I’M BEING REMINDED that Mother’s Day (and Father’s!) is just ahead, and asked if I’ll be having any “specials” on gift-wrapped copies of my latest book, “The Backyard Parables.” I’m game, with two offers:
- Offer 1, Order a wrapped, inscribed copy before midnight on Sunday, May 5, and I’ll pay the shipping–plus I’ll include a free pack of Doodle by Andre postcards; 10 of the naughty potting shed card (below), to be specific. Order now.
- Or Offer 2, get hardcovers of both “Parables” and 2011’s “And I Shall Have Some Peace There” for just $35, shipping included (a $55 value). Order now.
Important: Click the “Note to Seller” link on the PayPal checkout page and then tell me there how to inscribe your book(s). If you don’t, I’ll simply sign them, rather than personalize.
Want to know more about each book? That’s here.
Just listended to your NPR interview – can’t wait to read your bood and check your blog out daily…
Welcome, Pamela. Just home from my roundtrip to NYC. Fun day; glad to “meet” you as a result.
Hi, Dick. Yes, rats with furry tails, as we call them in the horticulture world. Damn squirrels! There are so many tactics but I have not found much of anything to work other than hardware cloth (mesh) or netting laid on the areas and other unsightly barriers. People say they can be deterred with hot pepper flakes sprinkled in the area where they are digging, or with blood meal as a repellent (though you might attract someone else!), animal repellant sprays from the hardware or garden supply store, and so on — or to put baffles on every tree so they cannot climb up (crazy, impossible). You can read about some suggestions starting here (follow the links on this page).
Gray squirrels are diurnal (daytime active) so if you are having overnight digging/damage it isn’t them. My overnight digging here is skunks, mostly; sometimes raccoons. And of course overnight digging could be you-know-what as well (I don’t thankfully have rats in the garden).
Dear Margaret: Enjoyed the WNYC Lopate interview. One area of concern that was touched on but not in depth: mad & crazy squirrels. Have a small plot in the middle of NYC that squirrels (or, rats? unlikely. neighbors have seen squirrels coming out of the trees in the evenings) have been burrowing into & undermining and I am searching for a way to discourage them. Any thoughts? All the best. -Dick Hughes
Just read Backyard Parables and came across the word phenology which I in turn used in an article I wrote in my farm market newsletter that tied into the pair of smakes that return to my greenhouse when the forsythia bloom. I mentioned that I learned this from your book and gave a link to the website, noting that you produce an excellent garden newsletter. A few emailed back that they already enjoy it and maybe you’ll add a few more names to your list. Your tales of life and death and philosophy in the garden (I still need to read Alan Watts’ The Wisdom of Insecurity at least every decade!) strike a familiar chord. Thanks.
Thanks, Maggie, for spreading the word! (Wild about the snakes returning to the greenhouse each year!).
I’m certainly running behind to say the least with endless chores, but I did want to tell you how very much I enjoyed the podcast with the two Roach sisters– wonderful chemistry of course! I’m looking forward to more of the same which has probably already been expressed endlessly by other listeners. And my continued sincere thanks for all that you share all so willingly. :)