A killer vacation and a killer snail

So I am back from a killer vacation visiting family and friends outside Stockholm, Sweden. No blogging has been done in over three weeks. Very few "nature" pictures have been taken and no thinking about blogging has been done. It's been a complete break. Partially due to lack of quality computer access and partially due to vacation activities.

My nearly sickly need for constant updates by myself and others has disappeared.

I almost feel as if it would be okay if I didn't put another post up - ever.

But only almost.

Because I wanted to show you a couple of the very few "non-vacation" pictures that I took.

It's the killer snail, Arion vulgaris, here pictured on my parent's deck eating a flower. Pardon the blurriness on the bottom picture.

This highly invasive snail, native to Spain and France, first appeared in Sweden in the 1970s and has been wreaking havoc on gardens since. My mom has been complaining about them for years, and this summer I actually understood why. At dusk, they appear by the dozen and feed on the garden. Soon thereafter, my mom gets her scissors (that during summer time hang permanently by a clematis just for this one purpose) and starts cutting their heads off.

Snip, snip, snip!

Just like that.

Is it working?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the pesky little critters that ate all my strawberries, and how I was determined not to share my vegetable crop with any four legged little critters.

At the local home improvement store I found a life size plastic owl and a solar powered sonic spike that I decided to take home and try out.

Two boxwood basil, one oregano and one icebox watermelon plant just happened to jump in to my shopping cart as well.

For two weeks now, the owl has guarded my vegetable garden,

and the spike has sent out sonic pulses every 30 seconds.

And, I have not seen any signs of nibbled tomatoes or vegetables.

And the Sun Gold cherry tomatoes are ripening.

Surely must look tempting to a chipmunk or a squirrel, no?

Or how about a baby zucchini?

And look, ripe blueberries! Yeah, I know, just two of them, but still. When I bought these plants, I was advised to put a net over the shrubs because birds know the day before you do, that the berries are ripe.

The owl is working!!! It's deterring the birds from eating my blueberries. Last year I didn't get any.

But wait now just a minute... Do you see that bird poop right on top of the owl's head???

I'm puzzled. Did a bird fly over and just happened to drop one on top of the owl? Or, did a bird actually sit on top of my plastic owl to go to bathroom? But then, if the owl is not deterring birds, why do I have ripe berries?

Well, in general, so far I am happy with the results of my purchases, but I suspect the battle might not be over just yet. But I am thankful for every ripe berry or fruit that I may harvest.

I better do something - quick!

Strawberry season came - and left. I have lot's of strawberry plants, but I didn't get to eat a single strawberry, neither did my kids. I did however catch the fellow below, Mr. Chipmunk, leaving my vegetable garden quicker than quick carrying a green strawberry. More than one time. This year we have more chipmunks than ever, and I suspect that they find my garden to be a wonderful farmer's market.

Picture from Wikipedia

As I've been watching the flowers on the tomato plants turning in to little green tomatoes, I've really been looking forward to the taste of the first sun-warm tomato.

But today, my hopes were slightly deflated by the sight of a half eaten tomato.

Damned be those chipmunks. I've come to terms with having shared the strawberries, but I am NOT sharing my tomatoes.

We have a chicken fence around the vegetable garden, but they easily squeeze through it. Last year we tried putting netting on top of our crops as well, only to find chipmunks all tangled up, and we had to cut our netting up just to save those little thieves. Don't have the heart to kill them.

Is there anyone that has a tip for how I might save my tomatoes from being savored by chipmunks?

Moving on to my huckleberry plant, I notice that something has been eating the leaves.

Could it be this little beetle that I found on my morning glory?

Any advice here?

At last, something to be really happy about in my garden. My zucchini plants seem to be exploding with flowers, and I did see little miniature size fruits.

-Chipmunks, I warn you!!! Don't even think about it!

Oh, great! The kids had a sword fight last night with my bamboo stakes, and I asked them to nicely put them back where they had found them. Looks like they just tossed them right on top of the herbs.

Today I feel surrounded by pesky little creatures.