<p>My dad hated the squirrels in our backyard but lived peaceably amongst them until they took up residence in the attic and started going potty up there, leaving terrible yellow circles on our ceilings. After a long, sleepless night of listening to the scritching and scurrying, he drove straight to Bass Pro, where he made a beeline for the air rifles. </p>
<p>“Got squirrels?” asked the old-timer behind the counter. After my dad groggily confirmed, the gunseller and his neighbor pointed him in the right direction and started suggesting recipes. Tastes like rabbit, they said!</p>
<p>(Oh, Texas…)</p>
<p>I have no idea what gopher tastes like, you northerners are on your own for that.</p>
<p>lw, I’ve seen many versions describing the same thing: crayfish, crawfish, and now crawdad.
Not to get anyone envy or anything but I picked some of my green tomatoes a few weeks ago because of the squirrels. Some are enormous, some are elongated, some are swelling but they are all red sitting in my counter ready for Christmas. Eventhough I picked them green, I still think they are much tastier than the store bought tomatoes.</p>
<p>I’m green with envy as well My garden performed marvelously this year, and we’ve been eating homegrown produce until the beginning of November. I picked my green tomatoes right before the first frost, and they ripened quite nicely, but we already ate them. For Thanksgiving, I had to buy some at PCC.</p>
<p>I spray foul smelling deer repellent on stuff I really care about (we’ve had as many as 14 whitetails in the yard at the same time), and beyond that it’s live and let live. I figure we’re encroaching on their territory and my gardening preferences don’t justify killing living creatures. It’d be a different story if something were actually harming my house (raccoons in the attic, mice, etc.) or threatening my family’s safety (we’ve had a few bear sightings lately–yikes). But I couldn’t bring myself to shoot a squirrel over a tomato bed. </p>
<p>Do you suppose the wildlife have a discussion board to commiserate over those dang human interlopers and their silly gardening efforts?</p>
<p>Last year on our anniversary DH and I were on our way out to dinner. But I just had to give the hostas a shot of that repulsive deer repellant before we left. I gave the container a quick shake and much to my horror the top wasn’t screwed on very tightly! I was doused in the rotten egg/tabasco aroma. Even a shower and my best perfume couldn’t overcome my new and less than enticing scent. I’m sure every deer in Central NH was laughing their white tails off!</p>
<p>I can imagine the deer talking amongst themselves; ‘holy smokes, there must be a human hereabouts because this flower bed reeks! Can’t they just stay out of our yard!’</p>
My garden performed marvelously this year, and we’ve been eating homegrown produce until the beginning of November. I picked my green tomatoes right before the first frost, and they ripened quite nicely, but we already ate them. For Thanksgiving, I had to buy some at PCC.</p>