WHEN YOUR ENEMY IS REALLY CUTE

 I have a new foe which is almost a welcome diversion from my recent  grousing about  Bermuda grass, creaky bed and relentless heat. Goodness I have gotten cranky lately. 

My new foe however is adorable (to me at least) which makes managing him a bit of a problem.  The common vole.

A vole from Google Images

OK, I am sure to most of you, that is nothing but a rat or at best a mouse.  The vole is a bit chunkier than his repulsive relative the rat, has a shorter hairy tail and a rounder head.  That he is generally vegan when given the choice makes him less disgusting than his omnivore cousin but more destructive to the gardener.  

Killing is out (I am a weenie) and repelling seems fruitless.  Perhaps I should learn to live with him but he is taking one of my few pleasures left and destroying it. 

I love to garden, especially for food.  I get such satisfaction and joy from growing my own food.  To walk into my garden and pick a meal is pure pleasure. Besides, it tastes so much better than super market fare.

I recently went out to check on my prized cantaloupes to find only husks and seeds left of my baby "lopes". It was horrifying. The vole had struck.  

I keep implying that there is just one.  To quote one of  my favorite quotesters Robert Brault:

"An optimist is someone who believes that cockroaches come in ones." 

 Pretty sure the same applies to voles.  I am an optimist, just not blindly so.  I realize I am under attack.

I have a terrier dog that I  should be able to contract out for the killings to but it seems age has not only taken his hearing but also his sense of smell. I can see one of the darlings, put Mighty right on the trail and he can't find it. Maybe voles have a scent cloaking device.

I realize that this recent glut of voles is due to the blistering  heat we have had and the fact that most of his usual food in the wild has been destroyed.  My pickings are looking good.  I would be willing to share but am not willing to be wiped out.

Any humane suggestions for shooing them would be welcome. I have only unsuccessfully tried Castor oil sprays so far.  It sure didn't work on the cantaloupes.  Thank you.

I WISH I HAD SAID THAT

Referring to the term flabbergasted which I have been known to use.

"My flabber is so gasted that I may need surgical intervention." 

Borrowed from Nat Hussey at Outpost Matinicus.  If you wonder why lobster are now so cheap, check the post of this lobster fisherman.  One person's blessing is another's curse.

PS
My odometer rolls over today to a new year. Seventy three is here for the next 365.  Hope it is as good as 72 was.