Hey Mr. Gopher!

I live in a row house that abuts neighbors on either side. It is smack dab in the middle of San Francisco with blocks and blocks of similar houses surrounding it. You would think, then, that I wouldn't have so many wildlife posts.

No we don't see deer or elk or moose 'round these parts. We have city wildlife. We have had more than our share of raccoon problems and last year Steve trapped a skunk. Now it's gophers.

You should know that our backyard is very small and only half of it is grass - or WAS grass. There's not much sun out her in the avenues and we have to replace the postage stamp sized lawn every five years or so. We are holding off on that for a while though because the gophers will just wreck it.






I think my husband is turning into Bill Murray from Caddyshack. He has tried traps and bait and shaking his fist in an angry way.  He doesn't want to use poison because he just wants them to leave, not necessarily to kill them. Besides the chemicals in the poison is not good for the ground and potentially poses a danger to the dog. So we need something else.  What can he get that is OK for the environment but will still rid us of the gophers?  Hmmm

I was folding laundry the other night and talking to Maggie, not really paying attention to Steve tinkering with something across the room. A box had arrived earlier and he was having fun digging through it. As the thing took shape I had to ask. What the hell is that?

It's a Windmill Mole Chaser, of course! He was delighted. This was an excellent idea to deal with his gophers. And it was green! As the windmill turns it generates a noise that bothers the gophers, theoretically sending them scurrying away to a neighbor's yard to dig.

He put it all together and installed it that very evening. So now I have an elevator AND a windmill in my back yard.

 If you look closely at the second picture, you can see the gopher mound next to the bottom of the windmill.  Steve fears the mound is actually bigger than it was before he installed it. The gophers are inviting their friends over to check out the new windmill. They are using the energy it generates to watch tv and play video games in their warren of tunnels beneath our lawn.

I have a feeling it's going to power the tiny fireworks show they will have for the 4th of July tomorrow night.

Oh, I shouldn't mention fireworks, that will probably be next,

Have a nice 4th of July Holiday tomorrow. Maggie is excited because Eddie and Grace are coming! She hasn't seen either brother in over six months, so this will make her very happy.