Yes, someone definitely turned on the "hell" switch. I hate it...would be SO nice to have my bedroom windows and doors open to let all that great fragrance IN the house instead of having to go stand outside and sweat just to smell it!

I surely know what you mean, Patty. Oh well, look on the bright side. It's better now than it'll be in a month or two.

You're correct, Ken....doesn't help much though, feels like a 7 month prison term just started!

Oh, Patty, it's not that bad. Would you really rather shovel snow for 5 months?

Do you know how to trap armadillos? I am a total failure doing so. They are supposed to be dim-witted, which tells you something about my mental capacity. I captured most of the critters that "visit" my property (37 so far) but I've got 2 armadillos that still do a number on my yard and mulched landscape.

I LOVE snow, Ken! And having four REAL seasons, instead of four versions of the same season!

Anyway, NO, I do not know how to trap armadillo's...so far I haven't had any of them...just raccoons and possums mostly! Sorry, can't help with that one. Generally, I leave stuff alone unless it's really tearing things up or creating a problem....they were there before you were, Ken, and they DO have to live somewhere! Your pond is a great water source for a lot of animals, you're probably fighting a losing battle. Embrace ALL the wildlife...don't be a meannie! Learn to share with the natives!

Armadillos aren't native to Florida, are they???
Ken, my landlady contracted with a critter catcher company for the armadillos here. They caught three by putting a large, heavy duty Hav a Hart type trap where the burrows were. No bait or anything although they did toss some soil into the trap to make the floor look like the soil surface. They wedged the traps under foliage and the opening was facing the direction the critters were coming from. Since mine were digging under the house and the HVAC pad, we could tell they were coming from the opposite direction. One was caught the first night, another took several days and the third took a week or so. Thankfully we have not had any additional digging. We also caught a huge possum, they told me possums like to take advantage of burrows other critters have already dug.

We are getting a much needed nice gentle rain here today, the humidity is bad though and it is supposed to ge to 90 here tomorrow also.

On the Florida Gardening Friends forum on Facebook, a guy showed his method for trapping armadillos, I think it was last week, Ken. I've seen you on there, so you should just go there, and type "armadillo" in the Search to see if the article comes back up.

It was something like you build a temporary 'funneling' V-shape fence of pallets or boxes or other items with the trap at the tip of the V and the armadillos are led right into the trap. A picture is worth a thousand words here, I'll see if I can find it, too.

Elaine, that's exactly what I have done. I built two "runs" with fencing, "V's" that led into two traps. Nothing. I'll keep plugging away and hope for the best.

Patty, armadillos haven't been in Florida long. They are certainly not native. I know critters have to live somewhere, but when they tear up my yard and my muched landscape, dig up potted plants, and tip over pot after pot, that's just a line they shouldn't cross. These are plants and areas that I have spent a lot of time, effort and money on. I'm sorry, it's still my property.

I meant "native" to your neighborhood, Ken, not necessarily Florida as a whole!

Good luck, I have no ideas for ya.

Ha, ha, ha, Patty. If not native to Florida, they are certainly not native to Vero Beach.

I'll just keep plugging away trying to catch those two.

Well, I went out to up-pot some plants and on the way to the potting shed, I stopped to fetch three coconut palm seedlings that were all sitting among some planted plumeria. Those seedlings are growing right out of coconuts. I was going to just plop them into some large pots of potting media and let them sit (and root) in the pots before I sell them. One of those seedlings wouldn't budge. I mean I pulled as hard as I could and it didn't move. OK, now I've got a little problem. I have four plumeria, all well-rooted plants, and the coconut has rooted right in the middle of them all. Sooooo, I rake the mulch away and dig and dig and dig some more, trying my best not to completely cut away those palm roots and at the same time, trying to be careful not to destroy any more of the plumeria roots than I had to. Finally, and I had to tug on the
coconut some more, I have it freed. I might just plop it out in the perimeter of the landscape somewhere and let it grow to its heart's content. Or I'll pot it up with the other 2. Never a dull moment here. :whistling:

I'm being ornery today...why couldn't you just let it grow in the middle of the plumeria's Ken? Coulda been cool!

Ken; You could always paint the Coconuts Red, Cover them in glitter & SELL them at Christmas like those cheesy Amaryllis retailers.

Do you know what a falling coconut would do to a plumeria (or a person's head), Patty? Come on now, you're just joking, right?

Funny, Glenn. Do you know what is a very good use for them is? Orchid and Tillandsia mounts. Cut in half, these husk laden coconuts will last for years and they retain a little moisture when watered, but dry out readily. Really, almost perfect mounts for compact orchids. I like to repurpose.

Yesterday we found a window in this relentless rain this Spring to take ride out to our Pennsy place. It was overcast with temps in the sixties F, warm enough to have a picnic in the Gazebo.

But first - the house came fine through the Winter as noted on our last visit. But we were not too happy seeing the kitchen now in the worst mess ever. We usually have some Mice around which need to be trapped and the counter sanitized etc. but this was not the case this time. As I look up above the window into the sort of open shelf I spot a huge nest made from wood chips!!! Oh boy!! What is THAT!!? I took the broom and banged on the shelf. A brown Squirrel came jumping out, ran past me and fled outside through the luckily open door while I was squealing!! ! Whew!! I am just glad no Squirrel babies were involved. We cleaned it all up and hopefully that is that for the season. I think that nest just happened in the last couple of weeks.

The Wildflowers are up and everything looked green, there is a lot of pretty moss to be seen in shady spots. The Cyp acaule are budding, they need another 2 weeks or so to bloom. The big Show this weekend were the Trilliums, they are out blooming in large numbers. The Coltsfoot is blooming and starting to leaf out. The Salomon's Seal is up and so are Violets, Canada Anemone, Dentaria/Crinklefoot, Trout-lilies and Mayapples.

Oh my, what a lovely show Ursula. What are the shells in your last row of pictures? They look like mussels. I do recall hearing about an invasion of non-native mussels in the Great Lakes a while back and thought it was crazy that a salt water shell fish would invade fresh water lakes.

What a story with the squirrel, did you figure out how the heck she got into the house?

Elaine, they are sweet water mussels! We are always amazed at their large size, this one is about the size of my hand. Somebody fishes them out and enjoys them. I never found them to take over, they are as I can see in balance with everything else. I know we have Muskrats, I saw once one sitting there eating one.
We can only guess how that squirrel got inside, probably through the cellar. The house is very old, there are some tiny openings. It is almost impossible to keep out all wildlife when you are essentially the visitor. This guy overdid it, what a mess!
We never keep any food out, keep things in metal cabinets. Never ever leave a roll of paper towels when you close up the house for winter....

What a surprise that must have been. I would have been squealing also. Your wild plants are lovely.

I think I was lucky the door was open, so he/she wasn't trapped in the house with me! As Klaus was outside checking on the Gazebo, pond etc..