The first casualty

After three cloudy days, the sun came out and shone brightly. The sky was clear blue and there was not a dark cloud in sight. In other words, it was a great day to be at the garden. It has been a week since we planted the main crop. Pete and I have been dropping by the garden when we took our walks during fine weather. The seeds that we sowed haven't shown any signs of growth yet, the seedlings that we planted have been surviving and the weeds have kept out.

But today, when I caught the first glimpse of the garden, I could see weeds invading the vegetable beds. Also, dandelions have sprouted all over the garden. Not a good sign. That usually meant I would have my work cut out and that I would be spending a fair bit of time on my knees as I pull out these pesky invaders.

Then, as I inspected my pumpkin patch, I discovered one plant missing! My mother-in-law, who usually comes with us on Sundays, told us that one day when she was at her garden, she saw one of the plants dug out and tossed aside. She believed that a rabbit had dug it out and gnawed at it. She tried to plant it back again but the roots must been too damaged so it didn't survive.

Rabbits! Another unwelcome invader of our garden. I know that they would come into the garden. They've left behind lots of poo all over and I noticed that they have been nibbling on the wild chive plants that I have at the corner of the garden. I think they've been eating my lavender too. The lavender plants should be nice and tall by now. Instead they are stunted and still so small.

We have had some problems with the rabbits last year. They ate some of the pea shoots and the peas themselves. But they hadn't given us too much problems then. This year, I feel like they could be more brazen. There are more rabbit pellets this time and they have been attacking more of our plants - and they haven't even really started growing yet.

Also, our neighbor last week went over to our side to patch up some holes in his fence. He also wanted to prevent the rabbits from getting into his garden. Pete and I have planned to build a better fence with a snug gate and covered with chicken wire but we haven't managed to start yet. Looks like we would need to hurry and get this done as soon as we could before more of our plants get ruined.

my pumpkin patch

a close up of a healthy pumpkin seedling when not attacked by rabbits