April 04, 2005
Mr. McGregor Was Right!
The Combatants. Image courtesy of Encore Editions.
And so it begins anew.....
Last evening I saw two rabbits in the back yard. Very large rabbits. Rabbits that had "we're going to make lots of little baby rabbits in the woods right behind your flower beds" stamped all over them.
I have no way of knowing for certain, but I'd lay odds that one of them was the little bastard that as a young'un last year, figured out it could squeeze through the wire on the garden fence and spent the better part of July and August chomping on my black-eye susans.
Well, this year is going to be different! (Sorry, Kathy - no need for anyone to hide in the bushes with a camera!) First, in the next couple of weeks I'm finally going to put chicken wire all along the lower half of the fence. But if the little fiends do manage to breach my defenses, I swear I'm going to go out and buy a pellet gun. And if I manage to plug one of them with it, I'm going to stick his adorable little head on a stake and nail his lovable little pelt to the gatepost as a warning to the rest of them.
See if I don't.
UPDATE: Now that's what I'm talking about.
Posted by Robert at April 4, 2005 02:07 PMI dunno if this is appropriate, the ad says you have to be over 16 to use it.
Oh... they mean physical age? Got it.
Posted by: JulieB at April 4, 2005 03:01 PMHeh - lucky for me, no?
Posted by: Robert the LB at April 4, 2005 04:07 PMI think you ought to get the camo one. Of course you're going to have a bunny-blind--maybe behind the lattice under your deck?
(Sorry, other people; yet another Family Joke.)
Posted by: mom at April 4, 2005 04:07 PMHeh, heh. Better than that - I'm going to set up a blind in the grape arbor. I'm already thinking of the barrel poking out from among the vines, like the Minutemen's muskets in the bushes in Johnny Tremaine.
Posted by: Robert the LB at April 4, 2005 04:38 PMHASSENPFEFFER! (Man, I can't believe you went trolling through my archives for that post!)
Tee hee. I'll bet you get desperate come July.
And I'll be waiting. ;)
Posted by: Kathy at April 4, 2005 05:06 PMRabbit yumm (Every really good recipe for rabbit starts with "Fry 1/2 a pound of bacon.")
Posted by: Zendo Deb at April 4, 2005 08:44 PMThe daisy airguns are OK, but not very powerful as airguns go. Look at the Beeman GS1000 (1000 ft per second muzzle velocity in .177 caliber, 765 ft per second in .22 caliber.) I can't find the ft-pounds chart, but I think the .22 has better hunting potential. It may be hard to find .22 pelets - though you can order them via the internet.
Posted by: Zendo Deb at April 4, 2005 08:45 PMI'll check with the Resident Marksman on the optimal level of firepower...there being a delicate balance between arousing unwanted interest from passing squad cars and having to double-tap your target every time. I have the feeling we'll be needing to upgrade our airgun this season (judging from the gnawed stubs of my tulips).
Posted by: Chan S. at April 5, 2005 09:18 AMLadies and Gentlemen, may I just point out that Chan is one of the coolest people I know? Erudite discussions of books, music and horticulture (go read her blog) coupled with comments about double-tapping your target - I love it!
BTW, I want to keep the firepower to a relative minimum. I'm not altogether sure I want to draw too much attention from my asparagus-stealing neighbor on one side. And I have no qualms about simply stunning little bunny foo foo with the first shot, so long as I have sufficient time to reload and put the muzzle against the back of his adorable little skull.
Posted by: Robert the LB at April 5, 2005 10:55 AMMaybe you could stun the asparagus-stealing neighbors just a teeny tiny bit with ole Daisy?
What would Johnny Tremaine have done?
(JUST KIDDING. JUST KIDDING. KAMERAD!!)
Posted by: mom at April 5, 2005 11:22 AMSprinkle Blood Meal around your plants. If that doesn't work, mix blood meal and raw eggs and use a sprayer.
Blood meal is the ultimate nitrogen fertilizer, and it scares critters.
Posted by: George at April 8, 2005 01:27 AM
