I think that gardeners as a group are hopeful and some of us are delusional. I am glad that I am nowhere near that store. I would get up to the register and be absolutely shocked at the total. I prefer online where my cart has my total so I can try to make better decisions. I do not save seed yet as I am trying focus more on the growing. Some of the things that have influenced my seed purchasing of so many varieties is an effort to find what I like best and what works best in my climate. I admit too, I can be swayed by novelty. Blue pumpkins? Sign me up. Also reminds me I need to find some cheddar cauliflower seeds (15 yo son loves it). The other thing is it is a cheap thrill. I do not like to buy a lot of cheap plastic stuff, I would much rather buy some cool seeds. All that being said, I probably spent about $65 at Baker Creek this year. I appreciate their shipping charge. I could have easily spent more but I do know there are any so many spaces for tomatoes. I may place an order with Territorial (although I like their prices less) for some fall/overwintering cauliflower and some herb plants that I have trouble sourcing locally, but those are a one time deal. I may pick up a few seed packets locally that are Botanical Interests. I consider them somewhat regional as they are based in Colorado. Or, there may be a few needs/wants at Gourmet Seed which are based in NM. Potatoes may not be on the agenda this year and I am on the fence about more garlic, it will depend on this year's harvest. I may pick up a few plants too from a local greenhouse but that will not be a big part of my expenditure (at least not on veggies, ornamentals are a different matter entirely).

Yes, the gray fox will climb fencing. While they may be listed as nocturnal, we have seen them from 2:30 in summer/spring afternoon or 10:00 in the morning, right off the corner of our deck. More predation will occur in the spring when they have kits to feed, so that is the time to be really vigilant with your chickens. Foxes will move extremely fast for the kill. Generally you will only find a small pile or two of feathers where they have grabbed your chicken but no other evidence. When you find partial remains it was probably a racoon kill; unmauled whole remains may have been a poisonous snake (we have copperheads here), mauled whole remains are usually left by domestic dogs. Wild animals are killing to eat or for defense in the case of the snake, domestic dogs kill for the thrill. If you have alot of livestock, live in an Ag district or rural area (more than 5 acres) with a predator problem (from hard experience, I consider roaming domestic dogs a predator problem) a livestock guardian dog is your best investment.

Ann, if you had coyotes before but don't seem to now, that would explain the fox moving into your territory. Coyotes and fox do not co-exist well...fox can be prey for a hungry coyote and so they (foxes) avoid establishing their runs through heavily populated coyote country. We have coyote in abundance here and so in all the years we've lived on this hill I have only seen one fox, and that one about a mile away. When we lived in the "middle of the mitt" we had no coyote but saw fox all the time. We had a large pond on our property and it seemed that two fox (they were slightly different shades of red, so easy to tell apart) had their runs overlapping at that pond's edge. I would sometimes see them at the same time come out of the woods on different sides of the pond, stop, stare at each other, mark and then disappear again back in the direction they had come from. I never had them come right up to the house, that I know of. We had rabbits there - many, many wild rabbits. And frogs. The fox never seemed to put a dent in the rabbit population and likewise they never seemed to bother our two indoor/outdoor cats, but then we had a male wolfhound, who although he wouldn't have hurt a fly was probably a deterrent just being there. Here in the north, we have *never* seen a rabbit - the coyotes wouldn't let one escape, I'm sure. Likewise, we have lost quite a few cats over the years - mainly those years in between dogs. Nothing like a large dog to remind the coyotes to keep their distance. After our Lab died, I suddenly noticed coyotes crossing the fields quite close to our yard. Once we adopted our Giant Schnauzer, they suddenly seemed to remember their place and returned to their old paths way up on top of the hill out back - which I'm sure made our 5 cats breathe easier! I think all in all, I would much rather have fox in residence in my area than raccoons or possums!

This really bothers me in a couple of ways. I have had a close relationship with various aspects of law enforcement from crime prevention, police support, private investigations and more. Several things here don't sit well with me. Regardless, a few things come to mind that could complicate things... Many areas do require a license but not all, so of course check that out. Let's say they are required to be licensed. Unless someone sees him selling something, there's no violation. Now naturally, the question then would be what he's doing if he's not legitimate, but I simply raise the complication. It would be strange to be selling drugs or something from an ice cream truck, but hey, sometimes they can get imaginative. Again you need to see who is buying and what they're buying. Let's face it if he's dealing drugs in your neighborhood, there's a market in your neighborhood. So even if you get rid of him, the buyers are still there. Now with all of that, you would run the risk of a potential stalking charge if you follow them around too much, so you have to be careful. It can't be that difficult to get the license plate number and give it to the police and tell them your apprehensions. They can check on licensing and the like. If you're absolutely sure it's the same guy, and if the guy owns the vehicle in his name, it wouldn't be tough to check the background on him. Keep in mind that the police need help. You won't be able to call 911 and say he's driving down the street, come check him out... since he'd be long gone by the time they'd get there. Police may well not be able to come out for hours or even days on such a report if there's other things occupying them. Now, let's also be fair here. You said you don't like him because you saw him "arrested". You have no idea why he was arrested and I suspect your imagination is running wild with thoughts of why he was arrested. Could it be something serious? Could it be it was a driving offense? Could it be it was for overdue library books? Expired tabs? Could it be a false charge? Could it be an accident and he mouthed off to the cop? Do you know for sure he was actually arrested and not something like being brought in for questioning or something? Just how are you planning to "scare him off"? That has me concerned. And you don't want to be the snitch, but does this mean you know something more than you're saying? For everyone's well-being, I'd suggest some investigation before looking for a rope, a horse and a tree. I've seen peoples' lives affected and nearly destroyed by vicious rumors and unfounded allegations. I've seen people have to move because of it. I get very apprehensive when things like this happen. If there's TRULY something wrong there, then stand up, be the snitch or whatever. But also, be sure of what you charge, please.