Of Moles and the Glory of the Morning

Mornings at Flying Leap are truly a gift. It is impossible to not want to step outside first thing, and every time I do, I am smitten with the place all over again. It is so, so quiet, all I hear are the birds and the occasional car as someone heads off to town early. But we're so far from the road, that's never been a problem-- in fact, I like knowing there are people around and not needing curtains on my windows. Nice combo.

These days have been, almost without exception, crystal clear. The mornings are lovely and cool, but by noon it's hot. Which means that for me, anyway, outside work needs to be done before lunch. Today I was out by 7am and finished that huge weedy patch I showed you last time. Here is the after pic:

However, the Glory of the Morning around here has been tempered significantly by the discovery in that garden bed of a huge encroachment of Morning Glory... which I have come to appreciate by it's alternate name: Bindweed. Morning Glory is the common name for over 1,000 species of the plant, whose taxonomy, according to Wikipedia, is in flux. Likely because the little bloomers keep multiplying faster than you can classify'em. I believe the type we have is Calystegia sepium, which multiplies like a many-headed Hydra every time it's mowed, cut, or pulled without having removed the whole root, and it chokes out everything in its path. 

Here's a shot of it creeping into the bed I just weeded. There's a huge section all along the northwest side of the property, and Paul and I will have to strategize about getting rid of it. Apparently covering it over in black plastic for about a year will do the trick, but a barrier of some kind will be needed to keep it from creeping back from the next property over. We'll have to figure out some way of eradicating it, because I refuse to spend the rest of my days here pulling the ruddy stuff. Will keep you posted.

Which leads to discussion of our other predatory species. If you look closely at this photo, you'll see small holes amid mounds of dirt. They've been popping up all over the property, and, you guessed it-- they're made by Moles. According to the neighbours, they gnaw away at root vegetables in the garden, and have made a comeback since someone with four cats (the former owner here?) moved away.

The only encounter I'd had with this creature until now was via the very charming children's story, the Wind in the Willows, where my children and I happily followed the bucolic adventures of Mole, Ratty, Mr. Toad, Mr. Badger, Otter, and others. My first closeup occured yesterday, when I almost tripped over a furry corpse left by Cassius for us to admire after an early morning hunt-- and yes, the little digger paws looked pretty much like they were portrayed in the book. Sigh. Be grateful I've spared you a photo. But while not wanting to make a mountain out of the infamous you know what, we will have to find a way to get rid of them as well.

One method suggested by a neighbour, and which is backed up by online testimonials so must be good, is to shove a piece of Juicy Fruit gum down the mole hole. Apparently what your mother said about swallowing gum is true-- they eat it, and it kills them. I remember rolling the gum around in my mouth and wondering why my stomach could handle the (rather astonishing) range of other stuff I ingested as a kid, but not this particular substance. I still find it difficult to swallow gum, but feel strangely rebellious and triumphant when I do-- kind of like peeing while swimming.

Dinner tonight: a fresh quick pasta sauce made from all the various veggies we've been gifted by neighbours, including tomatoes, zuchinni, patty-pan squash, onion, my own basil and italian parsley, some canned sardines (mmm...), and capers. Maybe I'll also roast the rest of the spaghetti squash, just for the theme.