Farm and Livestock Report, US Division
Created | Updated Aug 30, 2015
The Post Agricultural Extension Agency checks in…
Farm and Livestock Report, US Division
What you see here is the Lesser Pennsylvania Yard Bunny (Sylvilagus floridanus, really). As you can see, he's quite happy munching clover practically under your feet. His range is pretty much the whole block here, and he is frequently spotted by excited small children, leading to the cry of 'bunny!' from perambulating toddlers. The Yard Bunny seems to enjoy his notoriety, though if they try to pet him, he will run away to the safety of bush or burrow (under neighbour's shed). Older humans enjoy bunny-watching, as well: Elektra's been feeding him carrots, as she wants him to grow more before winter.
Yard bunnies are gregarious, and we have seen as many as five around the house at once. They appear to be unperturbed by the appearance of the resident ground hog (who hasn't posed for a picture yet), but will high-tail it when neighbourhood cats make an entrance. 'High-tailing' is the correct term: as they run, the white cottontail is clearly visible and quite amusing to watch.
The Lesser Pennsylvania Yard Bunny is often accompanied by the Greater Pennsylvania Yard Bunny (see below). This fellow/lady has been dubbed the Zen Bunny due to its habit of lounging insouciantly among the greenery and ignoring the Baltimore orioles.
We are seriously considering declaring our backyard a wildlife refuge, because as farmers, we suck. This year's vegetable crop got off to a bad start when the marauding midnight deer chomped the tomato plants in half. They got the two tiny tomatoes and ALL of the blossoms, thus ensuring crop failure. At first, blame was laid on the innocent ground hog, who actually confines himself to the grasses. Then scat was discovered in the yard, leading to identification of the true culprits, the deer that browse their way up from the river nightly. They got all but one plum, and were seriously threatening the young apple tree, before we found the solution: there is such a thing as deer repellent. It's safe, composed of such natural ingredients as garlic, and it works. Take that, deer.
So far, we have been most successful at raising flowers: lilies, peonies, hostia, zinnia, and marigolds. (Deer hate marigolds, heh-heh.) Alas, one cannot eat these things. With comestible vegetable matter, we have less success. The lettuce is puny. The 'bush beans' are more like 'individual stalk beans', and have so far failed to yield a mess1. We've had three nice-sized bell peppers so far, and the late crop is promising, but the cucumber vine was a massive disappointment. After weeks of faithful watering and tending, it yielded this lone product, unlikely to win any agricultural ribbons:
The cuke was crisp and tasty, and made us sad to think of what might have been. However, we will not starve: the farmer's market is only a few blocks away, and our relatives have a Real Farm. With laying chickens and everything.
We expect to learn as we go. Next year, the deer will be firmly discouraged from the outset. We will plant earlier, perhaps, and with more wisdom. I already know that okra is unlikely to grow in this climate, with its growing season so much later and briefer than in the Southland. But we're still waiting to see if the aubergine vine will produce anything. If not, it is at least ornamental.
