Jun 26, 2013

Strawberry Patch & Wild Critter

Well take a good look...Some critter ate them I don't know which critter
bird, deer, rabbit, ?




Some are a little knotty but then again just set them out not long ago.
Just wait until next year!



Can't do without these two things, my gloves and clippers
How about you?



Beautiful



Sharing pretty blooms











I know this picture is very fuzzy but can anyone tell me what this critter is?
Is it a huge rat? Do moles, voles get that large?





He was around the berry patch and appeared to be quite large the timbers around patch are 4 x 4's
Haven't seen him since that day.

We did however see a huge snake today! Where was he? Right in front of the garden shed where all of the tools are... Did I go around him to get tools? NO, I got my sharp shooter husband to come shoot him..busy morning.



Catie finished her quilt check it out at link below

Have a great week!



18 comments:

  1. Always have to wonder who we're feeding, too...the kids or the bunnies??

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  2. Could be birds. I have that problem. I painted stones red and placed them around my strawberry beds. The birds peck at them and they don't return, leaving more strawberries for us. I will have to cover the beds with bird netting next year. They are still getting some of them.

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    1. Hey Kristina,
      I think you may be right. I need to buy some netting to keep them away..I would love to try at least one strawberry.

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  3. Ours were eaten last year by the birds and deers. We used netting this year. Could your unwanted guest be a ground squirrel. We have some that are almost as big as my cat. ( And she is a big cat.)

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    1. Hi Michelle,
      Have to buy netting that seems to be a great solution. I don't know about the ground squirrel, I'm going to research and look for pictures to see, if we even have them over here..

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  4. I hope for your sake that critter is not a rat! I feel kind of bad for your snake though. He may well have been going after that mystery critter! They really do good work even though a lot of us (me included!) find them creepy. This reminds me that you can lay a fake rubber snake in areas that you want to keep birds away. I'm not sure if this works for small rodents too, but it might be worth a try. I hope you enjoyed a few of those strawberries :) Wendy

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    1. Hi Wendy,
      I hope it's not either because it is very big. Yeah I am sorry about that snake but we have been bombarded by them. I had a baby come into the house and knew that a mama must be nearby. They eat our eggs from the chicken coops and stir up the chickens. Plus he or she chose to live in my garden shed and I couldn't stand the fact with the little grandchildren especially coming over that a snake was in the building..plus didn't know what kind it was. I kept seeing this huge tail slithering around and ugh today when it was out sunning it had to go. Although it could have eaten that huge critter in garden. Thank you I think I will get the rubber snakes and put them out maybe that will work. If only that snake would have moved to the garden oh well, hate to kill anything but sometimes it is a necessity. Thanks for coming by today!

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  5. That looks like a small woodchuck to me. Not sure but that might be what it is. I love your strawberries but it is too bad that the critters beat you to them- xo Diana

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  6. Hey Diana,
    I do believe you are right that is what it appears to be. Guess we have another type of wild animal that loves it out here..Thanks!

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  7. If it looks like a beaver but isn't, then it's a ground hog. This may sound gross, but they are good to eat, sort of like ox tails all beefy looking. We made ground hog and dumplings. They will clean like a squirrel as they are somehow related. Others around here tell me they always try to have ground hog- watch your hunting seasons though since they do have specific dates.

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    1. Hey Kathy,
      I do believe it is a ground hog or woodchuck. I never knew they were the same or that we in South Carolina have so many of them, because I had never seen one before. Thanks to all of you I now know. My brothers have in the past played around with cooking frog legs, don't know about squirrels or ground hog, but it is interesting to know. If our food sources keep getting more and more dangerous I just might have to try some wild game. You are pretty talented all around girl!
      Thanks!

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  8. It looks like a ground hog/ wood chuck. If you spray cayene on the berries, he will leave them alone. Just remember to rinse them before you eat them! :) Also, Some snakes are beneficial. A black snake will keep mice, woodchucks, etc. out of your garden, and they are non venomous.

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    1. Hello Kathy,
      I thank you and the others and think that is what it is also. Thanks for the tip about the cayenne on the berries. :) Yes, I know that this snake would have been beneficial in some areas of our property especially but they like to eat chicken eggs and I just got tired of having to look out for it and babies under foot in my cluttered garden shed. Don't worry we have lots more where that one came from because I shewed a baby out of my kitchen the other morning. Yes he came in through the smallest crack at the bottom of the door....Thanks again for information.

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  9. Dolly, I hope you can save some strawberrys .. That looks like a huge something scary.. Ha ha...I hope you don't get any more snakes and rats.. be careful out there.. and I can't wait to see more strawberrys..

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    1. Hey Sweet marissa!
      I hope to at least taste one, :) I know it was huge and scared me so bad I shook taking the picture and he ran away, maybe into a hole it was so quick. Guess living out in the middle of nowhere and within about a half a mile behind me is nothing but trees, fields and swamp there are going to be different things I've never seen before come up here. Thank you for visiting and love ya.

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  10. Woodchuck for sure, Dolly. We have them here, too. They can be very very destructive in a garden, though. We don't welcome them in our yard! lol xoxo laurie

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    1. Hi Laurie, I'm pretty sure that is what it is now. Thanks to you all! I researched and found a picture almost exactly like mine. I had never in my life seen one and read where we have tons of them here in SC. I hope he goes on back to wherever he lives and hopefully it is not in my yard..lol..
      xoxo

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