I am afraid it might be the start of the dreaded new, virulent southern strain of Downy Mildew, which hit hard in the midwest the past few years. I heard that it was brought up by hurricane remnants in 2005 as spores, but I suspect this is mostly urban legend. However it got here, it's bad news, as it seems to be fatal to most cucumbers and melons, and it also attacks squash and pumpkins, but they seem to tolerate it. The key to control is repeated and frequent fungicide applications, and rotation of products to avoid resistance. But, this is hard to do for a homeowner. Michigan State University Cooperative Extension has a lot of information about Downy Mildew -- look under the Vegetables tab.

I appreciate your post because I have kiwi and peach trees... what I usually do is study the organic solution sites... and the organic catalogs (to see what their descriptions and contents of their solutions)... which I will do next (smile)...but when all else fails (or I don't know what it is and I panic) I use ivory dish detergent in a spray bottle - and follow it up with a powdering of baking soda. So far my magic concoction has worked on everything! Oh - with insect infestation I do the ivory dish detergent spray, let it rest, come back and wash with a hose and ...if it is on a bark surface, rub with a kitchen oil like canola - although mineral oil might be better (seems to get into egg laying areas).

Wow, thanks Jean. I am beginning to wonder if it could be weasel poop. I am just amazed by the different wildlife that we have recently been encountering here. We have lived here for 40 years and all the sudden it is like wildlife central. STarted with the appearance of tree frogs three years ago, then foxes two years ago, this past year we had flying squirrels invade our attic and now this strange poop. Woudl love to here anyone else's opinions!

Please be aware that rats and mice develop tumors much more easily than dogs or people. I read this on the AOL vet board. Furthermore, the tumors they are correlating with the microchips formed right around the microchip, and they are not seeing this in pets. My dog did die of a brain tumor, but since she was a wandering breed, I feel it was prudent to microchip her. And her tumor was very deep and not close to the chip. I am fairly confident the 2 were not related, though certainly I can't be sure. Then again, every time she escaped, it was the tag on her collar that was used to find me.