When I was a teenager, my mother thought chipmunks were cute. My Aunt next door cut down on the amount of cats & Mom was feeding them (the tree rats). The next thing we knew, there were chipmunks EVERYWHERE. Dozens of them, digging up all the bulbs & everything we planted. Emptying all the bird feeders. Running & playing & most of all multiplying. My Uncles were poisoning, trapping & shooting them until they finally got down to a manageable number. In later years, I had a Sheltie who thought it was her job to be on chipmunk patrol & she took it very seriously & kept them away. My Newf isn't that excited over such a small mouthfull but we have an Eskie who likes organic dog toys (mice & such are organic cat toys). Linda

It was cold this morning and I am in the southern NH area... but I still saw a few hummers (male and female) before leaving for work. We are expecting hot weather again, soon. This weather must be as confusing to them as it is for us.

In all the years that I have lived in Bucks County (zone 6) I have never been bothered by deer, until last year. The fields behind me were cleared for a vineyard and the planting of trees for a tree farm. They found my gardens and it was devastating. My gardens are too large to be constantly spraying "Liquid Fence" plus I didn't like the expense or the smell, and I didn't want to limit my garden to only plants that the deer didn't like, so I decided to put up an electric fence. When I was visiting the Kings Garden in upstate NY last summer I noticed that the open area of their gardens were surrounded by white fiberglass rods. They told be that it was for deer control, and that in the evening before they leave for home they roll out white wired cord, and attach it to the poles. I was surprised that this light weight, easy to install fence could do the job. I was desperate and ordered the fence through "The Deer-Shock Depot." I already had an old charger. My husband put the fence up in a couple hours, and so far it's doing a great job. The whole property is not fenced in, only a 400 ft length where the deer enter from. We turn the fence off during the day. I believe you could even use this fence in a residential area. No one has ever died or were hurt because they touched an electric fence. You will get a little zap, which is just what the deer get when they get too close. Remember, the fence is only on in the evening and early hours. I now can roam my gardens without the frustration of seeing what was eaten next, and hope that they don't come from another direction. Here is a link that might be useful: This is where I got my fence

Maybe a vole? We have them in my community garden and they will cut a line of beans down as if it was done with scissors but they don't eat them. One gardener thought someone was sabotaging her watering system by cutting the feeder hose; not a person it was a vole. It did look like someone cut it with a knife. I think voles must have very sharp claws. I watched a vole sneak out of its hole a couple of times and grab stems from the surrounding vegetation. It looked like the vole was cutting the stems with somethings sharp but really difficult to see exactly how since those voles are tiny... They are kind of cute but very destructive. Use a sturdy mouse trap, I use the black plastic ones baited with peanut butter. Make sure you anchor the trap to the ground or something stable, with wire so the vole doesn't drag it away when it gets caught.