After work on Friday I walked out to look at my garden. I let out a wail of despair that brought John running. The remaining three dahlias had been uprooted and tossed aside, five snapdragons were bent double, the mimula was knocked over and three out of four stalks crushed, and the phlox and the wallflowers closest to the dahlia bed had dozens of flowers snapped off. Tiny holes were dug all through the dirt. I was speechless as I surveyed the destruction. It was truly heartbreaking after all my hard work. And after I'd been congratulating myself on having salvaged some dahlias from the last invasion, too. They were just starting to put out flowerheads.

Now I don't ever want to see another dahlia. Although for a short period of time I suspected Dixie of blundering around in there, I'm fairly sure it wasn't her. She always looks enormously guilty when she's been someplace she's not supposed to go. But she had her normal happy doggie face on when I turned to accuse her, so I gave up on that theory. Besides, the digging said "tree rat" to me. Probably more than one. I think what must have happened is one squirrel was there merrily digging up my dahlias when a brother squirrel came along and said, Hey, watcha got? Can I have that? Can I? Give me that. GIVE ME THAT! and they started wrasslin' and bonking into plants and crashing around.

So now there's a big bare spot, and a lot of lopsided plants, and a pile of wilted ex-flowers on the cement next to my watering can. Red pepper wasn't enough of a deterrent, clearly. I think the answer is to plant mature plants there, and not grow anything from seedlings. It's too much of a temptation with all the nice, soft dirt to root around in looking for nuts and seeds. But I'll beat those rotten squirrels yet. I'm going to find something big and bushy next weekend which will take up all the space and discourage them from using my largest bed as a wrestling ring cum buffet table. If I want to grow seedlings, I'll stick with containers on a table and load them with red pepper so nothing touches my annuals.

Gardening. It's not for sissies.

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