I only trap rabbits, kitty. I could not possibly trap all the squirrels. Plus, both rabbits and squirrels are considered "pests" here in California, and you're not allowed to trap and release them, or you'll be fined. I do release the rabbits, but just to my own front yard. The squirrels would be impossible - I would be trapping hundreds of them. I use poison bait stations with non-through kill bait, so I won't kill a hawk, owl, coyote, my own dog, or a weasel that might eat the poisoned squirrel or rat. The only downside of using non-through kill bait is there is NO antidote. So, you must make sure your dog or small children cannot get to the bait. Patty S.

How sad. I had a ground squirrel or two take out a few Foster Holly and Oak trees that had managed to survive for me along a fence line on my property which borders a field where the farmer alternated growing crops one year, and using the field to graze cattle on the odd years. It certainly is distressful to watch trees at times struggle to survive, finally look like they managed to pull through, but only then to find that some critter has found, and devoured, or uprooted the tree's most critical parts. One good thing is that your tree is still small enough, that it should still be putting forth the extra effort to grow. Only question: is there enough root left to help your little sprout to recover? other option: In your area, do you have a nearby growing mature Shagbark Hickory tree that sprouts a lot of seeds? If so it might be better at this time to prepare another nursery bed by digging down a few feet and lining the hole with small enough woven, rust proof wire or fencing, which has been attached all along the seams sufficiently to keep ground pests from tunneling under and into the nursery bed. You could also extend the sides of the wiring up above ground and provice the same kind of protection that you describe doing earlier. Then next spring those mature trees which earlier had dropped seed, and those seed that have sprouted and grown about 4 inches tall; you could dig one or two, with keeping a handfull virgin soil around their roots, and immediately transplant them into your nursery bed. This should keep the underground pests from damaging you new sprouts

Well, thank you for your kind words. I am very blessed to have a lovely, lovely piece of property in a wonderful neighborhood with a perfect climate. We pinch ourselves every day that we are so fortunate. As far as intensively planting fruit trees - depends on the type of tree. With stone fruits, you can get away with one-hole planting if you're a good pruner. Not so much with citrus. They need their own "space", even if it's tight. If you're considering intensive planting with citrus, I would strongly recommend truly dwarfing rootstocks ('Flying Dragon' if you can find it, or at the least, Cuban Shaddock, which is what Four Winds puts most of their trees on). Boy, it is really hard to limit my trees to just the 5 favorites. Here is the list of what I really, really love in my yard, not in any top to bottom order: Seedless Kishu Mandarin Ponkan Mandarin California Honey Mandarin Page Mandarin (nothing beats it for juice) Moro Orange Tarocco Orange Wekiwa Tangelolo Valentine Pommelo hybrid Cocktail Pommelo hybrid Melogold/Oroblanco grapefruit hybrid Jan Boyce Avocado Reed Avocado Comice Pear Seckel Pear Any of my 3 different Fuji apples (Fuji, Red Fuji, Myra Fuji) Spice Zee Necatplum Artic Star Necatrine Royal Lee Cherry Any of my flat peento peaches (several varieties) Ronde de Bordeaux fig Panache fig Just to name a few :-) I would strongly urge you to join your local CRFG Chapter. Find out who is your real fruit tree guru in your chapter. See if you can find someone in the chapter that has done what you want to do. It really, really helps to have someone to pattern after, and have as a sounding board. You should have a fairly active chapter up in SF. In fact, there are some rather famous citrus hobbyist growers up in N. California that you might want to make sure you visit, if your CRFG chapter has any tours set up. You will find membership extremely helpful in what you're trying to accomplish. Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: California Rare Fruit Growers

How about an owl! Ace Hardware in Denver has an owl advertised right now that you can get online too. See below. IÂve seen these before, buy never an animated one like this is. At my last houseÂa rentalÂI had something pecking somewhere "on top" too for a while. It lasted for several weeks. I later had downy woodpeckers build a nest in my dying cottonwood, and sometimes wondered if it had been them, but I think the woodpeckers pretty much stuck to the trees, so IÂd say a flicker is a pretty good guess for the noisy guest. And the noise was always early in the morning tooÂjust like you. Back in the early 70's in an apartment I had the same thing happen, but that time they were just outside and above my bedroom window under the roof overhang, so every morning, as soon as they came, I pounded on the window a few times to scare them away, and after a week or so, they gave up. The did come back the next spring and I had to repeat the whole thing. ItÂs AMAZING how much noise they can make! Back in the 80's, at my house in Parker, the house was absolutely mobbed by pidginsÂdozens and dozens and dozens of themÂthe roof and everything else was covered with poop, so I found this inflatable snakeÂlike BIGÂand put it up there, and it actually workedÂfor a while. The Colorado sun fairly quickly did a number on the plastic, though, and it deflated, and apparently it wasnÂt scary anymore because it quit working. I think an owl would work better than a scarecrow type thing. Good luck, Skybird Here is a link that might be useful: Owl!