CRITTER NOTES--

We built our acre and a half pond 23 years ago and as part of our early stocking effort we added six white amurs (grass carp).  These fish are known to help with broad-leaf, pond weed control and do not reproduce.   Amazingly, today I saw one of them still surviving.

This one looks to be over 3 feet long now and deserves the title Grand Daddy of the pond.

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I saw our first Ruby Throated Hummingbird of the season this morning and by noon at least three of them were involved in feeding skirmishes at my just installed feeder.  Actually, this variety is about the only hummer we can expect to see in this part of Ohio.

The correct mixture for their feeder liquid is 1:4, (1 part sugar:4 parts water).  Boiling the water before mixing helps insure water purity and helps the sugar dissolve.  Some folks add a dash of red food coloring.  It's not necessary to attract the birds but will help you be able to see the fluid level in your feeder.

I've found you will need to clean your feeder regularly.  To help with that project I keep two feeders on hand; one in use and the other ready to fill and take its place when cleaning is necessary.

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Recently my son found two 1.5" holes evidently whittled into my home's siding.  Before I had the chance to repair that damage I saw a bumble bee fly into one of them.  Made me wonder if that critter or one of his pals was the culprit.  They are perfectly capable of boring holes of their body-size in wood.  Yet, a close examination of these holes appeared that small teeth might have been the tools used.  That and the hole size pretty much eliminated the bees as the guilty party(s).

It's hard to imagine bees with dentures.

Then, as I was walking toward this repair project, tools and materials in hand, a red squirrel zoomed into view, up the siding and disappeared into the larger of the two holes.  I had cut two round pieces of thin aluminum and was equipped with silicone caulk and self-tapping screws to close the holes--and did.

I live in the woods and hearing critters in the walls is not uncommon.  It is pretty much impossible to seal all possible points of entry for these cagey rascals.  Poison is a somewhat effective remedy, unpleasant to ponder but these and other small rodents can cause lots of damage.  Imagine what can happen when they gnaw the insulation off electric wires.

That's scary!