Yet Another Reason Why I Can't Keep Plants

It's not that I don't want to have a garden. It's not that I don't want to have houseplants. It's not that I don't want to have some plants out on the deck. It's the critters who are voting against most things green.

The deer and turkeys view the garden as their personal tasting menu and occasional bedroom. I'm down to two brave tomato plants enclosed in cages plus chicken wire.

Detour loves plants. Loves to play with them. That's why we got rid of the Norfolk pines that we used to have in the living room (rather than continue to vacuum up all the dirt). That's why any fresh cut flowers have to be put in a cabinet when we're not in the room (she broke every stem on the last bunch of roses). That's why we have to put the lid on the kitchen compost bin (rather than pick up strawberry tops and asparagus bottoms that she carried throughout the house). That's why we don't have Christmas trees anymore (after seeing her head poking out of the top branches).

And now, the darned raccoon(s?). The raccoon that will eat an entire block of suet that I have put out for the birds. The raccoon that uses our deck for a bathroom. The raccoon that brings her babies to the screen door to taunt the cats.

The raccoon that dug out the basil and thyme that I had just potted (the picture above).

I left the thyme out in a plastic pot for two weeks! and was ecstatic that it was unharmed. I thought I had finally found something the darn raccoon wasn't interested in. So yesterday I picked up the basil and put both of them in a real pot. And this morning, everything was neatly disassembled. I've repotted, and now we're going to try putting it on the back deck, since there's been no previous evidence that the critters climb up there. I really would like to be able to keep some fresh herbs, but the odds are against my success.