My new gallery

[Tambrey]

Traci....have you tried getting any of the urine sprays or dried powders to sprinkle around the perimeter yet?

[momPaws]

I bought this peppermint oil on the net- supposed to deter mice - you can dilute with water or put on cotton balls and put under the sink, etc.- did it work?? don't really know, but did not see any mice and the house smelled wonderful. Evaporates pretty fast.

[Traci]

Not yet, Tambrey, I'm procrastinating and still not comfortable with critter urine in the yard. I don't want to deter the other critters, and I'm afraid it might do that. I'm going to try bar soap shavings first, will see how that goes.

Want a skunk? Here you go...


(sorry so blurry, taken indoors)

Mompaws, I thought about peppermint oil, and it IS toxic to pets, one of the neighbor kitties frequently likes to smell the hosta (not sure why), he's never chewed on it, but I wouldn't want him to start.

[E's]

The whole garden is charming - thanks for sharing! Love the 'polecat'! I've seen no skunks so far here in my little hillside corner garden area - but have raccoons and squirrels; once an armadillo... and the other night a huge 'possum. No deer, because we're fenced in, though they probably still come occasionally to the little stream and the other side of the fence... this area of rapidly growing Austin has developed into residential suburbs only in the last few years... it is rolling land, just east of the actual "Texas Hill Country."

I don't know what to tell you about deer damage. My bro and sis-in-law have resided in South Texas deer country for many years - they hunt though not on their own land; and their lawn and gardens are fenced in. I'd ask them for advice but would probably get venison jokes in reply (really, they're sweet people except for that!) However, I will see what I can find out from the Ladybird Johnson Wildlife center garden and other gardening orgs... there a lot of them here.

Thanks again for the gallery. I spent part of my childhood in the Colorado Rockies but have never visited your State... it's nice to learn about gardens in all places!

[Traci]

Thanks, E's. The deer really are enjoyable to watch, just not when eating all the plants, LOL. We've had several bambies here and the neighbors are at least as respecful, thank goodness. That's how we got Cairo, she was out there following on a bambi's heels, I was afraid she'd get kicked, so in she came.

I'm glad you have the opportunity to see the wildlife, even in suburbia, it's a little bit of heaven!

[Tambrey]

LOVE the skunk!!!!! I often smell them but have not seen one (alive anyways).....we have a possum that often comes and lines up with the feral cats and eats...they don't care either way that it is with them....

I hear coyotes too close for comfort as well...I do not mind their howls and yips...especially when the pups are playing....but I do NOT like to her them as close as they are....

we have woodchuck....mom saw a muskrat the other evening...oh and of course, deer and raccoon in abundance....the occassional red fox...eagles and hawks, kestrels and vultures...owls....bats...TONS of toads AND frogs all over our yard this year....

all sorts of songbirds....new ones are coming all the time....

Traci...now that you have the garden, I bet you will see all sorts of new wildlife....you need to get a video camera and set it up out there....hook it up to the computer and do a Web Cam!!!!!

oh....and you can also try human hair clippings to keep the deer away

[Traci]

And here I thought I'd had enough wildlife visiting, there usually is someone here at any given time in the day and night. Do I need more? LOL.

One of the silly skunks has been coming out when I'm watering. They are nearly as blind as bats, so don't hardly know I'm there....the other day, he came up within a foot of my feet. I guess he's so used to me, he doesn't mind. In all the years I've lived here, only once did one of them spray. Only once, years ago. Just sprayed the back door, it wasn't as bad to clean as I thought it would be.

We watch the mothers every spring when they bring their babies into the yard, to clean up what the birds and squirrels drop. Nothing ever goes to waste around here

Be mindful of those coyotes, they won't hesitate to kill dogs and cats.

[Tambrey]

I know.....that is why they bother me being so close!!!

My Mom had the Easter Skunk visit her one year....she stepped out of her house....Sheba was alive then (her 3 legged shepherd) and she had her pups with her...they were ALL sitting there looking at Mom with these wrinkled nose screwy faces and ONE of them stunk of skunk!!!

Mom was on her way to church, so had no time to figure out WHICH one got the close up visit with the skunk, and I forget now...it was one of the curious pups

[Tina B and crew]

I loved your galleries Traci!! The close ups of cat parts was precious Your garden is a great idea...everything looks beautiful and I love how you are making a haven for the neighborhood critters.

[Traci]

Thanks, Tina, (and hey, how have you been doing?) I will try to update it every so often (still need to get another section done), I have so many pics it's pathetic, just hard to pick out ones that are different, or tell a story or something. Silly cats, we all know it's difficult to catch them in perfect poses.

The neighbor kitties and ferals really like it, and they are here more often, it must be the catnip

And Mompaws, if you're still reading the thread, I am still trying to snap pics of all the kitties together, but this is a nearly futile attempt, even getting half of them together usually ends up in blurry pics because they won't sit still!