Foxes >:(

Now I really like wildlife and unlike some do not see their normal behaviours as sneaky, mischievous, conniving or maliciously wicked I any way, after all they are just trying to survive the best way they can.

BUT!!! why in my garden :(

A couple years ago when I began to really whip the garden into shape their was a fox family with cubs being raised who thought my new flower beds was their playground. I would put a plant in and they would try to tell me in not subtle terms to move it by digging it out again. So to give my plants the chance to establish themselves I bought some chicken wire and proceeded to fence my flower beds in. Though it was not pretty to look at (I was not going for the chicken coup look) it worked and stayed in place for a year coming down last summer, when there was no signs of fox cub activity to be seen early in the season. Which really allowed us to use the area to its full potential.

Well about ten days ago my neighbour asked me if I had had any damage in the garden because he not had experienced some damage but had seen the offenders all four of them!! (in 2007 we only had two cubs to contend with). Well the day after he let me know they were about I found evidence of their wandering in my garden, a couple of shallowly dug holes in my vege beds (the flower beds are pretty filled out now and as such has very little bare soil to interest them). that same night I spotted the runt of the litter running past outside the conservatory and very cute he was too.

Well as the days continued the damage grew, they seemed particularly take by netting (this is how they caused damage to my neighbours patch by rolling over the netting he was using to protect his onion sets from the birds and in doing so they flattened all of the new growth). I noticed they two nights in a row removed and peeled back the netting I was using to protect my mini meadow seedlings from cats using the area as a toilet and then they proceeded to rip a hole in the netting I had over one of the mini ponds and threw one of the pond plants onto the foot path (there they go again telling me they don't like my style in relation to plant placement, BAH! critics who needs them).

Then they started digging up my sown in situ seedlings, I'll be resowing the salsify and some of my parsnips this week because of them. The legume bed is also a favorite digging area with great amounts of soil displaced and the contents of my bean trenches being brought up to the surface. Then Thursday morning I was greeted with bite holes in my carrot fly barrier ????

Friday night I forgot to close the greenhouse and well I was greeted with a lovely little package and evidence of frantic chewing on the corner of newly bought box of Blood, Fish and Bones Fertiliser.

So far the cardboard that has been laid to suppress weeds in the area earmarked for pumpkin and squash growing has not been to interfered width, fingers cross it will remain this way as its my experience in the past that the adults love to dig this form of weed suppressant up.

Yesterday I decided to fence my vege beds in as I don't think my plants would get a moments peace if I leave them to the mercy of the cubs. It does mean that now I have only one entrance to this area so a bit inconvenient but at least my veges will grow.

So that is it for now I did get other things done over the last few days since my last post but I will go into more detail in another post update.

Here is a parting video of the rambunctious cubs with one of the parents in my neighbours garden two doors down, (sorry about the picture clarity but it was shot through the bedroom window).

Here have a listen to a fox calling at night, creepy :)

The Best Laid Plans

Well with the great weather that was looming for this weekend just ended I planned to gets lots done in the garden, well eh! eh!

I went to bed Friday night with a slight sore throat which was niggling me all day and woke up Saturday feeling like someone had shoved a red hot poker down my throat. I got Nathifa off to drama classes went back to bed as I was feeling really sleepy at about 10.00am and didn't get back out of bed till 7.00pm when hunger and general aches and pains from lying so long drove me out into the living :).

So a quick update on what little I got done from Friday till today and any other updates.

Friday

• Resowed my cabbage seeds today as after two Weeks there was no germination which is a bit odd for members of the brassicus family I sowed lots more than what i need with the hope I'll get exactly what I need.

The lentil sprouts were also ready to eat and we all enjoyed them in their raw state. crucnhy with a slady flavour.

Saturday

• Woke up and found in the fruit section pond frog spawn yippee!! I was so excited I almost forgot my sore throat. There was also lots of very little snails in the pond, not sure where they came from???
• The kids freebie seeds from the BBC arrived.

Sunday

Woke up feeling much better although a bit weak probably due to some dehydration from lack of fluids on Saturday's lay in.

• Made a mixture of wildflower seeds along with the kids freebie seeds and some grass seeds thrown in with some compost and with their help we prepared the mini meadow area first by raking the surface to a fine tilth and the sifted the compost with the seed mixture onto the area. We then watered the area and netted it against the birds eating the seeds and cats using the area as a toilet.
• The mangtoute peas I sowed a few days earlier have started to germinate and the beetroot and spinach beet seeds are almost all up now.
• I then decide to potter around the garden and did some tidying of leaves from the autumn leaf drop from around the vege pond boggy area and at the back by the compost bins. The were all added to the green compost/ leaf litter bins. When they finally rot down I'll lots of great leaf mold to use in the garden as mulch and light plant feed.
• The daddy of the frog spawn was also seen and heard calling to other females so may be we would get even more spawn.
• We also saw our first peacock butterfly enjoying the warm sun rays.

I also spotted some scat/ animal droppings which I got help in identifying from me A4A forum as hedgehog droppings which is nice to know. It means they are still about and are waking up from there long winter's sleep :)