I surveyed the area. Lingering energy resembling a bull went in a china shop.

Something had returned to my vegetable garden. Grrr.

A few days ago I strolled out to my garden to clip lettuce for my lunch. I gasped as I saw my peas. Nearly every stem was broken down and chewed. Only days before I beamed pride on them like sunrays, expectation of tasty peas danced in my head.

My garden was fenced in. How had this happened??

As I looked around, I noticed big jaggy hunks missing from my Chard and Broccoli foliage. Many of my Cilantro seedlings had been munched down. My agitation grew with the awareness of damage.

Oh and then to see my garlic stems bent over at ground level. Only 4 of them. Well, I thought as I tried to get a hold of my runaway feelings, I guess I get to try "green garlic" now. Those 4 would have to be pulled.

I really zeroed in and saw where whoever had gotten under the fence. I wedged a brick under the corner. I went and got my little pail of sod staples and pinned that corner of fence back to the ground. Haha!

A few days passed, no damage, but I needed to get more sod staples. I could see where other areas of the fence had been compromised. All last year's rain had eroded soil.

This morning I went out to grab a few lunch yummies. I had nearly forgotten about "The Incident". My heart sunk.

Only 6 Garlic stems still stood. The other 2 dozen were bent over. Hard neck turned broken neck. More than half of the broccoli leaves were gone. It had found my heirloom lettuce patch. The beans that had survived the first visit(s?) were now all gone. A sunflower that had sprouted was knocked over.

I went to the corner I had secured. All my onion seedlings were either buried or uprooted from the frantic effort to get out. This previous escape route was no longer an option. Plus, after having lunch on me, I suppose it couldn't fit as easily through the other options.

MY garden!!

Or it's garden? I can only secure my fence better. I can't be mad at a critter who found a truly delightful, gourmet lunch stop.

Trying to stay out of trouble.....

Erica