Groundhog Where Are You?

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I'm ready for you!

I got one of my traps back. Whoever brought it back was chicken to face his father. He simply placed the trap where a could see it, then left. As with lots of my other equipment I had accumulated over the years, the trap had walked off and became a part of one of my three son's domain.

After fiddling with the mechanism, which was totally out of whack, I baited the trap. One half of a Gala apple, face up, so he, the groundhog could get a good whiff of it, was ready to kiss his lips.

Remember, the culprit ate all my tomatoes we had growing in pots on the back deck.

Great happenings!! The flaps were down. A sure sign of a catch. Yes it was, . . . but only a scared squirrel. I opened one end of the trap to let it loose. You never saw a critter haul rump and tail as fast as that little bugger. He was out of there! The whole half of the apple gone. (may as well have a feast while incarcerated). The only residue left, was a handful of smart pills.

I downsized. I only put in a fourth of an apple as bait, ready again to catch the big one. But no, shucks, . . . another squirrel!

With a fourth of an apple left, I set the trap a third time. At the crack of dawn the flaps of the trap were down once more. When I walked toward the trap there was no frantic clamor as it was with the previously caught squirrels. I grinned! . . . Got you fat boy! . . . Oh no! A 'possum!

Again the apple was consumed, but the frightened, sharp-toothed fellow crouched in the corner of the trap. I held open one end of the trap and sweet-talked to the critter to persuade him to make an uneventful exit. No such doing! He didn't get the hint! He hung on to the trap for dear life. I picked the trap up to shake him loose. No way! His claws were cramped around the mesh of the cage.

Notice the four tight grips

What do I do now? Can you swim brother?  . . . I picked up the garden hose, set the nozzle on jet, standing back about four feet, I let him have it. That did the trick. Again nothing but rump and skinny tail as he zipped off the deck.

Again, before I could squat down to reset the trap, I had to clean up the residue. No smart pills this time. Good thing I had the hose set on "Jet".
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