the bottom and cannot go any lower, moving upwards is the next step.
I can only hope this belief will hold when I play my next game on Thursday. Let’s hope this terrible start to the New Year ends by then.
The mini brinjals seem to have stopped growing! After the initial excitement of seeing two fruits on the two different plants, I don’t see them growing anymore. Their sizes remain the same as before.
I shouldn’t be too impatient just yet. After all, with the plant being a mini species, the fruits may have maxed out in their growth already. Hmm.
Two mini and a mini-er brinjal
But to say they have stopped growing is not correct, for there is a new fruit growing on one of the plants. We need to monitor the ripeness of each fruit before we can harvest it. Hopefully, the wet weather or the critters in the garden won’t spoil it for us. We shall see.
It has come to a point whereby the daily garden visitors expect food laid out for them. The doves, sparrows, squirrels, or rather, tree shrews wait on us to provide for them. So hubby bought birdseed from the online shopping site since we try not to go out so often. The birds love it.
Sometimes when we are slow to have the seeds out on time, we find the two regular doves wandering into the garden porch to remind us. There have been occasions when they would even saunter cooly into the house!
Sometimes they sunbathe and of course, eat.
The shrews are more fortunate as they have more choices. With the various fruits that we eat, they get to eat them too. We set the tray in one spot, and every morning I can see one or two bouncing over to check the offering.
Enjoying a sweet offering
We do not mind the animal demands as they have to eat as well. And when we keep them satisfied outside, they won’t venture inside to create problems for us.
During the various lockdowns since the pandemic started, we discovered daily to-be-discarded things that we can recycle. It is good to give the unwanted one last purposeful usage before throwing them away in the trash.
Last year, we started recycling eggshells from baking endeavors for the garden as a deterrent for snails. They double up as a calcium nutrient for the plants as well. We have continued this practice until today.
This year, I found that the garden squirrels don’t mind rancid walnuts and apple cores. Something better than nothing to feed the hungry. I remove the apple seeds, of course. The recycling list can go on.
Recently hubby discovered (from YouTube, of course) that milk cartons make a great container to grow bean sprouts. All you need is some mung beans and an empty milk carton. A one-third cup of beans to the size of the carton is enough to yield a carton bursting with crunchy bean sprouts after five days!
He has been timing the bean sprouts growing process. So whenever he bakes and finishes the milk, the cartons are saved for future use. And when we want to have bean sprouts on the menu, a five-day notice is given.
One should consider doing this because it’s pesticide-free food and practical recycling!
Our doing something during this lockdown is the daily baking and cooking; throw in the daily efforts on the DIY project and chipping in the garden is not sufficient to pass the time. And we don’t sweat enough but end up eating more instead because of all the food efforts.
We decided to work on the garden again, focusing on the area at the side of the house. The plan is to convert a tiny plot to become a vegetable patch.
But before we could sit down to work out the idea, we jumped ahead and made another area into a pineapple patch!
Our pineapple patch!
Hubby relocated all the pineapples to one plot instead of being in pots and scattered around the garden. I think they look good being there. Furthermore, the plot is easier to protect from the squirrels. Remember that one time, the rascal of the squirrel ate our pineapple right in front of our eyes?
We look forward to the day the pineapples are ready to be harvested for our consumption.
After the recent pineapple theft right before our eyes by the garden squirrel, hubby took no chances with the latest pineapple as it is almost ripe and ready. He had put a wire mesh around the fruit as it grew to protect it from the squirrels. Of late, squirrels have been visiting us.
Last week, hubby set out a cage trap intended for a suspected rat intruder in the wet kitchen area, but a silly young squirrel fell for it instead. It wasn’t a big-sized squirrel, nor was it the scalded squirrel. He let it go because the furry critter did look rather cute but not our intention to trap it. Then several days later, two squirrels was simultaneously trapped! Two, I thought it was quite a feat.
I suspect the critters are coming around because there are fruits in the kitchen, and they can smell the enticing fragrance of ripe fruits. Thankfully, we are one step ahead of them this time, and our fruits are not compromised.
But with the whiff of the ripe fruits, we have to be careful, and since the current pineapple is almost ready, hubby decided to harvest it. I think it should be two or three days before we can savor this fruit of his labor.
And yesterday morning, the scalded squirrel had a brief encounter with me. It contemplated coming inside the house as we left the terrace door wide open. We had a short staring moment, and I won as I got up, causing it to scurry off.
Again out of pity, hubby left a piece of bread for the poor squirrel. I hope the birds will not eat it and continue pecking at their provided bird seeds. The things we do for our garden visitors.
Our garden is a sanctuary of sorts for all the critters in the area. Birds flock to our place for bird seeds provided on a timely schedule, squirrels romp here hoping for the same fortune as the birds, and earthworms make a mess of the garden surface while having a galore underground. The smaller critters – the bees and caterpillars enjoy the nectar and leaves at their own pace without any disturbance. It is a very fertile and happy place.
Recently we spotted an injured squirrel from the kitchen window. Unfortunately, I was too slow with the phone to get a picture. The poor thing looked like it got scalded for its tail, and part of its face and body is missing some fur with the bare pink skin showing. The poor critter is constantly looking very frightened and wary of the surroundings and still surviving.
One day, hubby – out of pity – threw out a piece of bread for the injured squirrel to eat. It came around and sniffed at the bread, unsure what it was. It is evident bread is something that is not in the squirrel’s natural environment. It even sniffed at the surrounding plants, wondering if the bread fell off from one of the nearby potted plants.
We couldn’t wait for it to eat the offering and left for the office soon after. That night, when we got home, the bread is gone. I am assuming the squirrel ate it, and we have not seen it since. Hopefully, it gained some strength from the offered food and is recovering well. We have to keep a lookout for it to appear again.
It looks like our other papaya tree is finally fruiting! Yay. Just when we thought we would not have any papaya to eat after chopping the big tree down to a manageable height, the newer six-foot-tall tree has come to our answer.
Will this tree give us papayas to enjoy?
The young papaya tree failed to pollinate several times. Previously, there were lots of flowers, but nothing more. This time, I guess the insects and bees have finally cooperated, and there are fruits now. Let’s hope the fruits will grow. We will have to monitor to ensure that the squirrels don’t get to them.
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