How did you spend your New Years Day?

For reasons we won’t go into I needed to get some fresh air and so got togged up and headed out into the garden. It has been so cold that the ground was frozen but the leaves that were frozen to the ground were not. An ideal time to gather up piles of leaves, there were plenty to go at. It is one of those jobs that at first I can find a bit of a chore but once I get started there is something satisfying and therapeutic about it. I think the main thing is that you can see what you have done and can feel pride in what you have achieved.

Doing the front garden was enough; the back could wait for another day. However those by the back door heading for the path had to be cleared before they got slippery. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a squirrel running off with a large apple. Unusual I thought for a grey squirrel as they usually sit there eating as bold as can be in the open. A closer look revealed it might be a squirrel colour but a squirrel it was not. It was an uncomfortably large rat. In over twenty years of being in this garden it is only the second I have spied. They say you are never too far away from a rat and I guess the harsh weather had made this one break cover in broad daylight. Sorry but it had to go.

How to get rid of rats, that is the question. There are companies whose job it is to control rodent populations but to bring them in when only one has been seen did not seem sensible. Research showed that a rat zapper was a popular method nowadays, despatching the little devils with an electric shock. If rats are regular nuisances I can see great benefit of this method. The last time I had a rat problem I used rat bait, an old fashioned rat killer maybe but one that still works. I purchased rat bait and hid a pile under the shed so that other garden friends could not hopefully find it. After leaving about four piles the next pile was untouched so I guess the job is done, I hope! I hate killing but unfortunately they do spread disease and breed at a rapid rate.

I needed to take a step back and think why we had the visit. A rat covers quite a territory of course so the answer may not be in my garden. Certainly we do not put cooked food into the compost bins or out as bird food. I think the weather of late has been so harsh and they have had to forage over a larger area to get their food.

On a happier note I have placed my seed order and now look forward to receiving my flower seeds and vegetable seeds. I am trying a few new things this year and have also order the seeds of a flower variety that I grew in my first garden and in fact were the first seed I bought. They were a great success, even though I did not have a greenhouse at that time, and now wonder why I have not tried them since.

The ground is frozen, last night we had snow and tonight we are told to expect several degrees below but the thought of my seed order on its way and the being able to plan my sowing brings spring closer.