I would suspect rats. They have a habit of chewing seedling, especiall corn, melons, sunflowers, peas, beans. This happened to me last year. I was suspecting rabbits. So I make a rebbit trap. But what I catching were rats. I let them loose in the beginning; I was saying to myself "I don't want to catch rats but rabbits" haha. I kep sprinkling my garden with rabbit repelents, salt/pepper but something didn't give a damn and kept on chewing off my seedlings.This was not definitly a squirrel habit. Squirrel dig up the seeds(corn, peanut..) but do not eat or chew greens. After some internet search, I found out that it was the rat not the rabbit. From then on I went after the rats. Rabbits generally eat the top of the plants, if they can reach it. But rats chew off stems. leaving the top behind. I know this, because I almost eradicated the rats last yar and this year I have some rabbits eating the top of carrots. With the peas on trelis, since they cannot reach the tops, they eat those laying on the ground and the lower part of the rest. So I think, If your father lives in a rural area, with wooded area nearby, then it is most likly that rats are the culprits. Best thing is to get a Mouser cat that can go after rats. It has to be a big cat, rats are much bigger than mouse. The other options are placing all kinds of traps and baits. But be aware of the birds and cats not to eat the poison baits and get caught in the traps. For further information, google rats in the garden. I am sure you will find a lot of information. Good luck!

Father's Day is coming soon. Happy Father's Day to all Dads! Here is a link that might be useful: Express Love to Dad with a Father¡¯s Day DVD Slideshow

You got me! I thought it was going to be some saintly prayer..teehee Good one! (:-)

OH NO! Poor Beautiful Anne AND poor Sheila. That’s just a bummer. It seems like this time of year the gophers are especially active and destructive. I’m sorry, and I feel your pain and frustration. I’ve been having a BIG gopher problem, myself for the past several weeks. I really hope BA makes it. You never know. I was certain The Pilgrim was a goner about a month ago. Since it rarely blooms for me, I didn’t do anything but flood it with water every day for the first few days. Then, I went to every other day, and so on. Today it graced me with one of its rare blooms. Beautiful Anne just might surprise you, and make a comeback. I sure hope so! Lisa The Pilgrim, this morning a bloom and a bud. Tell Beautiful Anne to hang in there. L