I used to think ground squirrels were cute. Last year, however, we were overrun with them, and they destroyed much of my dye garden. The marigolds, madder, amaranth, and sunflowers thrived, but the indigo, which unfortunately is an annual, was squirrel food. Wanting to be humane, I tried pouring hot pepper sun-tea around the plants. It discouraged them, but not for long. This year, I tried seeds, to no avail, and finally bought a few plants. They came in the mail (!) and so far have been undetected by squirrels. The growing season here is so short; I can only hope to get usable indigo this year. I want to be able to get this blue again. I'm committed to using dyes from only what I can grow or find here. I also wish I could find these colors in the mushrooms I find in our forest. I've been collecting and experimenting. So now I just have to figure out a way to discourage the squirrels, without resorting to the slingshot or a pellet gun. Trapping them and releasing them to some other place they'll be unwanted doesn't appeal either. There is a feral cat that showed up a few weeks ago and I spotted her with a squirrel in her mouth...
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sheep thrills
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