I was surprised so many people were sympathetic to Mr. Bunny and not to my plants.
Hey, plants deserve to live, too!
Pity the farmer behind our house. I estimate that the animals that have been having dessert in my yard have been dining three meals a day on his soil and have destroyed a very big portion of his crops. THEIR LIVELIHOOD.
Yes, Mr. Bunny and Mr. Chipmunk (I found one munching one of my tomatoes last evening) are "cute" but they aren't Chip and Dale or Peter Rabbit. Give them skinny tails and they are what they are--RODENTS.
RODENTS = RATS. Do you think rats are cute? Are tiny mice, so cute in fiction, sweet and nice when they are running around in your silverware drawer crapping on the forks and knives? Because I sure didn't think so last winter or in June when it happened again.
RODENTS = DISEASE. The plague. The Black Death.
Excuse me, but I don't find rodents in any form to be cute, nice, or Disney-esque.
The bunny we caught in the trap was let go in a rural area. We did NOT kill it (unlike my rural neighbor down at the cottage who would catch critters in his Havahart trap and drown them in the bay--guaranteeing they would never eat his flowers and veggies again.) I'm perfectly fine with relocating them. But I'm not perfectly fine with them destroying crops, be they my own or my farmer neighbor's.
I realize this attitude will not win me friends with those who read Beatrix Potter -- but I'm sure the lady farmer wasn't happy when these pests ate her kitchen garden, either. She just wrote about the "cute" side of rodents who wore waistcoats and spoke in full sentences--not squeaks that only a cat can hear. And that was her livelihood. Pity the poor farmer, already dealing with this year's intense weather conditions, who won't have money to feed his/her family this winter because not-so-cute rodents ate a big portion of his/her crops.
This is just one subject where some of us just won't see eye to eye. I'm afraid we're going to have to beg to differ.
I'm sure those in the rodent court have never planted gardens. Maybe they should try. I see a garden as eco-friendly and trying to limit my carbon footprint.
I can't do that if rodents trump humans in this food chain.
I feel your pain. I hate mice and rats!!! I heard somewhere that if you plant marigolds around your garden the bunnies won't get in. I think they have sprays to keep them out to. I know they have deer repellant in spray form. Of course this is Iowa so who knows what you might have. We used to have deer that came in the yard and ate the neighbor's green tomatoes AND her hot peppers. Not sure how she got rid of them though.
ReplyDeleteI've tried cayenne pepper and dried blood. The dried blood worked other years--not this year. Next up: Fox urine!
ReplyDeleteI was out in the farm last night and there were a lot of deer hoof prints--but I'm pretty sure it's a chuck that's done the bulk of the damage to their crops.
After reading your post, I'm sure not sure I want to read any more of your books.
ReplyDeleteSandy, we can't ball be on the same page about everything. I'm sorry you feel that way. In the meantime, I hope you've enjoyed my work.
ReplyDeleteBeatrix Potter, at least in Susan Albert Wittig's book, had cats to take care of rodents. She was, as you say, a farmer dependent on the farm for part of her livelihood (particularly after her publisher embezzled her royalties).
ReplyDeleteEverything you say makes perfect sense. I lost much of my bean crop to little furry thieves this year and the stupid squirrels are alway destroying my birdfeeders. But I'm going to be honest and admit I wouldn't let my husband mow the lawn for three weeks in the spring because we had a nest of baby bunnies in the middle of the yard. I just couldn't do it. Guess I watched Bambi too many times as a child. (You can't mow over Thumper!)
ReplyDeleteThe bane of our existence is deer, but I love them. We are surrounded by deer hunters here in rural PA but we've posted our land and won't even let friends hunt here. We tell them it's because I walk on our land, but they know it's my "Bambi complex." Fortunately, most of them like me despite what they see as my nonsensical attitude.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand as well. You've not lost me as a reader.
ReplyDeleteseriously? someone will no longer read your books after this?
ReplyDeleteArent we grown ups who can agree to disagree?
Lorna,
ReplyDeleteYou're right - we can't all be on the same page on everything. But surely you can't begrudge your veggies to animals who are having trouble finding food in this drought-stricken hot summer. Are they your only source of food? I think not!
Try being generous and be glad that you have helped a few of God's creatures instead of sounding so mean-spirited.
I too am a gardener, and I understand your frustration, I really do, but gardening is always a gamble, especially if you live near wildlife. There are so many ways to lose a crop (even a small garden like yours) - drought, too much rain, and yes, hungry animals.(By the way, A RABBIT IS NOT A RODENT!)
I was shocked by the mean-spiritedness of your original blog posting and was saddened to realize that it came from the woman whose sensitive writing I have enjoyed so much in the past.
And yes, Lori Cimino, the author's original posting WAS so off-putting that I will not be purchasing any of her future books - her work is tainted for me now by what she wrote on her blog. That is my choice to make.
So, everybody, get over yourselves - it's only vegetables and flowers, for heaven's sake, not the end of the world. Get on your with your lives, take a moment to enjoy the beauty of the wildlife around you instead of complaining about it, and stop picking on me and the rabbits!
Sandy, not everyone lives in your perfect world. My flower and vegetable gardens have been my saviors during a very difficult summer with family crisis after family crisis (which I have only just recently written about here on this blog). To have them destroyed has left me terribly depressed at a time when I need to be strong for a loved one.
ReplyDeleteYou obviously did NOT read the post thoroughly. I'm not advocating killing these animals, just relocating them to a wilderness area instead of a suburban neighborhood. That is putting them back in an environment where they can thrive without being a pest to working farmers and loving gardeners.
And if you will not be reading any more of my work, then please don't read any more of my blog posts, either.
Thank you for your past patronage.
I too have lost my garden to nature both weather and animal kind, and being on a limited budget my garden helps feed us. It is heartbreaking to watch over the small plants or seeds, nurture them and watch them grow and bud out, only to come out one morning to broken or missing plants.
ReplyDeleteI too have been going through some very difficult times and working and tending the garden is very therapeutic...unless it is destroyed. Then it feels very personal and devastating. The last straw in a already shaky hold on yourself. I have literally sat down a cried over the broken plants. My refuge was invaded and destroyed.
But I like you couldn't kill them, just relocate them. Though the dogs don't have the same problem.
Opps, sorry for the long comment.
Pamela Jo
Coming back around for a second comment.
ReplyDeleteI have the financial luxury of gardening for pleasure, not to put food on the table. So if I want to be a silly sentimental whatever and let bunnies munch on my beans, that's okay. I am not so foolish as to think everyone must share this point of view. And I am certainly not going to give up reading the work of an author I very much enjoy (the Jeff Resnick Mysteries are my favorite) just because she relocates the offending wildlife rather than have her garden destroyed.
I hope your gardens continue to be a source of pleasure and comfort to you during a difficult time..
I fully support kind relocating of wild animals. I would stand behind you on that any day. I am a animal lover and realize this is how we co exist in the world.
ReplyDeleteRodents though, they need to die. Unless you have had a home destroyed by rodents, you have no clue. I was caring for my elderly Mom while she was dying for 4 months at her home. I had to abandon my home with it locked up for that time. When I returned the night after she died, everything I had saved for,collected, loved and cherished for a lifetime had been peed on, pooped on or chewed up by the giant herd of rodents that got in my one tiny hole in the closet wall. Giant piles of rat poop and pee were on my bed, in my pillows, on my computers, in all my clothing. All my clothing, shoes, kitchen items,bedding, everything had to go to the dump. In tears , grieving for my Mom, I set traps and killed every last one of them. Then I had to move and start over with nothing. Its taken me 3 years to calm down about that rat-a-cide of my home. Oh and all my lifetime of beloved books was destroyed as well. These are destructive creatures and they must be killed. Now the garden pest they can be relocated but rodents , they must die. And for those haters who want to respond consider this, rodent chewed throught he wiring on my sister's home and it started a fire, they lost everything,. Try to reason with that!!
Yes I will continue to love your books - you have my vote anyday!!